World Day of Prayer at St. Dominic's

Details

Published on Thursday, March 9, 2017

By Miranda Leybourne

The Neepawa Banner

World Day of Prayer, a worldwide event put on by the World Day of Prayer Committee, was observed in Neepawa on Mar. 3 at St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church.

The event was focused on the Philippines, with the theme “Am I Being Unfair to You?” with the prayer service being written by the World Day of Prayer Committee of the Philippines.

People from all denominations and churches in town gathered in the recently renovated St. Dominic’s main sanctuary to pray, worship, hear readings from the Bible and testimony from local Filipino people as well as written testimony from the point of view of overseas Filipino women. 

A Filipino flag was placed in front of the assembled faithful, along with different items representing the Philippines, including oil, water, bananas and a pineapple. Over $400 was collected to be sent to the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada. Prayers were offered for children in need of health care, overseas Filipino workers who require just laws, young people who are looking for education, indigenous people who want to preserve their people’s legacy and farmers and labourers. 

Canada, and Neepawa especially, has a strong connection to the Philippines, with people from the tropical country making up the largest group of immigrants to the country in 2014, according to Statistics Canada -- many of whom are women doing domestic and caregiver work. The Canadian Council of Refugees recently released a report on migrant workers, which highlighted provincial and federal policy systems that don’t work or don’t provide enough help and protection for migrant workers.