Preparing For: Ten Days of Prayer for Romani people in Europe

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

“Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.” – Mohandas Gandhi

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

International Roma Day is observed worldwide on April 8th.  Worsening stigmatization and violence, and the daily struggles of Roma are an urgent matter for prayer.

This year, starting March 30, 2011 and culminating on International Roma Day, individuals and congregations may share in: “Ten Days of Prayer and Thanksgiving for Roma.”

For the ten days, Christians in the US and abroad will be offering up prayers and thanksgiving for the Romani people of Europe, including those in Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, Karpath-Ukraine, Czech Republic, Portugal and Spain. Each day will focus on a particular country and on specific challenges to the lives of Christian women, as articulated by Romani women, themselves.

Recent violence, bulldozing of settlements, harassment by neo-Nazis and other right-wing nationalist groups, and deportations have made life progressively more difficult for Roma in Europe. The question Roma struggle with is: “How can we overcome generational poverty and institutional racism, yet find equal opportunities for the health, protection and education of our children?” 

To begin to prepare your group for the ten-day prayer cycle, you can:

1) Go to this link for many resource options: http://www.pcusa.org/resource/pray-roma/

2) Find poems, books and videos at: http://globalministries.org/mee/resources/resources-for-the-ten-days-of.html

3) Watch Amnesty International’s short video about International Day of the Roma by visiting www.youtube.com/user/AmnestyInternational and searching for “Roma Awareness.”

4) View some photos from a Roma settlement in the Ukraine at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/19891251@N00/page84/ (see pages 70-84 of the photo series).

5) Print out the prayers as bulletin inserts for Sunday, March 27 and Sunday, April 3, or circulate them to small groups or prayer chains.

6) Plan mid-week times of prayer Wednesday, March 30 and Wednesday April 6. Watch videos, share information you’ve gleaned about the Roma and their situation, and lift Roma up in prayer.

7) On Sunday, April 10, those who have participated in the prayer cycle could share in worship what they’ve learned and what they’ve prayed about and lead the congregation in a prayer to close the cycle.

Written by Roma Christian women, the ecumenical prayers will be available on the website of Presbyterian Women (www.presbyterianwomen.org) in March. Roma woman share the challenges of living their faith in their particular community, while striving for inclusion and access to services.

Submitted by

Elizabeth and Douglas Searles

Doug and Elizabeth Searles serve with the Evangelical Reformed Church in Poland. They serve as mission workers for church growth and outreach.