Dear Sisters & Brothers,
I hope that this finds you well. I’m aware that inevitably we’ll be in different circumstances and have different feelings at the start of this second lockdown.
But the Lord is still working out his good purposes for us as His people and we can be sure of this. And we have been called to pray for our nation –
On the 1st of November, in recognition of the crisis we are living through, the Archbishops of our denomination wrote to all the clergy in the Church of England, in these words:
“Bearing in mind our primary vocation as the Church of Jesus Christ is to pray and to serve, we call upon the Church of England to make this month of lockdown a month of prayer. More than anything else, whatever the nation thinks, we know that we are in the faithful hands of the risen Christ who knows our weaknesses, tiredness and struggles and whose steadfast love endures forever.
Above all we recall people to some of the fundamental spiritual disciplines that shape our Christian life. How we do this is up to each congregation and person. During the first lockdown we cheered for the NHS every Thursday. During this second lockdown we invite you to fast in a way appropriate to you as well as pray for our nation every Thursday, for its leaders, its health and essential services and all those who suffer.”
The Archbishops, in consultation with the House of Bishops, then decided that this call would take the form of an invitation to every Christian to pray at 6pm every day, beginning this Thursday 5 November for the period of this present lock-down. In order to stimulate this time of prayer, where it is possible, churches are encouraged to ring a single bell at 6pm.
Our denomination the CofE has made available some very good prayers to use and I am pleased to be able to commend them to you as we at Holy Redeemer Streatham seek, by God’s grace to get behind this call to pray for our nation. We can find these prayers here:
Your brother in Christ,
Ian