A listing of all of WDPUSA's Prayer Offering Grants from its inception is available. Click HERE to download the full report.
The World Day of Prayer Offering
Helping to Turn Prayers Into Action
2009 WDP-USA Prayer Offering Grant Report | 2009 Map of Service and Attendance
Through the WDP offering women share their resources with women and children around the world. It is the responsibility of the WDP National Committee to determine the use and distribution of the offering.
Since the first WDP worship service celebrated world wide in 1927 an offering was collected at each WDP worship service. As women were uniting in prayer with women around the world, asking God to relieve their suffering, to bring healing, to mend brokenness, to overcome barriers, and to bring peace, justice and well being, they were also putting together whatever they could give as their offering.
Also from the beginning it became a guiding principle to collect the offering, even when it was very small, in each country so a real difference could be made in the lives of others through the projects selected.
In the same spirit WDP women on the local level, women in denominational women's organizations, and WDP Committee Members themselves gave their time and skills as voluntary services to the work of WDP. Sometimes larger women's or missionary organizations contributed staff services, and their organizational structures to cover other expenses so that the offering could be given way.
When many WDP Committees developed further and also became more independent of other organizations, it became common understanding that limited expenses for the operating of the committee and for promoting WDP in a country could, by the decision of the committee, be paid from the offering collected. The principle was and is that the hiring of part time or full time staff has as its purpose to serve and improve WDP work itself.
Also from the formation of the WDP International Committee in 1968, the WDPIC constitution called upon WDP National Committees to contribute from the offering toward the financial support of the International Committee. In all these developments the basic understanding of the meaning and purpose of the offering remained unchanged.
In making their offering women make their personal connection between prayer and action. In gathering the offerings women provide a visible sign of their ecumenical collaboration.
In making their offering women make their personal connection between prayer and action. In gathering the offerings women provide a visible sign of their ecumenical collaboration. The ecumenical partnership in prayer moves into another level of partnership within their own national committee in deciding on the allocation of the offering and then into a partnership with the recipients in support of their work.
These levels of collaboration build and strengthen women's collective power and effectiveness. Sharing and gathering the offerings are both key to our expression of lived solidarity. As this process is repeated each year, there is growth and renewal.
Below you will find the 2009 Prayer Offering Grant Awards. For the printable version of the 2009 Prayer Offering Grant Report, CLICK HERE.
WDP-USA 2009 Prayer Offering Grant Report
WDP 2009 - Papua New Guinea: In Christ There Are Many Members Yet One Body
The World Day of Prayer Offering | 2009 Map of Service and Attendance
The 2009 offering grants will focus on indigenous women and children’s concerns, as they struggle to cope with changes in their communities. In an ever-changing world, communities are often adversely affected by global factors- environmental, cultural and health (including HIV/AIDS). Your prayers will be turned into action through the following recipients:
International Grants
- Anglican Mother’s Union, Papua New Guinea- $3000 to facilitate training of HIV positive women in order to provide necessary skills to improve their lives and the lives of their children.
- YWCA Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea- $3000 to support programs providing adult literacy, HIV and AIDS awareness and training, skills training to promote individual empowerment for women and women prisoners.
- Lutheran Skul Pikini, Papua New Guinea- $2000 to a program that supports mothers and their children by helping to provide basic necessities for school in an area still devastated by Cyclone Guba.
- Provincial Council of Women, Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea- $3000 to support programs that provide training and counseling in the areas of HIV and AIDS awareness, sexual abuse and domestic violence and financial independence for women in the Western Highlands region.
- Melanesia Education Foundation: Education Materials and Infrastructure Development Program, Papua New Guinea -$2000 supporting programs that promote education development opportunities for less fortunate women and children of Papua New Guinea in order to help them realize their full potential in life.
- World YWCA, Switzerland/Papua New Guinea -$3000 in support of HIV and AIDS awareness training for women seeking to change their lives and communities through women's leadership.
- World Health: Safe Motherhood Kits Tanzania/DR Congo- $2000 to provide clean and sterile birthing supplies and education and training on proper birthing procedures to women in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo - areas where infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world. The Interchurch Medical Assistance (IMA), was established in 1960 by a host of denominations and churches working ecumenically to provide healthcare services and supplies to vulnerable and marginalized people.
- Cultivation of Children's Love for Earth's Gifts, Dominica- $2000 to educate school children about gardening and nutrition and the importance of learning to cultivate food crops as an alternative to processed foods in the small Caribbean island of Dominica where the Catholic Church educates many school children.
- Women in Peace-Building Program (WIPNET), Liberia- $2000 to advocate for inclusion of women’s issues in peace and security policies at the national level in West African countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria with the goal of promoting human security and building lasting peace.
- Fonkoze, Haiti- $3000 to support programs building the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti by providing grassroots banking alternatives for rural-based women entrepreneurs who would not have access to traditional bank loans.
- Greenbelt Movement: Women for Change, Kenya- $2000 to support environmental conservation and education programs, nurturing of leadership and entrepreneurial skills for women and girls in Kenya and India.
- Ilitha Labantu, Western Cape, South Africa- $2500 to provide social service programs addressing violence against women and children through individual and family counseling workshops skills training and empowerment with particular focus on women living in townships and rural areas of South Africa.
- Latin American Community-Based Health Training Program, New York- $3000 to support under-served Latin American and US medical students to become trained medical professionals in poor communities in the US, Latin America and Africa.
- Urgent Action Fund-Kenya- $3000 in support of women’s human rights through rapid response grant making, especially for women in conflict areas on the African continent who are defending the rights of women, based in Nairobi, Kenya.
- Bilingual Education for Central America (BECA), Honduras- $2000 to support the school's cultural exchange and affordable bilingual education for disadvantaged students in Cofradía, Honduras.
- Lebanese American University- Women prison ministries, Lebanon- $2500 to address the dire needs of incarcerated women in Lebanese women's prisons focusing on rehabilitation, health and psychological support.
- Women Making Airwaves for Peace, Philippines- $2500 to provide training of women in the Asia Pacific region in the use of community radio and journalism as an empowerment tool that promotes peace and women's critical role in conflict resolution in their communities.
- Médecins Sans Frontieres, Sudan- $2000 to support the rehabilitation of hospitals, training of local personnel, vaccination programs and water and sanitation projects in remote and slum areas with the objective of rebuilding health structures to acceptable levels.
- Rhema Education Foundation Center, Tanzania- $2000 to provide care and support to children infected with HIV/AIDS, orphans and vulnerable children and supporting the socio-economic empowerment of women infected with HIV/AIDS to live positive lives.
- Operation Crossroads Africa- $2500 to support the participation of young people in village development projects in African countries that promote understanding of the African community development process.
- Building the Capacity of Rural Women Artisans, PODA, Pakistan- $2500 to provide craft learning and functional literacy to rural girls and women who could not otherwise be able to continue their education.
- Center for Afro-Latin American and Afro-Descendants Research, Costa Rica- $2000 towards work with the Afro-Costa Rican population in identifying the source of their social and economic problems, with special emphasis on women 13-30 years old, who are suffering the consequences of world globalization.
U.S. Grants
- Family Connection, South Dakota- $3000 for a service that allows families with limited incomes, to continue the healing process with the incarcerated family member, especially women.
- The Israel/Palestine Mission Network of the Presbyterian Church: Steadfast Hope, Kentucky- $2500 to develop resources for congregations that will contribute to the cause of just peace for people sharing the holy land, especially the children and youth.
- The American Domestic Violence Crisis Line, Oregon- $3000 supporting domestic violence and child abuse advocacy and resources to abused Americans and their children in foreign countries.
- Ecumenical Women’s Coalition at the Church Center, New York- $2000 towards church women's advocacy for gender equality at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, enabling young women to participate.
- WomanSpirit, Inc., Missouri- $2000 to support women's local micro-enterprise training programs that promote healthy local economies and to share sustainable economic practice.
- Justice For Our Neighbors- UMCOR, Iowa- $3000 a project of the United Methodist relief agency, UMCOR, JFON is a faith-driven ministry welcoming immigrants into our churches and communities by providing free, high-quality immigration legal services, education and advocacy.
- Clear Fork Community Institute, Tennessee- $3000 to promote women's education and community development in coal mining communities in Appalachia.
- The Young People's Project: Finding Our Folks, New Orleans and Gulf Coast- $2500 to support an initiative to raise the voices of Katrina's survivors and connect them with the voices of America's survivors using the tools of education, documentation and healing to discuss the conditions that lead to Katrina and hoping to reconnect the families and communities scattered across the country, living in exile.
- African American Clergywomen’s Oral History Project, New York- $3000 to support women's leadership by chronicling clergywomen’s challenges in various denominations through workshops and the development of clergywomen's resources.
- New Day Community, Bronx, NY- $2000 for this new UMC church ministry reaching out to the various surrounding language communities and especially to youth, with programs encouraging crossing the boundaries of race, gender, ethnicity and language, confronting injustices and giving back to the community.
- Manassas Ministries Intergenerational Community Rebirth, Missouri- $3000 to support efforts to maintain values and lost culture with inner-city youth in the surrounding St. Louis community by partnering the elders with young people to work and learn on community improvement projects.
- Esperanza en Accion (Hope through Action), Minnesota- $2000 to empower women in the "First World" to help transform the global economic system to one that is fair for all people with FairTrade markets in Nicaragua and internationally.
- Work Options for Women, Colorado- $2000 to assist impoverished women in transitioning from a life of dependence to independence by giving them culinary skills for life-long employment thereby improving the lives of their family.
- Nurses for Newborns, Missouri/Tennessee -$3000 to provide a safety net for families most at-risk to prevent child abuse, neglect and infant mortality, through proper medical care and training with low-income families and their newborns.
- Americans for Middle East Understanding: Remember These Children, New York- $2000 documents the personal tragedies of Israeli and Palestinian youth under the age of 18, killed in Israel and occupied Palestinian territories, to raise the public's awareness of the impact of conflict of youth.
- Rape Assistance and Awareness Program (RAAP), Colorado- $2000 to work towards the elimination of sexual violence and to assist victims and educate the public about sexual violence and its prevention.
- Presbyterian USA Hunger Program/Agricultural Missions, Kentucky- $3000 for poverty and justice programs examining food sovereignty enabling consumers and producers to have greater control over their food source rather than giant agribusiness companies.
WDP-USA Map of Service and Attendance
World Day of Prayer 2009 - Papua New Guinea: In Christ There Are Many Members, Yet One Body
The World Day of Prayer Offering | 2009 WDP-USA Prayer Offering Grant Report
The map below shows the data collected for the Worship Services held in 2008.
2009 Service and Attendance Map Stats
| Area | Service | Attendance |
|---|---|---|
| Central | 599 | 19,949 |
| East Central | 308 | 11,005 |
| South Central | 223 | 7,201 |
| Southwest | 84 | 4,176 |
| Northwest | 47 | 1,671 |
| Northeast | 171 | 7,645 |
| Mid-Atlantic | 210 | 9,695 |
| Southeast | 149 | 6,283 |
| Outside U.S. | 9 | 688 |
| Totals | 1,791 | 68,313 |