A 70-day UK-wide prayer relay that mirrors the journey of the Olympic Torch through more than a thousand communities has been launched by churches with a blessing during a ceremony in Cornwall, says faith organisation More Than Gold.
With the arrival of the Olympic Torch at Lands End on 18 May (it will eventually be used to light the cauldron in Stratford's Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremony of the games on 27 July) the Anglican bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Tim Thornton, along with Rev Steve Wild, chair of the Methodist church in Cornwall, led a special blessing ceremony for the prayer baton.
The first exchange of the prayer baton occured on 19 May, when it travelled to Plymouth. Similar exchanges, accompanied by prayer for the 2012 Olympic Games and UK communities, are continuing daily.
Among those involved with the prayer blessing exchange in their areas are the bishops of Durham, Newcastle, and Whitby. Locations already confirmed include Berwick Bridge and Newcastle and Liverpool cathedrals.
Those wishing to follow the prayer relay, or post their own prayers, are able to do so on Twitter using the hashtag #mtgprayer, say the organisers
[With acknowledgements to ENInews. ENInews, formerly Ecumenical News International, is jointly sponsored by the World Council of Churches, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches.]
[Ekk/3]
Diaspora*
Digg
Reddit
Newsvine
Technorati
StumbleUpon