World Day of Prayer 2024 calls everyone to “Bear With One Another in Love”

Faith Matters Column 6th Mar’24

With its origins in the 19th century, the World Day of Prayer (WDP) is commemorated annually in over 146 countries on the first Friday in March. As a global ecumenical movement, it is about “Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action”.

This year’s WDP Service was held at The Square Methodist Church in Dunstable. The service theme was “I Beg You… Bear With One Another in Love” (a verse from The Holy Bible Ephesians 4:1-3).

In an opening statement, a service leader shared that the WDP resources are prepared well in advance by Christian women from different parts of the world. This year, the service has been prepared by Christian women of Palestine. When the service was prepared, no one could have predicted the terrible war that is currently raging, still the service material felt perfectly appropriate for the present time.

The service began with a traditional Palestinian song titled “Yarabba Ssalami”. It meant – God of Peace, come among us, rain down your peace on the world, make a path for your goodness, fill e’vry heart with your peace.

During the service, three stories of Palestinian Christian women, from three different generations were shared. The stories of resilience and bearing with one another in love, despite difficulties and differences, inspire us all to unite in prayer for just and harmonious solutions that would bring an end to human suffering, and achieve security and peace for all people around the world.

One prayer in the service booklet read; “God of Peace, we pray for a peaceful end to the ongoing situation in Palestine. We also pray for the city of Jerusalem, sacred to the three religions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Let there be equality, freedom of religion, freedom of movement, and freedom of expression.”

At the altar, several Palestinian symbols were placed as a central focus. These included olives, olive oil, lemons, oranges, cactus plants, flowers, and baskets. Upon arrival, everyone was given a cut-out of olive branch with famous Hymn writer Fred Kaan’s words written on it – “Put peace into each other’s hands and like a treasure hold it”. People exchanged these cut-outs as a sign of sharing peace.

May we all work for peace and justice in our world and bear with one another in love!