The Olds United Church is hosting the annual World Day of Prayer in this community this year.
It takes place this Friday, March 3 at 2 p.m. and is expected to last an hour, with refreshments to follow.
Members of six Olds church congregations are expected to participate. In addition to Olds United, those churches are: St. Andrew's Presbyterian, St. John's Anglican, Hope Pointe Community (a Church of the Nazarene), St. Paul's Lutheran and St. Stephen's Catholic.
According to a news release, the World Day of Prayer has had a "remarkable record for anticipating major events" like the current refugee crisis, the winding down of the U.S. embargo against Cuba last year and the Arab Spring, the movement to bring democracy to Middle East countries.
"The secret to this depth and insight is the women who plan and write each World Day of Prayer service. Too often, women have the most intimate experiences of armed conflict, violence, social justice and human rights violations," the news release says.
This year's World Day of Prayer service is being written and organized to highlight the concerns of people in the Philippines.
"What might Canadians learn from women of the Philippines, a county on the front lines of climate change, foreign mining and resources interests, a regional insurgency and social upheaval due to migration," the news release asks.
Glenna Theaker, one of three local organizers, has been in contact with several members of the Olds Filipino community. She notes the Olds population includes many Filipinos and during the service, some people will address the crowd on concerns with a Filipino theme.
"We just try to portray some of the issues of the people in the Philippines. A lot of the speakers are speaking about fairness in labour practices; that kind of thing," she says.
Theaker does not expect that the election of U.S. president Donald Trump and his policies will be a topic during the service.
After the service, refreshments reflecting Philippine culture will be provided.
The first Day of Prayer was held in 1887 in the U.S. The first Canadian national day of prayer was held in 1920. The first World Day of Prayer was held in 1922.
Theaker says although the World Day of Prayer started out being primarily organized by women, as the years have gone by, more and more men have attended.
"We just try to portray some of the issues of the people in the Philippines. A lot of the speakers are speaking about fairness in labour practices; that kind of thing."GLENNA THEAKER A LOCAL WORLD DAY OF PRAYER ORGANIZER
