Community & Business
18 March, 2025
Churches unite for World Day of Prayer
Kia Orana! That was the greeting received by guests at the annual World Day of Prayer services in Pittsworth and Millmerran on Friday morning.
Kia Orana is a blessing from the Cook Islands that means "may you live long".
Almost 50 people experienced the generous rhythm and warm hospitality of Polynesian culture at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Pittsworth.
The special service, which is celebrated annually in over 170 countries, was prepared this year by people of the Cook Islands with a focus on empowering women and young girls.
The theme was taken from Psalm 139: 'I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.'
The word 'fearfully', when translated into Hebrew is yārē.
In this particular text it means “to stand in awe of".
This was the focus of Pastor Charlie Uebergang's message, that each of us are created unique.
"The phrase means we are created 'distinct'," he said.
"Our story is unique in all creation.
"Each life matters. You matter. No matter the background or culture you come from," Pastor Uebergang said.
He ended his words of encouragement with verses 7-8: 'Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.'
"There is no place we can go, no pit of sin so deep, that our God cannot find us and lead us out into His light," he said.
Representatives from the Anglican, Uniting and Catholic churches participated in the service.
Linta Roy from Brisbane and Agnes Jomon from Sydney, participated in the service as representatives of the Catholic church.
The women are part of Jesus Youth, a movement that challenges young people to live a meaningful, creative and fulfilling life.
They are currently preparing for a mission trip to Papua New Guinea in the coming weeks.
Each year, the World Day of Prayer committee works with the Bible Society to create a project of global outreach, to raise awareness about pressing issues faced by women throughout the world.
The 'Wonderfully Made' project of 2025 in the Cook Islands, is centred on:
Trauma healing workshops centred on biblical values, addressing gender and domestic violence;
Sunday school teachers' training, equipping teachers to encourage the love of Bible reading among children and to promote biblical values in every day life; and
Bible distribution and creative community outreach events, including celebrating the Cook Islands' music, dance, art and more.
A large focus of the project is addressing gender based violence, an issue that is becoming more prevalent in the Cook Islands.
The Millmerran district also celebrated World Day of Prayer of Friday, at the Anglican Church in Walpole Street.
The guest speaker was school chaplain Clare McCulloch.
Over 20 people attended the service and were gifted with head garlands upon arrival in celebration of Pacific Islander culture.
Morning tea was shared after the service and one of the organisers said it was a lovely time of fellowship.
It was unusual for Millmerran to have a service on the actual day of the event, as in previous years it has clashed with judging at the Millmerran Show, in which many of the volunteers are heavily involved.
Next year, the Catholic churches in Pittsworth and Millmerran will host the service.
The host country for 2026 will be Nigeria.
