Media Statement

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2023

“I Have Heard About Your Faith”

Ephesians 1:15-19

Millions of women around the globe will unite in prayer on Friday 3 March to mark the annual World Day of Prayer.

World Day of Prayer is a global movement of informed prayer and prayerful action. Prayer and action are what link Christians, together around the world.

A different country each year shares their cultures and traditions and brings their hopes, joys and needs to the world.

The theme of the worship service this year is written by the WDP committee in Taiwan “I Have Heard About Your Faith,” based on the letter to the Ephesians. The worship service shares the letters of encouragement sent to women who faced suffering and injustice. Their stories of faith contemplate issues that are shared by women and girls around the world and that continue to challenge us to prayerful action.

They remind us of the urgency to protect the environment and have a nuclear-free homeland; to be aware of the gender stereotypes women face when defying the traditional role in the workplace or in the family, and to care for the healing of the victims of verbal and sexual abuses. It also brings to light the hidden struggle of the essential workers during the pandemic who had to balance between work and family in a vulnerable economic situation. Our Taiwanese Christian sisters thank God for the natural resources of the island and pray for wisdom in face of the political isolation of Taiwan in the international community. They ask for our prayers.

This worship service was developed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic with all the limitations and suffering that impacted the world during the years of 2020-2021. Thus, a challenging collaborative effort led by ecumenical women and young women in Taiwan coming together as World Day of Prayer to offer us a witness of faith.

In Australia 2023 a contribution will be made to the Bible Society program ‘Hidden Women of Taiwan’, a program promoting Hope, Health and Home for immigrant women.

If you would like to attend a service but don’t know where to find one, you can find the listing of all services by state/territory on www.worlddayofprayeraustralia.org Click on the heading at the top right which says Services.

END RELEASE

For comment please contact, World Day of Prayer Australia National Liaison Officer Denise Elvish

nlo@worlddayofprayeraustralia.org

BACKGROUND

The World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year, and who, in many countries, have a continuing relationship in prayer and service.

Through World Day of Prayer, women around the world:

• Affirm their faith in Jesus Christ;
• Share their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows; their opportunities and needs.

Through World Day of Prayer, women are encouraged:

• To become aware of the whole world and no longer live in isolation;
• To be enriched by the faith experience of Christians of other countries and cultures;
• To take up the burden of other people and pray with and for them;
• To become aware of their talents and use them in the service of society.

Download Statement below.