An umbrella organisation for churches in the UK has issued a call for churches to join in prayer for the “national political situation” in the UK in the wake of this week’s votes in the Houses of Parliament.
On Tuesday, MPs rejected the agreement on how Brexit would take place put forward by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, voting 432 to 202 against it in what was the largest margin in the history of the House of Commons. On Wednesday, May and her Conservative Government narrowly survived a vote of no confidence, 325 to 306. Without an agreement with the EU, the UK is set to make what’s called a “hard” or “no-deal” Brexit on 29th March.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland – successor body to the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland, called for prayer for the UK’s politicians and political institutions to be held in member churches on Sunday and the week following, already designated the internationally observed Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
“We believe that this is a time that requires particular prayers for discernment and wisdom, as well as a time for deep listening to God’s call to live together in peace and justice,” the CTBI said in a statement.
Archbishop Angaelos, the Coptic Archbishop of London and moderator of the CTBI, said many were feeling anger and anxiety over the future in the UK “and so we need to pray that those who have the heavy burden of political leadership in our country find a unity that brings our communities together in the task of serving the common good”.
The call for prayer was echoed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, who asked for prayer for “wisdom, courage, integrity and compassion for our political leaders and all MPs; for reconciliation; and for fresh and uniting vision for all in our country”.
Resources for churches are available on the CTBI website.
