World YMCA & YWCA and Southend YMCA invite you to participate in World Week of Prayer. From 7th to 13th November, we’ll be reflecting and celebrating the theme chosen for this year “Beauty from Brokenness”.
“When we think about the many environmental and social problems facing us as a local, national and global community, it is now more important than ever to produce beauty from brokenness."
- Syrie Cox, CEO of Southend YMCA
We are all in the process of healing from the pandemic which has impacted us all over the past 19 months. We continue to serve our communities with the spirit of forgiveness and inclusiveness, regardless of religion, race, or gender.
Each day for the next week we will explore different ways to find ‘Beauty from Brokenness’.
Sunday 7th - Day 1: Beauty is Being Loved
To kickstart the beginning of World Week of Prayer today will be focusing on ‘Beauty is Being Loved’. Beauty is Being Loved encourages self-reflection and identifying that each person is a special individual in their own way and that everyone is loved.
To read more information, prayers, and creative activities ideas visit https://www.ymca.int/week-of-prayer/ and download the booklet.
Monday 8th - Day 2: Beauty is Healing and Restoration
Welcome to the second day of the ‘World Week of Prayer’. Today we will be focusing on the ‘Beauty is Healing and Restoration’ which explores the exposure of trauma and brokenness.
Throughout the pandemic, the majority of us all have been affected by isolation both mentally and physically, by preventing us from gathering with family and friends or even the loss of people close to us. No form of ‘brokenness’ is worse than another but from brokenness comes healing and restoration.
We invite you to reflect on the scars that you still feel. Take a breath and reflect on
the marks that they may have left and consider where you require healing?
Tuesday 9th - Day 3: Beauty is Dignity and Inclusion
Today marks the third day of World Week of Prayer: ‘Beauty is Dignity and Inclusion’. All over the world and in our own communities, we see examples of division and separation. Sometimes we ourselves have been the outcast and felt the pain of exclusion.
We would like to hear what you think divides people in your community, and what is it you believe can be put in place to heal these divisions?
Wednesday 10th - Day 4: Beauty is Forgiveness
Day four of ‘World Week of Prayer’ explores the importance of ‘Beauty is Forgiveness’. Forgiveness is one of the most challenging things to do for many of us. We believe forgiveness is an important element of healing ‘brokenness’.
Seeking forgiveness and releasing forgiveness is crucial for people to attain healing and find peace for themselves. Forgiveness can restore damaged relationships and self ‘brokenness’.
Thursday 11th - Day 5: Beauty is In Serving Others
Day 5 of World Week of Prayer invites us to find the ‘Beauty in Serving Others’. It is important to remember serving others comes in many forms. When we accept and help others, this gives us a sense of joy and wholeness. Helping others is a perfect way to feel fulfilled and joyful from just one act of kindness, helping to reduce your ‘brokenness’.
One act of kindness and focusing on the need of others instead of your own is a fundamental way to redeem your own ‘brokenness’. Remember, you do not need to save the world. Just help out where needed.
Friday 12th - Day 6: Beauty is Renewal
Coming to the end of ‘World Week of Prayer’ today explores the ‘Beauty is Renewal’. We can resign ourselves and say “that is the way it is”, although change is not easy, it demands strength and patience. We hope for change and yet we are not always ready for it. A vital thing to remember is that you do not have to go through it alone.
Today there will be a live worship broadcast at 16:00 CET, on the World YMCA and World YWCA’s Facebook pages.
Saturday 13th - Day 7: Conclusion
Did you know that Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with gold, treating damage and repair as part of the history of the object, rather than something to be disguised.
As we conclude the World Week of Prayer and reflect on our theme ‘Beauty from Brokenness’, much like Kintsugi, our history and our experiences make us who we are, as broken as we may sometimes feel. Through love, inclusion, forgiveness and kindness we can heal our breakages and restore ourselves and our community, emerging stronger and more beautiful.
We’d love to see how you have observed World Week of Prayer, so please share your experiences and tag us and use hashtag #WWOP21.
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