Speaker's Notes

'LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE GOD
CAMEROON

On behalf of the National Committee for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, thank you for accepting an invitation to speak at one of this year’s Women’s World Day of Prayer services. The service has been prepared for us by women from various churches in Cameroon and on the 5th March 2010, men, women and young people in over 170 different countries will be united in prayer as they bring the needs of the people of Cameroon before the Lord. The theme ‘Let everything that has breath praise God’ reflects theCameroonian attitude to praising God at all times with joy andexuberance, even in adversity with confidence that God is faithful and inhope for he will surely save. We can offer praise for past, present andfuture blessings and with confident faith that God will continue to be withus now and forever.

The Republic of Cameroon is said to be ‘Africa in miniature’. It experiences a variety of climate from hot and dry to humid equatorial and wet. It is a country of cultural diversity with more than 240 ethnic groups and languages. French and English are the official languages.

Colonized by the Portuguese in the 15th century, 1450 saw the introduction of the slave trade. Christian missionaries arrived in the 1840s. By the end of the century a treaty was signed with the German government then invasion by France and Britain eventually brought Cameroon under the League of Nations. In 1984 the Republic of Cameroon was formed.

The three main religious groups are Christianity 60%, Islam 20% and indigenous faiths 20%. 70% of the population are farmers, exporting coffee, cocoa, cotton, timber, rubber and bananas. It is a country rich in natural resources and revenue from forestry, minerals and petroleum has brought economic growth. Cameroon is also known for its music.

The principle health problems are malaria, T.B., HIV and AIDS. 60% of Cameroonians are under 25 years old and life expectancy is only 51 years. Education is obligatory for 6-11 year olds but the dropout rate is high. In the northern areas half of all girls are not in school. Cameroon has been identified domestically and internationally as a source, transit and destination country for trafficking children for forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. Children are loaned for labour in the plantations, bars, restaurants and street vending.

A beautiful and fascinating country, Cameroon is emerging from its traditional background into a modern age with all its complexities. The people are moving forward with courage and determination without losing their distinctive characteristics. More detailed information about Cameroon is available in the WWDP Background leaflet.

Our service gives us the opportunity to pray with and for the people of Cameroon and to reflect on their theme. These notes try to explain how the women who wrote the service interpreted this theme. We hope that you will find them useful in your preparation.

The service invites us to join with our brothers and sisters from the four corners of the earth and with all of creation, in worship and praise of God. Three bible readings have been chosen to support and develop this theme.

Bible passages

Psalm 150

Wherever we are, in church or in the world, with all that we have, with all of creation, with music and dancing, for His power and His greatness, praise the Lord!

Acts 16: 16-34.

The first part of this reading highlights the exploitation of the slave girl. Paul is disturbed by this and exorcises the evil spirit but there are serious consequences. Paul and Silas are brought before the
authorities, flogged, and put in prison in stocks. The second part of this story is equally dramatic. In spite of their circumstances and to the surprise of the other prisoners, Paul and Silas are heard singing praise to God. Even they must have been surprised by the consequences of their praise: an earthquake, loosened chains and the repentance of their jailer. Praise in adversity brought amazing results.

Isaiah 42: 10-17

Again the scriptures call us and all the earth to praise God but in this passage Isaiah gives us some very contrasting images of God. A God worthy of praise yes, but also a God of might and a God of deliverance.

He goes further describing God as a warrior and then as a woman in childbirth; both difficult concepts! For the Israelites surrounded by enemies it would have been reassuring to know they had a powerful God. The image of God as a woman in labour suggests that God was also a patient God. A God waiting for our repentance, holding on until, as at the birth of a child, the time is right and deliverance can no longer be delayed. The deliverance will be dramatic and we may be blinded by the devastation but God will lead us in a new way. He will smooth the path before us, he will turn our darkness into light, he will not forsake us, if we believe and trust.

Prayers

At the heart of every service lie the prayers. The service begins with exuberant praise and gratitude for all that God has done and provided, followed by prayers of confession for conflict, violence, abuse, corruption and greed which destroys communities. This is followed by a Litany of praise for the gift of life and for the hope that things will get better. The prayers of intercession include the young, the prisoners, those in authority, families, women and the whole world. The final prayer of praise is gratitude for the steadfast love of God, for His rich blessings, land, food, answered prayer and the assurance of future answered prayer.