With gratitude in our hearts and prayers for her road ahead, we thank Mary Nordick of Saskatchewan for her contributions to the WICC Board over the past 8 years.
Mary began with the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada in 2018, the same year World Day of Prayer (WDP) field reps began their positions.
Mary chaired the WDP Board team that reviews the international service content. We benefited from her detailed editing skills, honed in her career as an English teacher, as we prepared the resources for Canada. You probably “met” Mary (and her grandchildren) in one of the many WDP videos, as Mary is known for her beautiful reading voice and presentation skills. We also appreciate her taking the time to join online WDP planning events over the years.
In closing, below is a short piece from the article Mary wrote in 2018 to introduce herself to the WICC community. It captures her resiliency, writing skills, humour and caring attention.
“I must confess that my initial experience with WDP was a bit rocky. Forty-six years ago I bundled my six-month-old firstborn on his sleigh and went to a neighbouring church for WDP, thus causing great consternation among the elderly ladies in charge as they were not expecting children. I assured them that I would remove my son if he became noisy but they hunted down a key and put us in the crying room where we could see but were shut off from the congregation. I, not used to such arrangements, felt very isolated and left early. However, I did come back to WDP and have been a part of many wonderful services, even using the service for prayer at National CWL meetings. WDP is a wonderful gift from sisters around the world, where each year a different country prepares the service giving us a flavour of the culture and concerns of that country. For me, WDP is an incredible learning opportunity; it is also a gift that keeps on giving through the WDP grants from offerings collected during services. Lauren Wilkes, Canadian World Day of Prayer Liaison, noted in a report that “The first Friday in March is the day that WDP becomes visible to the world,” but that it is a “movement, not a day.” Just think: throughout the year, women are preparing, planning, and attending the worship services, applying for allocation, and carrying out the services funded by grants. This is a magnificent movement of which we are a part.”