Bishops ask for shoppers prayers on the day of ashes

Clergy and bishops from across Greater Manchester will be taking to the streets today (Wednesday 9 March) offering to say prayers for passers-by as part of ‘Say One for Me’ day. 

Today is Ash Wednesday and the start of the Christian season of Lent. Vicars and bishops will be collecting prayers during the day and praying for people in special Ash Wednesday evening services.

The Bishop of Manchester, The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, said: “Priests are well used to having people shout at us ‘say one for me’. Whatever the initial intention of that yell in the street, underlying it is the fact that people feel a need to pray – especially during difficult times. Our visits today and the www.SayOneForMe.org website are both simple ways for us to harness that desire and engage with people where they are.”

The Rt Revd Chris Edmondson, said: “Of course, nobody needs a dog collar to be heard by God, but for many people, knowing that someone else is praying for us gives us the confidence to make our own prayers, and prayer is often the gateway to hope. The www.SayOneForMe.org website allows people to share their prayers anonymously via their own home computer or even on the move through a mobile device.”

“Surveys conducted in recent years indicate that around two-thirds of UK adults pray, leading the Church of England’s Head of Research and Statistics, the Revd Lynda Barley, to describe prayer as “one of the best kept secrets in modern Britain”.