Year 7 students at the Marist Senior School have celebrated the Women’s World Day of Prayer.

The Women's World Day of Prayer is a global ecumenical movement observing a special Service held each year on the first Friday in March to pray for world peace.  Each year the Service focuses upon, and is written by, a different country.  Once prepared, the Service is then translated into thousands of different languages so that countries around the globe can enter into a joint celebration.  Papua New Guinea led the 2009 event with the theme “in Christ there are many members yet one body”. 

On the day, the Marist girls made Bilum bags out of paper and wool to give as gifts.  Each bag contained a prayer scroll.  Bilum bags are traditional to Papua New Guinea, originally made from rolled bark, and used to carry wood or agricultural produce.  The girls also attended a local Service held at The Holy Trinity Church, Sunningdale, where they welcomed other attendees, took up the offertory gifts, and helped with some of the readings.  The 2009 theme coincided with the latest aspect of the Marist Sisters missionary outreach.  Prayers were said for three Marist Sisters who will shortly travel to Papua New Guinea to begin a new women’s mission.