SPECIAL SERVICE: This year’s Women’s World Day of Prayer was hosted by St Mary’s RC Church, Barnard Castle
SPECIAL SERVICE: This year’s Women’s World Day of Prayer was hosted by St Mary’s RC Church, Barnard Castle

A SNOW-hit service to mark Women’s World Day of Prayer was held in Barnard Castle.

The service was scheduled for March 2, but the heavy snowfall forced its postponement.

Worshippers reconvened at St Mary’s RC Church, in Birch Road, Barnard Castle, which hosted the event.

Women’s World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement led by Christian women of many traditions who call the community together to observe a common day of prayer each year.

This year’s service was designed by the Christian women of Suriname, and focused on the environment and encouraged participants to reflect on their approach to caring for God’s world and looking after natural resources to secure them for future generations.

Music was a particular feature with both new and traditional hymns and a song specially written for the event sung in the Sranan language.

At the Barnard Castle service, Carol Goldberg led the service, assisted by Elizabeth Conran and Sheila Crabbe as readers and with Annette Butters playing the organ. Ruth Willett, Anita Macfarlane, Iris Hillery, Joyce Wood, Doreen Moore, Sandra Webster and Carolyn Gill took the parts of the Women of Suriname.

Children from St Mary’s RC Primary School sang and performed a liturgical dance at the beginning of the service and helped with the recycling later on.

A further service to mark Women’s World Day of Prayer for the upper dale will take place at St Romald’s Church, Romaldkirk, on Friday, March 23, at 1.30pm.