The World Day of Prayer is an international ecumenical Christian laywomen’s initiative. It is run under the motto “Informed Prayer and Prayerful Action”, and is celebrated annually in over 170 countries on the first Friday in March. The movement aims to bring together women of various races, cultures and traditions in a yearly common Day of Prayer, as well as in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year. (WorldDayOfPrayerAustralia.org)
This year’s World Day of Prayer is “hosted” by Palestine and focuses on the verse ‘I beg You… bear with one another in love.’ – Ephesians 4:1-3.
The artwork below is the face of WDP24. The artist, Halima Aziz, is a Palestinian visual artist and design student now based in Germany, after experiencing her childhood in Palestine. She lived through the war in Gaza in 2008 and moved back to Germany in 2009.
The artwork depicts 3 women in a peaceful state praying together, surrounded by an olive tree with gold roots, and poppy flowers. As stated on the official website, the meaning behind these features are:
- Olive Tree – sign of everlasting and abundant life because they can live for thousands of years. Some of the olive trees in Palestine today were there during the time of Jesus.
- Gold Roots – underlies the fact that the Palestinians will always exist and as they exist, they will always resist for their rights and freedoms. It’s painted gold because it’s something precious, something no one can take away from the Palestinians because they are deeply rooted.
- Poppy Flowers – are abundant and meaningful to Palestinians. They remind them of loved ones who have given their lives for their country.
Halima Aziz – Hagen, Germany. World Day of Prayer 2024 Artwork