By The 8 days from the 2nd to the 3rd Sunday in October each year are kept as an occasion when members of all faiths focus their prayers on world peace.
It was a Christian initiative in 1974 that led to the founding of the Week of Prayer for World Peace. It only took a few years for it to become an interfaith activity. People of all faith traditions or none, are now welcomed.
The first Chair, the late Dr Edward Carpenter, former Dean of Westminster Abbey, established the guiding principle of the Week in the words:
The peace of the world must be prayed for by the faiths of the world.
This continues to be the basis today. The current committee and sponsoring body include adherents of the Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian religions, and prayers and readings from all these faiths are included in the prayer leaflet for the year.
Each day of the week is given a theme:
- Sunday Celebrating Unity
- Monday Environment and Climate Change
- Tuesday Sharing our resources
- Wednesday Animals and Insects
- Thursday Respect
- Friday Friendship
- Saturday Gratitude
- Sunday Working Together with Courage
If you want to find out more, you can do so here
