World Day of Prayer
On the first Friday of March each year the Day of Prayer begins on the international dateline, in Samoa. Early in the morning, Christian women begin praying for our world. As the earth rotates, a great wave of prayer begins to build across 170 countries. It sweeps across the Pacific, touching Fiji and New Zealand, rolling on through Asia: Japan, the Philippines, Korea and Bangladesh, The countries of Africa and the Middle East are next. The wave reaches the shores of Europe as the day dawns there. Across the Atlantic it moves onwards, the Caribbean, the Americas and on to the Pacific again until the sun finally sets over American Samoa where the final service takes place, and the worldwide circle of prayer is complete.
Each year the worship is devised by women from a different country, and the service for 2025 has been written by the women of the Cook Islands in the Pacific.
Cook Islanders have celebrated 200 years of Christianity in the group of 15 islands spread over nearly 800,000 square miles in the Pacific Ocean. The theme for this year’s service is ‘I made you wonderful’, and it is based on the words of Psalm 139. Christian women from the islands have shared stories of their struggle during Covid-19, of their culture being devalued, and of the improvements in obstetric health care. They invited us to recognise that God created each one of us with great attention and loving care. We are unique and special, and should cherish all aspects of who we are and of those around us! God created us. God knows us. God is with us. What a wonderful message to share.
The service this year was hosted by St Paul’s, and the sound of ocean waves played as 32 people gathered, each being given a a posy as flowers are an integral part of the Cook Islands’ identity, symbolising love, friendship and respect. The three readers also wore flower crowns. At the chancel steps there was a display of symbols representing life on the islands:
- blue material, bowl of water and shells – the ocean is a defining feature of life in the Cook Islands. The ocean is life; it is a source of food, livelihood and a means of travel, connecting people and communities
- a canoe – the traditional means of travel, representing the God-given ingenuity of the Polynesian ancestors who created the canoe
- a coconut – the coconut tree is referred to as the tree of life because every part of the tree is useful, providing food, drink, medicine, handicrafts and building materials
- a bible and the cross
Next year in 2026 the service will be devised by the women of Nigeria with the theme ‘I will give you rest, come’.
