Mar 11th, 2026
This week we celebrate World Day of Prayer. It actually started at Women’s World Day of Prayer, making it quite appropriate for Women’s History Month. The Women’s World Day of Prayer began in the United States in the late 1800s through the leadership of Christian women calling others to pray for missions at home and abroad. It grew through Methodist and Baptist women’s efforts, spread to Canada in 1922 and the British Isles in the 1930s, and expanded rapidly after World War II as a movement centered on ecumenical unity and reconciliation. Since 1927 it has been observed each March, with Catholic women joining in 1967.
The movement encourages women to learn about other cultures, share in the struggles of people around the world, and pray with and for them. It also calls women to recognize and use their gifts in service to society, emphasizing that prayer and action belong together and can deeply shape the world.
Our Gospel Lesson this week was from John 4:5-42, The Woman at the Well. A perfect scripture about Jesus crossing borders of prejudice to embrace Samaritans who were hated by the Jews. And equally important is that he chose a marginalized woman to be his ambassador to the Samaritans. As we honor women’s history month, let us recognize the important roles women have played in the Christian Faith and in building bridges across race, culture, religion and all the things that separate us from one another and the prejudice and oppression that separates us from God.
