WCC calls for International Day of Prayer for Peace on 21st September

An International Day of Prayer for Peace will be held on 21st September, and Churches representing over 550 million Christians worldwide have been invited to take part.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has called on its churches to join this prayer for peace, and has emphasised its relation to its framework of ’Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches seeking Reconciliation and Peace (2001-2010)’.

The International Day of Peace was declared by the United Nations General Assembly, in a worldwide effort aiming to become a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, and also as an opportunity to raise the public’s awareness to the issue and to better educate them.

Rev Kobia, the WCC general secretary invited the WCC’s member churches to arrange 24-hours to be set-aside for the event on the 21st September. He asked for prayers for the initiative to extend to prayers for peace in the Sunday Services on the Sunday before or after that day.

Kobia said, “Observing an International Day of Prayer for Peace together is one way to combine the strength and witness of churches and faith communities with the strength of the many forces in the international community who are also striving to promote peace and justice in our troubled world.”

The United Nation’s secretary-general, Kofi Annan, warmly welcomed the initiative back in May during a meeting with Kobia. He said that the day brought hope that the UN Day of Peace would encourage people from diverse backgrounds to gather and reflect together on what actions they could take for peace in the world.

The WCC’s ‘Decade to Overcome Violence” (DOV) is concentrating its efforts on the USA this year, and carries the theme of The Power and Promise of Peace.

Kobia requested that WCC churches should “specifically pray for the churches and religious communities in the US who are committing much of their energy for peace and justice in these critical times".

The WCC’s initiative asks for churches and ecumenical Christian organisations to work together at local, regional and global levels, and with communities, secular movements, and people of all faiths for peace, justice and reconciliation.

A point particularly raised by the WCC is that efforts in the initiative should look to overcome violence in all its different forms, and that it should provide space for networking and sharing.

Liturgical resources for the International Day of Prayer for Peace, including prayers, stories and concerns for intercession, are available on the DOV web site:
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/peace2004