Kia Orana!

Our sisters in The Cook Islands welcome us and lead us for the World Day of Prayer (WDP) 2025, celebrated on 7 March. This group of 15 islands in the South Pacific Ocean has a rich and colourful Māori heritage and a deep connection to nature. Join with them to pray together and reflect on the theme "I made you wonderful."

The 2025 WDP program invites us into the knowledge that each one of us was made with care and love by God. When we can receive this profound truth, everything in our life changes and we begin to radiate and shine from within. We also learn how to treat every other person as made wonderful by God. ​Too often, women and girls have been silenced and oppressed, making this upcoming theme from WDP Cook Islands particularly relevant. The message that women and girls are “fearfully and wonderfully” made in the image of God reinforces the movement’s support of women in expressing their faith and speaking about their lives in prayer and worship before God and in community.

The Worship Service invites us to notice aspects of our divinely created bodies that we often take for granted. The Bible Study prompts dialogue around Psalm 139, particularly focusing on the relationship between God and each one of us. The Children’s Program includes a song that is popular among children in the Cook Islands, as well as several activities for coloring and creating neck garlands and flower head crowns. The Country Background gives an abundance of information about the history of the Cook Islands, with a particular emphasis on the achievements of women.

World Day of Prayer is an international, ecumenical organisation which enables us to hear the thoughts of women from all parts of the world: their hopes, concerns and prayers. The preparation for the day is vast, the service begins with the writing country and theme being chosen a number of years earlier. Once written it goes to the International Committee in New York for translation and dissemination to the National Committee in each participating country. The service is then discussed and edited before being presented nationally, regionally and then locally for branches to make their plans. Finally, at a church near you, on Friday 7 March 2025, people will gather to celebrate the service prepared by the women of The Cook Islands.

The Day of Prayer is celebrated in over 120 countries. It begins in Samoa and prayer in native languages travels throughout the world — through Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas before finishing in American Samoa some 38 hours later. A worldwide wave of prayer…

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For further information and resources, together with details of services in your area, see the WDP website.‍