Women, men, and children in more than 170 countries and regions will celebrate World Day of Prayer, Friday, March 1, 2013. The women of France, this year's writer-country, have chosen the theme "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." The French WDP Committee looks for a Christian response to struggles concerning immigration and for ways to welcome "the stranger." The women who prepared this year's worship service and Bible studies reach into Jesus' identification with "the least of these" in Matthew 25 and draw on customs of hospitality found in Leviticus to paint a picture of welcoming the stranger. Through visual interpretation and personal stories, participants begin to put themselves in the shoes of "the stranger," remembering their own feelings of being on the outside-and the blessings of welcoming.

This year's service will be held on Friday, March 1 at 4:15 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church at 409 N. Wilbern in Runge. Please invite your friends, family and communities of faith to join the women of France in prayer and song to support ecumenical efforts toward welcoming the stranger. The annual offering supports the work of World Day of Prayer USA and helps meet the needs of families in France and around the world who are victims of many forms of poverty, violence, discrimination and other injustice.

World Day of Prayer is a worldwide ecumenical movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year on the first Friday in March. World Day of Prayer was founded on the idea that prayer and action are inseparable in the service of God's kingdom. Services begin at sunrise in the Pacific and follow the sun across the globe on the day of celebration. Each year a different country's World Day of Prayer committee serves as the writers of the worship service.