President’s Prayer for the United Nations International Day of Peace
September 18, 2026
The United Nations International Day of Peace, commemorated on 21 September, brings people around the world together to reflect on the urgent work of building and sustaining peace.
The 2026 theme, “Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day” highlights that peace is more than the absence of conflict. It is shaped through everyday actions that strengthen safety, dignity, cooperation, dialogue and community. The United Nations is recognising the “everyday architects of peace” who work in neighbourhoods, classrooms and communities to build a more peaceful future.
For Christians, the day is an opportunity to pray for a world where peace, justice and reconciliation can flourish, and to consider our own calling as people who follow the Prince of Peace.
Uniting Church President Rev Charissa Suli offers this prayer for the International Day of Peace, inviting us to join with people around the world in prayer for peace and for those working to build it.
As communities across the Uniting Church mark the day, may our prayers remind us that peace is not simply something we hope for, but a calling we live out through our relationships, communities and witness.
Creator God of peace,
Attentive to First Nations and Pacific voices, especially those from Tuvalu,
we hear creation groaning and communities crying out
as homes, cultures and futures are threatened by climate change.
Hold in your tender care those who live amid war and violence,
those displaced from their homes, and those longing for safety, dignity and hope.
Teach us that peace is more than the absence of conflict.
Peace is life in right relationship:
with you, with one another, and with the earth.
Its fruits are justice, reconciliation, belonging, and wholeness.
Turn our prayers into courage.
Move leaders to invest not in fear and destruction,
but in justice, climate action and the common good.
Draw us together, across our different faiths and traditions, as peacemakers
in our homes, communities and nations.
May your shalom flow throughout all creation—
for everyone, everywhere, every day.
In the name of Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Amen.
Prayer written by Rev Charissa Suli
President, Uniting Church in Australia
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