The local, regional, national and international ecumenical prayer event ‘Thy Kingdom Come’, led by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, is under way across Lancashire after an official ‘beacon launch service’ at Blackburn Cathedral attended by many hundreds of people from parishes across the Diocese.

The event takes place from May 10 (Ascension Day) to Pentecost on May 20 and will see Christians across the county setting aside time to pray specifically for people they know to come to know Jesus Christ.

The Cathedral evening reflected the ecumenical aspect of the initiative with senior representatives from the Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic and independent churches in the county attending alongside the Bishops and Archdeacons of The Church of England in Lancashire.

• Pictures from the event on the Diocesan Flickr site.
• Watch the official event video on our Diocesan YouTube channel
• Watch the first two daily videos about prayer here and here. (One to be published daily from now until May 20)
• And a shorter version of the highlights video has been edited to produce the official first day video for the whole Thy Kingdom Come prayer initiative to appear on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Facebook page. 

The evening – attended by nearly 400 people – was hosted by the Dean of Blackburn, The Very Rev Peter Howell-Jones who was ably assisted by Natasha Corrigan, 17, a Young Leader in the Diocese from the Fylde Coast.

Earlier this week the Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Rev Julian Henderson had urged Christians across Lancashire to get involved.

Many parishes in our Diocese, as well as churches from other denominations, are answering his call - with events as diverse as a prayer walk tomorrow led by Archdeacon Michael (currently Acting Vicar of Preston) round the Guild Wheel, to a prayer and reflection evening at St Andrew’s Parish Church in Fleetwood on May 16 at 7.30pm ... and many more.

See all the events across Lancashire by visiting www.thykingdomcome.global and clicking on the interactive UK and world map.

Bishop Julian said: “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 to come together in prayer and fellowship with our ecumenical partners is a great joy.”

The Cathedral beacon event saw a number of key moments to focus minds in the hours running up to the start of the 10 days of prayer.

They included a three sided ‘prayer wall’ into which the congregation inserted so many pieces of paper with the names of those they were praying for that it was impossible to count them all! At the end of the service the whole congregation left the cathedral together to stand in rainy conditions to sing together and to pray for Lancashire at the Cathedral’s West Door.

The Dean said: “As Christians prayer is a vital part of our daily lives. Thy Kingdom Come brings Christians from across our Diocese together to pray for people they know and love, to hear stories of how the gospel has changed lives and to discover the transforming love of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

 “The beacon launch event was an uplifting and exciting evening and we were delighted at the Cathedral to welcome people from every part of our wonderful County.”

Rt Rev Philip North, Bishop of Burnley, welcomes people to Thy Kingdom Come in Lancashire at the start of our official beacon launch service video.

He said: “Without prayer we are nothing. There is no such thing as Christian ministry that isn’t deeply rooted in prayer. So, over the next 10 days, Christians of all traditions across Lancashire are going to come together and pray together for the renewal of the Church in our land and to commit our lives afresh to sharing the Good News with everybody.”

Young Leader Natasha Corrigan, who hosted the beacon launch event with the Dean added: “Prayer is really important to me as it allows me to come closer to Christ. Thy Kingdom Come enables me to join together with fellow Christians to pray for people I care about.”

• For all official updates and to download prayer resources visit www.thykingdomcome.global