Sunroom Desk

Women from more than 30 Southern California Armenian churches of various denominations joined together at 11 a.m. today to take part in the Women’s World Day of Prayer, an ecumenical global observance held the first Friday in March in more than 170 participating countries.

Armenian Christian women have gathered as a group at different host churches in Southern California for this event since 1971.

Women in a different country write the service each year, and they and their country become the focus of prayers on the day itself. Observances begin in the Pacific islands of Tonga, continue around the globe, and end Friday in the Pacific islands of Samoa, circling the world in prayer for the day.

This year the service was written and prepared by the women of Papua New Guinea. According to the Anglican Communion News Service:

Papua New Guinea is a land of many ethnic groups and over 800 distinct languages of which more than half are unrelated. As a result, there is great cultural diversity, yet the women of Papua New Guinea have emphasized the oneness there is in Christ.

In spite of gender inequality, women in Papua New Guinea are beginning to take their place in professions previously closed to them. There are now women who are pilots, engineers, doctors, lawyers, judges, lecturers and also officers in the military forces. In this way, they make a very positive contribution to their nation.

At St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church in Glendale, California, sections of these prayers were read alternately in Armenian and English. Also part of the service were Armenian sacred hymns (sharagans), scripture readings, and both an Armenian and an English message. The large church sanctuary was almost completely filled. Committee members and program speakers included women from 17 churches in Orange County, Whittier, Downey, Pasadena, Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Glendale.