Micah Sunday 2009
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Sunday 18 October

Micah Sunday comes each year as part of the Stand Up Take Action campaign. Stand Up invites you to be a part of a group somewhere who will stand up to show their support for the fight against poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Last year nearly 117 million people worldwide took part in Stand Up events. This year they are aiming for even more. Micah Challenge is a part of this campaign, and on Micah Sunday we invite Christians to actively demonstrate their support. The dates for Stand Up this year are 16-18 October, with Micah Sunday being on 18 October.

The Debt of Our Prayers 

For Micah Sunday this year we invite you to focus on the Lord's Prayer, and to look again at the implications of praying this prayer as rich Christians. An African writer, Osayande Obery Hendricks says "... the Lord’s Prayer has as its paramount concern bread for subsistence in a time of hunger, relief from debt when an unjust debt structure crushed the people underfoot and the establishment of God’s sole sovereignty when the people’s misery was largely the by-product of Caesar’s authority...". How often do we think in those terms as we repeat the familiar words?

What does it mean to pray the words "Our Father" in a world where fellow believers, sisters and brothers in the same family who call God "Father", are starving to death?

What does it really mean to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God "on earth as in heaven"? What are the economic implications of the presence of the Kingdom here and now? What does it mean for my lifestyle?

Start thinking about the answers to these questions and more as you open and use the resources that we have put together here.

Worship Resources

  • The Debt of Our Prayers. Article by Malcolm Irwin of the Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit. Includes discussion questions for group study. Use for Home Group study or as a sermon preparation resource.
  • Our Father in Heaven. PowerPoint slideshow to use as a prayer meditation with the study The Debt of Our Prayers.
  • Pray for the Millennium Development Goals. This is a PDF file that has a prayer with each of the Millennium Goals.
  • Liberty to the Oppressed. God is on the side of the poor, the oppressed, the persecuted. Congregational prayer from Be Our Freedom Lord by Terry Falla.
  • There are many sung versions of the Lords Prayer that could be used in the service. One suggestion from us is Cliff Richard's Millennium Prayer. There is a YouTube version here.
  • Response - commitment to Action. This page invites people to commit themselves to action. Download the PDF file, print it twice and then photocopy doublesided to have a page that can be cut in half for distribution to participants.
  • Activity Idea: Place a large map of the world on the floor at the front of the church. Have a supply of tea-light candles and invite people to light a candle and place it on a country that they will pray for. As an alternative to candles use pebbles or some other small object that can be placed on the selected country.

Register your congregation for a Stand Up activity. At the end of the service invite all those who support the Millennium Development Goals and the Millennium campaign to stand up (those who are unable to stand may raise their hands to be counted). Appoint someone to count the number who have stood or raised their hands, and report this for inclusion in the Stand Up global numbers.

The Stand Up should be preceeded by an explanation of the Stand Up objectives, so that people understand clearly what they are taking part in. Those standing could be invited to repeat the Micah Call together (a copy of this can be found on the back of the Liberty to the Oppressed prayer resource, or click here for the words). Register before the service by going to the standagainstpoverty.org site, or visit the New Zealand Stand Up site, and make sure that the numbers are reported afterwards.

 

Youth Resources

  • Stand Up Take Action Against Poverty. Set of three youth oriented Bible studies introducing a Biblical perspective on poverty issues. Use these studies with the activity resources available from the Global Education Centre as part of the Stand Up Against Poverty campaign.
  • Pray for the Millennium Development Goals. PowerPoint slideshow to use for prayers for the MDGs. With each MDG are some relevant Bible verses and prayer suggestions. 1.3MB pps file.
  • Poverty Activity. Use this activity to graphically demonstrate the divisions of global poverty. The participants are divided into groups according to the geographic areas of the world. 100 jellybeans, representing the wealth of the world, are then distributed to participants in proportion to the wealth owned by that geographic area. The activity is based on a group of 30 people. If you have less you will need to recalculate the percentages in each area. If there are more than 30 people the extras can take part as observers, and comment on what they are seeing. Debrief at the end by asking each group how they felt as they saw the other groups and what was given to each. We suggest that you download the Gapminders presentation on Human Development Trends and use it to conclude the session. This shows the reality of what you have just done, and the progress against poverty that has been made in recent years.
  • Action! This page invites people to commit themselves to action. Save the trees - print it twice and then photocopy doublesided to have a page that can be cut in half for distribution to participants.
  • The Millennium Development Goals. What are the eight MDGs? Download this PDF file for a basic list of the MDGs and the targets within each goal.

Do a Stand Up activity with your youth group. This can be carried out on any of the three Stand Up days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday; 16-18 October). Pick a public place for the activity, such as your local shopping centre. Have everyone sit down on the ground and then stand up together. When everyone is standing have them read aloud the Micah Call.

Plan well ahead:

  • Do the Bible studies and the poverty activity as a series in the weeks before the event, with discussion about the MDGs using the Global Education Centre resource pack. This will make sure that everyone understands clearly on the issues of global poverty, and why they are taking part in this event.
  • Download the Take Action Guidelines from the Global Education Centre site. This gives more background and details about how to organise and register your event.
  • Register the event before 16 October by sending an email with the name of your group, and the time and place of the intended event to campaigns@cid.org.nz or by registering on the Stand Against Poverty international site.
  • Make copies of the Micah Call for all the participants to be able to read out.
  • Designate someone to count the number of people while everyone is standing.
  • Report the event afterwards either to the same email address or through the same website (whichever one you used to register). Watch the site and news items to see how many people took part globally!
 
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