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Faith Resources for use at One World Week Events

A World Service?

Here is an idea to think about to make your OWW service a truly "World Service"!  It was tried out by OWW supporters in Ulverston Methodist Church. They linked up with others around the world by having live phone interviews.  They used a mobile phone and amplifier (you might be able to use Skype) and asked people in churches in Australia, Estonia and America to lead intercessory prayers with the congregation and then talk on topics related to the theme. "It was a most moving experience to be led by someone thousands of miles away...it really did make us feel part of one world" (Rev.T.Wells).

2017 Theme:

GOOD NEIGHBOURS

My World Depends on Us

More here on this later. In the mean time some ideas to get started here

INCLUDING YOU Acting Together for One World in Peace

The 2016 theme is all about building a culture of inclusion. This will include: welcoming the stranger, understanding the plight of refugees and people's reasons for leaving their homes; and addressing the myths and scapegoating of migrants as the perceived cause of problems in the UK; confronting racism and prejudice with love for all members of our human family.

Several of the organisations we work with have already produced excellent materials for use in worship or "sacred conversations":

You can download a single list of the links mentioned on this page and the full text of the prayers  here

 

United Reformed Church : "@ home in a strange place"

"This is a collection of resources to enable, encourage and stimulate what we are calling ‘sacred conversations’ on migration. It is for use in congregations and by small groups. To this collection we will be adding more materials as we receive them or are made aware of any such resource relevant to the theme @home in a strange place."  

You can find a description of resources to download here

a leaflet about the programme and the resources here

The resources include materials to help you start you convesations; liturgical worship resources;poetry and reflections; resolutions; and video and audio materials, including a film based on a Richard Becher play "When truth is blind"  (25 minutes) - you can see it here

wooden cross made from boat wreckage

 

CAFOD: Pilgrimage on the Refugee Crisis 

Part of the Year of Mercy - A Refugee Solidarity Pilgrimage. more here

Uses the symbol of the Lampedusa cross - Download a 9 page liturgy here

 

Christian Aid- Refugee Crisis Church Resources

includes worship resources, here, originally prepared for Refugee Week, which include prayers, readings and littany and a short but powerful video explaining the theological foundations for caring for refugees AND asking the deeper questions of why they have left their homes.  See the video here

 

Prayers for use in OWW services on Including You

Specially written by Wendy Young of Christian Aid Scotland download here


School Assemblies 

Christian Aid has produced an Assembly for schools about Refugees for October. There is a presentation and a PowerPoint - you can download them directly from Christain Aid here  Notes and PowerPoint.

They fit well with OWW's theme and you can down load here a version which includes reference to OWW.notes and PowerPoint (5MB) or the PDF version of the PowerPoint (1MB)  You might want to include one of Wendy Young's prayers for OWW (see above) too. 

 

cover of the Inter Faith Week Toolkit

   The Inter Faith Network published on 16 May 2016 their "Inter Faith Week Toolkit" with all sorts of suggestions for events and activities.

Your OWW group might want to take part in these during Inter Faith Week (13 - 20  Nov. 2016) or use some of the ideas to organise an event during One World Week addressing issues of diversity and developing good community relations, which are a crucial part of building a culture of inclusion to enable communities to live in peace together. 

 Download the Toolkit from the Inter Faith Network website here

 

New Resource Pack for worship, prayer and bible study, relating to Trade Justice (TTIP etc)

Produced by Global Justice NOW in colleboration with OWW and others - for use in Christianor services, and prayer and bible study groups.  You can download it as a PDF here from Global Justice NOW's website


Week of Prayer for World Peace,  Sunday 16th – Sunday 23rd October 2016  

The Week of Prayer for World Peace always precedes One World Week, which is the week in which 24th October, UN Day, falls.

The Week of Prayer for World Peace for 2015 is 16th - 23rd October.

 

Each year, the committee of the Week of Prayer for World Peace produces a leaflet of prayers for peace drawn from the major religious traditions of the world. To order leaflets go to the WPWP website here.

A joint event?     Note that the 23rd October is the last day of the Week of Prayer for World Peace and the day before the start of One World Week - great opportunity to hold a joint interfaith event!

 

 

  Worship materials for Hope in Action - OWW 2015

illustration of the cover of the Christian worship anthologyAn ecumenical Christian Worship Anthology exploring the theme of "HOPE IN ACTION - to build a more equal and peaceful world." was produced for OWW by Wendy Young, Worship and Theology Partnerships, Christian Aid. This continues to be highly relevant in 2016

You can download a word Docx. version here  (20 pages) which you can edit and print what you need.  

(You may find the cover page is unstable so, if you wish, you can download and print a pdf of the cover only here.)

You can download and print a PDF version of the 20 page anthology here 

 

 Children in Church

children running down the beach

Christian Aid have produced some engaging materials about the OWW theme, Hope in Action, for use with children in church; they include a talk and slide show about the Quilombola communities of the Amazon, how we are connected to them, and how, together, we can achieve positive change in our one world. An activity about interconnectedness and prayer are included

They are available in Welsh versions as well as English; you can find them here on Christian Aid's website ( scroll down to the "HOPE IN ACTION" section and download them from there.

 

School Assemblies for OWW 

Christian Aid have produced Assemblies for Primary and Secondary schools for OWW 2015.  See more on Christian Aid's website here

 

new Band W Traidcraft logohave produced worship resources for their Justice Campaign which would be very suitable for OWW services as they address issues of inequality of rights and power. Down load their worship resources here  and prayer cards here

 

 

 

 

 One World Week 2014 - "Living Differently"

Resources for Christian Worship in OWW 2014

 cover of AnthologyYou have a range of resources to draw upon to create your OWW service.

OWW's Anthology for "Living Differently"

This includes a service outline, based on notes kindly prepared for OWW by Moses Tumukunge Tutesigensi, Mid-Wales Mission Enabler of the Presbyterian Church of Wales.  

Additional materials include prayers, sermon notes, discussion starters and a list of hymns from our Partners, Christian Aid and CAFOD.

Download the Anthology here

Additionally

banners about climate justiceAt the start of One World Week this year Christian Aid is encouraging churches to get involved in its Hunger for Justice Weekend.18-19 October. They have prepared excellent worship resources for use that weekend and they can be found on their website here.

You could use the Christian Aid Service on the 19th and the OWW service on the 26th - or draw on elements of each to make your own unique service and hold it whenever you like! Whatever you decide, please tell us about it - put it on the events calendar and, afterwards, do tell us how it went!

A PowerPoint presentation to use as a reflection

This one from Cafod, "The call of Creation",  reflects on the environment and climate and how we need to live in a way that cares for nature. (5 minutes)     download here

For a longer 3 part PowerPoint this one from Christian Ecology's website will stimulate discussion about faith and climate change.  (go to number 17 on the page - and note all the other resources they offer too!) Download here 

Resources for worship on the theme of using money ethically:

Good Money Week (19 - 25 October) have a Guide for Churches which includes ideas for action and worship resources which would fit the money element of OWW's theme. You can download it here from their website


ECCR offer a worship anthology focussing on using money ethically.  You can download a PDF or a word version (for copy and paste) from their website here


 School Assemblies for 'Living Differently'

Christian Aid has produced guidelines for School Assemblies about 'Living Differently" with accompanying PowerPoint presentations for use in One World Week. This is their introduction: 

plant earth seen from space

 "Our Earth is the only planet with people on it. But Earth is changing all the time, and now climate change is becoming a real danger for people all over the world.

Use our autumn primary or secondary assembly to explore how climate change is already affecting three communities: in El Salvador, Malawi and Brazil.

Think about how your school can make a difference by taking action to live differently during One World Week, which is taking place between 19 and 26 October this year.

Our primary and secondary assembly plans also feature suggested climate actions you can take with your class."

You can download them, free, from Christian Aid's website. Available in English and Welsh.

Primary here

Secondary here:

(OWW cannot take responsibility for the content of websites not its own)

 

 Previous 'weeks'


 Many of the following resources are still relevant to current issues and could be used

 

Worship Anthology on the theme of 'More than Enough? - "Aspire not to have more but to be more." 

Written especially for OWW by Kieran O'Brien of CAFOD  Download it here in a Word Document which you can edit and adapt for your own service,

Some additional resources, prayers, etc. from previous years that are appropriate to the theme are downloadable here. 

School Assemblies

Christian Aid produced October assemblies with accompanying PowerPoint presentations for use in One World Week, 2013. They reflect on consumerism and question the value we place on possessions, "Consumer culture encourages us to always want more - but could living simply be the key to a better world?".  They focus on: consumerism, waste, and recycling with examples from Bangladesh, Haiti, and Mali. 

You can download them from Christian Aid's website here:

Primary School Assemby (with PowerPoint presentation) (7 - 11 year olds), "More than enough?". 

Secondary School Assembly (with PowerPoint Presentation) (11-14 year olds), "Have you had enough?". 


 


 

Many resources prepared for previous themes could also be adapted for use with the 2014 theme - (see below)


Archived One World Week Faith Resources

In previous years we have developed a range of PowerPoint presentations, orders of service and other faith based resources.

Click here to return to the main resources page

For advice and tips on downloading documents and presentations please click here

Back to Resources

 

Worship Anthology 2012 - Sharing Destiny - Moving Towards  One World  

This order of service prepares us for the journey towards one world. Designed for all ages it involves drama and participation. It's mainly aimed at Christian congregations but it could be adapted easily for a multi-faith event.

Many thanks to Helen Garton and Sally Whitehead for this anthology

Download the  Worship Anthology 2012 here (Word.doc 826 KB)

You can download and cut and paste to suit you needs.

see also the alternative drama "Save our world" (below)

 multi Faith symbols  

Interfaith Resource: Environment across Faiths

This is a collection of teachings on the environment, across different faith traditions, for use at your OWW event. You could: 

  • select some of the passages to read at an inter-faith or multi-faith event;
  • ask people from these respective faith traditions to say a few words of introduction before reading an excerpt; 
  • use the teachings as a basis for a discussion on faith and the environment across various world faiths; 
  • cut and separate the teachings from the sources and ask the group to match them together, as a discussion starter or as part of a quiz. This activity would lead nicely into a discussion on the similarities between faith traditions.

 Download 'Environment across Faiths' here

 

 

Pledges relating to Sharing Destiny - Moving Towards One World

You might like to incorporate pledges into your Faith Event as an act of commitment -

 Download  from the Pledges page

 

 

"Save our World" - a short drama for young people

This drama-presentation focuses on the theme of ‘stewardship’ and the duty of humans to protect the world in which we live. It would be suitable for Faith and Interfaith events. KS2 (7 - 11 year olds) and upwards.

 Download the  "Save our World" drama here

 title page of Environment and Islam paper

 

Environment and Islam: Islamic Relief. Summary Paper

 Download from Islamic Relief wesite leaflet page here

 Islamic Relief logo

 

Islam and the Environment - a presentation for School assemblies for KS2

 Download from Islamic Relief website presentation page here

 



 

Peace and Justice – An Islamic Perspective - PowerPoint 1997 23.9MB

 This presentation looks at how peace and justice and lived out in Islam.  It covers:

- Islam – what does it mean?

- Life is sacred

- Islamic law

- The meaning of Jihad

- Armed conflict

- Islam and human rights

- Islam and environmental rights

- Islam and other faiths

The presentation is divided up into sections, which are marked by header slides, so you can use all or part of the resource in your OWW event.

 

 

 

 

 

 Christian Worship Anthology 2011: Living for One World

This anthology is an adaptation of one we first used in 2007. It was completely revised and updated for Living for One World with lots of new material.  The suggested Worship Outline has choices within it and the Additional Resources offers futher options. We followed your suggestions for a resource that you can adapt to your needs: you can download these materials as Word documents and then cut and paste to suit your requirements.  

 download the Worship Outline for "Living for One World" here

 download the Additional Worship Resources for 2011 here

 

 Worship Anthology 2010 - PDF

‘We won’t get started on the journey of peace-building and peacemaking unless we’ve got a vision in front of us, a vision guiding us, a vision compelling us.  Visions are neither abstract and dreamy, nor are they precise roadmaps.  They arise out of the reality in which we find ourselves’ (Robert Pearce – author of the anthology).

This anthology contains a selection of worship and reflection material about peace and justice, and features the following sections:

- Introduction

- Setting the Vision

- Encounter

- Experience

- Transformation

- Struggle and Resilient Hope

- A suggested format for Corporate Worship

Prayers For Peace from Around The World

A collection of prayers for peace from different faiths - Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, Jainist, Jewish, Shinto, Native African, Native American, Muslim, Baha'i, Sikh, Christian.

Use these as part of an inter faith event, or to bring a different outlook to this year’s theme of ‘peacing together one world’.

 

To print them off simply highlight the online text using your mouse, copy it (by right-clicking) and then pasting it onto a new word document.

 

 

Islam: central beliefs and practices

A basic introduction to Islam

 

 

Hunger and poverty: an Islamic perspective (PowerPoint 25.04MB)

Corresponding notes

Quotes from the Qur'an and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) are presented alongside statistics on world hunger and poverty, to draw upon the connection between Islamic faith values and current development issues.

The notes provide further explanation of the meaning of the quotes from the Qur'an and sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

 

Hunger and Poverty: A Christian perspective

Quotes from the Bible are presented alongside statistics on world hunger and poverty, to draw upon the connection between Christian faith values and current development issues.

 

Charity: an Islamic perspective

A short, accessible introduction to an Islamic perspective on charity. Includes questions for discussion and case study on Islamic Relief, a faith based humanitarian aid agency.

 

Fasting: an Islamic perspective  

A short, accessible introduction to fasting in Islam, which highlights the connection between fasting and social responsibility. Includes questions for discussion and group activity.

 

Grace Across Faiths leaflet

A selection of prayers said before and after eating from a range of faith traditions, presented in a clear, visual format.

 

 

 

 Christian Ecumenical Worship Anthology 2009

This anthology contains:

• Order of Service

• A collection of articles from across the developing world

• Readings and prayers

• Hymn suggestions

Many thanks to CAFOD for this anthology.

 

2008 OWW Order of Service: Growing Together through fairer trade

Human enterprise is one of our richest resources; through it everyone can be fed, clothed and housed - but only if the benefits of trade are shared fairly. Sadly, they’re not.

This order of service was developed for One World Week 2008. However, it still holds great significance in today’s condition.

 


(OWW cannot take responsibility for the content of websites not its own)

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Press Releases

Newsletters

Including You
(August 2016)

Recently Added Resources

New Funding Opportunity - The Common Good Fund - Application Deadline 27 Feb. 2017 see more here

Organisers' Evaluation form for 2016 events Download from here

Wordsearches for Including You events - download them from here

Press release template for 'Including You' events download here 

Quotations about  building an inclusive peaceful society - Download from here a 5 page booklet as a word.doc or pdf 

Pledges to build an inclusive society - find them here

"Who is a Migrant?" - anactivity/game to get people talking to each other at your events. Download the instructions here 

School Assemblies from Christian Aid- link to and download a PowerPoint and notes 

Looking for a speaker for your event? Download here a list (pdf) from the Discussion page (posted 12 Sept 2016)

Faith resources relating to "Including You".Download pdf here  links to materials offered by OWW's partners and supporters: worship, discussion, films ...plus Prayers for OWW(updated 7 Sept '16)

Presentation "A OWW approach to Migration" Download this PDF version of a 12 slides (15 -20 minutes) powerpoint

Need funding for your event? Apply to Big Lottery Celebrate Fund! NOW or you'll be too late for OWW more here and other suggestions

Poster/ flyer design kit - download from here

2016 Leaflets "Including You" download PDF versions here

Introductory PowerPoint about organising local inclusive OWW events - updated for 2016.  Down load ppt here

Migrant crisis or poverty crisis? - A briefing paper from Global Justice NOW Download as a PDF here

2016 - "Including You" - Booklet of ideas, links and resources for interpreting the theme. Dowload a PDF here (updated July 2016)

Learning resource/activity for young people about peace - from Fly Kites not Drones;   suitable for activites in or out of school. find links here: schools ; activities (added Nov. 2015 but still relevant for this years events)

Organisers' Evaluation Form for event organisers to completand send to OWW - down load the word.doc from here

Event participants feedback form  (for organisers to collect feedback from participants at OWW events)   (word.doc)