Women’s World Day of Prayer Continues Call for Unity, Healing

WACO, Texas (Feb. 8, 2021) – A session of the Women’s World Day of Prayer, “Life! Standing Together Unified in Hope,” will take place virtually via Zoom at 10:15 a.m. CST Friday, Feb. 12. Individuals from Texas and beyond are welcome to participate.

The Women’s World Day of Prayer features a presentation on unity and hope by Patty Lane, recently retired director of Intercultural Ministries for Texas Baptists. Elise Edwards, Ph.D., assistant professor of religion at Baylor, will read and reflect on Ephesians 4:2-6. Rebecca Poe Hays, Ph.D., assistant professor of Christian Scriptures at Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, will lead a brief Bible study and devotional. The Day of Prayer also will include worship music and prayers presented by women from around the globe.

Zoom credentials for the Women’s World Day of Prayer will be available at baylor.edu/truett/life one day prior to the event. The site also provides the option to request an email reminder the day before the event that will include the Zoom link.

The Baptist Women’s World Day of Prayer began as Europe emerged from World War II. Women from opposing sides realized they needed to tear down walls erected by the divisiveness of war. Pain of atrocities led to feelings of anger, and these women understood only God could dismantle barriers and bring reconciliation. As they stood together in prayer, they wrapped their arms around each other, and the walls came tumbling down. Since that initial meeting, World Day of Prayer sessions have been held annually in a variety of locations across the globe.

Lane has spent 35 years working with more than 70 different language and culture groups, regularly conducting seminars and workshops on ministry in multicultural settings. She is the author of A Beginner’s Guide to Crossing Cultures: Making Friends in a Multicultural World (InterVarsity Press, 2009).

Edwards, who also is a licensed architect, teaches Christian ethics and theology at Baylor. Both her theological and architectural work center on civic engagement and cultural expressions of women and marginalized communities. Her upcoming publication Building Justice: Theological Commitments in Architectural Design reflects her unique interdisciplinary background.

Hays' research focuses on how stories emerge from the Psalms and shape engagement with the song-prayers, and how the literary features might help individuals and faith communities cope with trauma and develop resilience. She recently published “Singing Stories Together: Relationship and Story as Resources for Resilience in the Book of Psalms” in Biblical and Theological Visions of Resilience (Routledge, 2020) and has a forthcoming book, The Function of Story in the Hebrew Psalter (Lexington/Fortress Academic).

This session of the Baptist Women's World Day of Prayer is proudly presented by the Waco Regional Baptist Association WMU/Women’s Ministries in coordination with George W. Truett Theological Seminary and the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society at Baylor University.

For more information, contact Kathy Hillman, associate professor, director of the Keston Center for Religion, Politics and Society, and director of Baptist Collections and Library Advancement, at Kathy_Hillman@baylor.edu or 254-749-5347.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 19,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.