Christian women from across the globe are joining in the World Day of Prayer on 2nd March, in an initiative which dates back to 1927.
Under the theme of ‘All God’s Creation is Very Good’ with Genesis 1-2:4 as the principal text for the day, resources for this year’s event have been written by women in Suriname on the northern coast of South America in keeping with the tradition of having a different country involved in their production each year.
In 2017, resources were written by women in The Philippines under the theme of ‘Am I Being Unfair to You?’ and next year’s World Day of Prayer will feature resources produced in Slovenia under the theme of ‘Come – Everything is Ready’.
The first official World Day of Prayer was held on 4th March, 1927, and the event, which was initiated by women in the US and Canada, has been held on the first Friday in March ever since. This year, women in some 170 different nations will take part.
Overseen by an international committee, the event’s headquarters is located in New York but there are national committees in many countries around the world as well as regional committees.
Dr Fulata Lusungu Moyo, World Council of Churches programme executive for the Just Community of Women and Men, said the World Day of Prayer is “one of the first women’s ecumenical movements that continues to carry the motto of ‘Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action’.”
“It is a growing and vibrant global prayer movement that bridges contemplation, prayer and action for gender justice, women’s rights and advocacy for peace with no sexual and gender-based violence by actually creating a space, process and platform for women’s voices, perspectives and agencies.”
Free resources for the day can be downloaded from https://worlddayofprayer.net/index.html or via country specific sites.
