Christian leader calls for fasting, prayer on Purim

In the spirit of Esther’s ancient call to “gather all the people and fast”, South African Christian Rachel Kalidass is calling for other Christians to unite in a sacred day of prayer, fasting, and repentance this Purim. 

Kalidass leads the Prayer and Repentance Movement, a faith-based coalition of leaders and congregations calling believers to collective prayer, fasting, and spiritual renewal, particularly at moments they view as critical for the nation’s moral and spiritual direction. 

She said she wants all Judeo-Christians like her to join on this day of prayer and fasting on 2 March because she feels that the story of Esther is especially relevant to the situation Jews and Christians are in. 

The fast of Esther, taking place on 2 March, is observed on the day before Purim to commemorate the fast of Queen Esther and the Jewish people, recorded in the Book of Esther, a fast undertaken before Esther went to the King to tell him of Haman’s plan to kill the Jewish people. 

“The story of Esther is about courage, but it is also about G-d’s faithfulness that He will always save Israel and the Jewish people,” said Kalidass, “especially [regarding] what we’re going through globally, but also in South Africa. I think it’s really a message of hope, not just for the Jewish community but also for the Christian community, as there’s so much Christian persecution, and Judeo-Christian values are being challenged globally.” 

This is far from the only collective prayer that Kalidass has set up. Since 2023, she has organised many, including on the top of Table Mountain for Yom Kippur last year; and a national day of prayer at a historic church in Sharpeville and the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. 

“We lit the menorah on top of Table Mountain, and it was just beautiful to bring the nation before G-d in repentance. We feel that especially now with Purim, the message, and the times that we’re living in, we need to gather Judeo-Christian believers and the common values of the love the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has for His people, and the Purim story is just a beautiful way to bring everybody together,” she said. 

Kalidass urged people to get involved by fasting; taking some time out of their day to pray; or going to the suggested prayer points across South Africa, no matter what religion they are. “We have so much more in common than what divides us,” she said. “We have such a shared love for the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We have a shared love for the land of Israel and for the Jewish people.” 

Saying that she wants as many people as possible to take part she said, “I believe prayer is going to shift Africa in a greater way than politics would.”