The liturgy for the World Day of Prayer is now available in a revised version. It had come under heavy criticism after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023.
A statement from Christians standing with Israel
service outline for the World Day of Prayer for Women was written by a Palestinian. According to Brunhilde Raiser, chair of the World Day of Prayer board, the organizers are generally sticking with this outline. However, Raiser explained that since the Hamas attack, "the frame of reference and the possibilities for interpreting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have shifted." Therefore, the existing liturgy requires "reclassification and contextualization within the current situation." This was achieved by amending the preface, expanding the prayers of intercession, and adding explanatory texts. Furthermore, the cover image by Palestinian artist Halima Aziz was withdrawn because the accusation that she sympathizes with Hamas could not be dispelled.
All these changes are welcome. However, this revision is by no means a breakthrough. The worship service template was already problematic before October 7, 2023. Theology professor Günter Thomas pointed this out in an open letter to officials of the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany). According to Thomas, the liturgy delegitimizes the existence of the State of Israel, demonizes Israel, and promotes antisemitism related to Israel. The German Coordinating Council of Societies for Christian-Jewish Cooperation (DKR) expressed similar concerns, demanding a withdrawal and a fundamental revision of all the prayer day materials.
The World Day of Prayer on March 1st has enormous relevance and responsibility in the aftermath of October 7, 1923, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, so we concur with Professor Thomas's assessment. It is intolerable to allow Palestinian Christians to shape the event while simultaneously preventing the largest ecumenical day of prayer of the year from descending into an almost unparalleled one-sidedness, promoting antisemitism related to Israel, and thus eroding the bond of peace instead of strengthening it.
Questionable funding projects
The very selection of funded projects still includes questionable partners of the World Day of Prayer. Machsom Watch, for example, is by no means merely committed to "humane treatment at the checkpoints of the occupied territories," as an information letter from the organizers suggests, but is associated with the BDS movement (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions), which the German Bundestag has classified as antisemitic. Machsom Watch also adopts the equally antisemitic accusation of apartheid against Israel and belongs to the radical anti-Israel spectrum of non-governmental organizations. Especially after October 7, 2023, funding Machsom Watch would send a disastrous message. "Never again is now" also means refraining from financially supporting modern-day Israel-haters.
Women who sympathize with the female victims of the horrific massacre perpetrated by Palestinians on October 7, 1923, or for whom Israel holds a special place, will find it difficult to participate in such a one-sided World Day of Prayer. This is regrettable. It would be desirable for the World Day of Prayer to succeed in uniting Christian women of differing positions, at least in prayer. However, this is only possible if one avoids taking sides and allows all those affected to have their say.
We demand changes for March 1st and call for a balanced framework. This should be an approach to truly allowing the World Day of Prayer, both in terms of content and personnel, to point towards a bond of peace, by having it jointly organized by Palestinian Christian women and Messianic Jewish women – a forward-looking challenge.
