Mums pray for world’s children   Altar Call

THEY CAME out in their numbers to pray for their own children; the nation’s children; those in the region and the wider world.It was a day when mothers held the spotlight and also prayed against the various vices,in which their children are usually trapped.Some knelt, others held hands, while there were those who raised their heads towards the Heavens as they sought God’s attention.The venue was the Deighton Griffith Seconday School, where the Worldwide Mum’s Day of Prayer took place.Women from all walks of life and denominations attended the event, which is now in its third year.Hosted by the Isaiah 55 Centre for Spiritual and Developmental Training, the four-hour long session was also filled with much worship. Included among the prayer breaks were prayers against child trafficking, hunger, arranged marriages, bullying and homosexuality.Guest speaker Kathy Coleman of Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States, and founder of the Worldwide Mum’s Dayo f Prayer, expressed great pleasure at being invited to Barbados to be a part of the event.She spoke of the event’s initiation in 1998, and about witnessing it spread worldwide by 2004.She said that the idea originally came from Anna-Marie Perreiraof Brazil, who started a similar movement because of her concerns about sexual morality, drugs and alcoholismin her country. Coleman shared with those present, dozens of her personal experiences with God.Her message to the women of Barbados was simply – “just do it, whatever it takes”.She also spoke about the power of forgiveness and her battles with that aspect of her life. Finally, she noted that it was not the numbers that made the difference at the event, but the fact that women from across denominational barriers had come together to pray for children worldwide.Local organiser of the day’s event, Cassandra Bowen, a director of the Isaiah 55 Centre, expressed delight at the turnout, which was up in numbers from the previous years. She also launched the Mumsin Prayer Network, specifically set up for mothers to prayin small groups all over the island for their children, schools, teachers and the environment. Isaiah Centre honoured the teachers of the island as the “caregivers and guardians” of the nation’s children, by presentinga special prayer scroll to each school. The event culminated with prayers for Mara Thompson, wife of Prime Minister The Hon. David Thompson, and alsofor Thompson.It was a day when prayer, was certainly king.