The local, regional, national and international ecumenical prayer event ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, led by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, begins on Thursday of this week, May 10; with an official ‘beacon launch service’ taking place at Blackburn Cathedral tomorrow evening.

And the Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Rev. Julian Henderson, has urged Christians across Lancashire to get involved.

For the third year running, Christians across the country and the world will set aside time, from Ascension Day to Pentecost, to pray specifically for people they know to come to know Jesus Christ.

‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is ecumenical – which means other Christian denominations will be involved – and runs from May 10 – 20.

For ALL events taking place in Lancashire over the 10 day period, just visit www.thykingdomcome.global (also accessible via the Thy Kingdom Come page on the diocesan website www.blackburn.anglican.org) and click on the ‘events’ tab to view the events map.

There are literally dozens of prayer events happening across the County of Lancashire which you can attend and be a part of.

The ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ website also has ‘prayer pledge’ links; videos, including one in which the Archbishop of Canterbury shares why it’s important to pray plus other links to loads of useful resources.

Speaking today Bishop Julian encouraged people across Lancashire to get involved saying: “’Thy Kingdom Come’ is a fantastic ecumenical initiative from the Archbishops that is going from strength to strength with each passing year. 

“Prayer is a vital part of our ‘Vision 2026 Healthy Churches Transforming Communities’ so, as a diocese, we are fully behind the 10 days of prayer from May 10-20. 

“God is on the move in our County and to have this opportunity at the beacon launch event to come together in prayer and fellowship with our ecumenical partners will be a great joy.”

New promotional videos for 2018 from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York video are also available on our own YouTube channel to watch and to share with friends and family.

The beacon prayer event at Blackburn Cathedral takes place on Wednesday May 9^th at 7.30pm, to kick off the activities across Lancashire and all churches in Lancashire are invited.

There are more details at www.blackburn.anglican.org under ‘Events’.

And if you are holding an event, don’t forget to visit www.thykingdomcome.global to add your own event and/or see what else is happening near you and the Diocesan website for the latest local updates.

Ronnie Semley

May 9, 2018