The first Friday in March (the first Friday of Lent in the Christian calendar) is when a worldwide day of prayer is observed. Involving 170 countries and people from many denominations, traditions, and languages, it again incudes a service here in Golden Bay.

The circle of prayer has a different country of focus every year. This year it is Taiwan, and the theme is “I have heard about your faith”. Because it is worldwide, the experience is to pray with and not pray for other races, nations, and communities. Women in Taiwan have written the service, sharing their hopes, fears, joys, sorrows, needs and opportunities.

A painting by a Taiwanese artist on the cover of the World Day of Prayer (WDP) service sheet depicts many features of the beautiful island. Green hills for the rich natural resources; the Mikado pheasant and the black-faced spoonbill, which are two endangered species of bird; and butterfly orchids, the pride of Taiwan.

Taiwan has a population of 23.6 million, with many ethnic groups and 16 official languages. “Have you eaten yet?” is a common greeting, and rice is their staple food. About 1000 felt earthquakes are experienced a year, thanks to Taiwan’s position on the “Ring of Fire”.

There is an open invitation to join the World Day of Prayer for Taiwan. The countries selected for the next three years are Palestine, Cook Islands, and Nigeria.

WDP has been encouraging cooperative prayer for over 100 years, beginning in America in 1887 and New Zealand in 1931. The aim is to bring local communities together to pray, creating unity. Because each WDP gathering follows the same service, there really is a whole day of prayer, with countries around the world in different time zones.

The service in Tākaka is hosted by the Presbyterian fellowship at St Andrew’s Church. It is an ecumenical service, which means “a cooperation of all faiths”, and everyone is welcome. St Andrew’s Church, Friday 3 March, at 2pm.

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While Real is a solo play, the inner demons of the dramatist take on personas of their own.

“They vie to dominate the stage – or get me off it,” says author Chai Pyle. One of these characters is hell-bent on picking apart Chai’s self-esteem, making a general mockery of his stage aspirations: “We want to make a fool of ourself on stage, for everybody to see?!” The actor’s laundry is well and truly hung out from the get-go.

Chai explains, “In actual life, these parts of myself were conflicted over the idea of performing this piece, and came quite close to derailing the debut back in October 2020. That’s pretty much what the show became about and is also how it got its name.”

Universal themes of facing one’s fear, pursuing purpose, and self-acceptance, make this a relatable show. One audience member described how creatives would identify with the inner difficulties that arise during a creative journey. It’s an intense and dramatic ride, but this psychological drama is also peppered with humour, as Chai shines a light on what it is to be human. “When I really put my doubting mind in the spotlight, sometimes I could only laugh at what it spat out,” he says.

Two-and-a-half years later, Real hits the road for a third time. But it’s a different show to the first one, Chai explains, as the characters have more depth and new things to say. There will be 11 performances across the South Island, thanks to the support of a patron who feels more people should see it. “I love how my story inspires people, and now I get to bring the show to more audiences,” Chai adds.

As well as performing in his home town Tākaka, Chai is taking his show Nelson, Christchurch and Dunedin.

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