In Christ there are many Members, but one Body

Written by the women of Papua New Guinea, the 2009 WDP worship service will begin at the first sunrise of March 6, 2009, and will continue until the last sunset. The 2009 service will focus on indigenous women and children's concerns as their communities struggle to maintain their history and culture in an ever-changing world.

Let us think of:

• PNG's Babies and young children who are dying at high rates leaving communities to struggle with the cause of all these deaths.
• Violence against women, a longtime issue, is now being challenged by women in order to meaningfully live and take care of their children.
• Oil companies and corporations reaping benefits from Papua New Guinea’s natural resources while continuing to exploit the land and its people.
• Environmental degradation and climate change impacting Papua New Guinea’s islands which will soon force indigenous people to move from one island to another seeking safer ground.

The independent state of Papua New Guinea consists of more than 600 islands lying just below the equator on the western side of the Pacific Ocean. The second largest country in the South Pacific, one of Papua New Guinea's most spectacular features is its immense variety of landscape.

From the Highlands Region with its wide ridges of rugged mountains, to its Northern coastlines endowed with remarkable sandy beaches, coral reefs and rich maritime life, to the New Guinea Islands Region with a plethora of geothermal springs and active volcanoes, Papua New Guinea is the land of the unexpected, a land of great natural wealth and astonishing nature.

Papua New Guinea has been described as a "mountain of gold floating on a sea of oil." Although described as poor by United Nations findings, the country is full of natural resources such as gold, silver and natural oil and gas which are all currently being mined and are in production.

Land is the most important resource and an overwhelming majority of people's lives revolve around land. While the majority of Papua New Guineans depend on semi-subsistence agriculture for their livelihood, there are increasing numbers of people who earn a living from operating small scale informal businesses in the urban areas.

Papua New Guinea has one of the most diverse indigenous populations in the world. More than 800 languages are spoken between several thousand separate communities. This diversity is described well in a Papua New Guinean folk saying: "For each village, a different culture." Though much of PNG's communities have experienced isolation due to its rugged terrain, Papua New Guinea continues to experience the spirit of unity in diversity.

As we begin our journey with the women of PNG, we learn about the intricate cultures and social challenges including a worsening violence against women and children, the breakdown of the family structure, a HIV/AIDS epidemic and chronic law and order and land tenure issues. We will ask and seek answers to questions about possibility and justice in PNG. On Friday, March 6, 2009, we welcome the Worshipping Community to join the women of Papua New Guinea.

Let's turn our prayers into action.