More than a million free prayer cards have been delivered to cathedrals and churches of all denominations, including our very own Leicester Cathedral. They aim to help people find comfort and hope in this world of uncertainty and has been shaped by people’s experience of the pandemic.
The free prayer cards are just one strand of the new Explore Project. It is designed to help churches signpost and help people talk to God with prayers to help people express grief, loneliness, fear, worry or simply say thank you.
The project also includes a new explainer website that encourages visitors to explore Christianity, with video clips to show them what to expect across a range of church services, from Choral Evensong to Messy Church.
There’s help to find a nearby church and booklets are available covering Big Questions from a Christian Point of View written by the Rt Revd Sophie Jelley, Revd Dr Stephen Hance, Chine Macdonald (Director of Theos and former Head of Community Engagement with Christian Aid), Peter Graystone, and David Stone.
The project is a partnership between the Association of English Cathedrals, the Church of England’s Church Buildings Division and Mission teams, the National Churches Trust, and the Centre for the Study of Christianity & Culture at the University of York and has been informed by research conducted over the last eight years including over 5.5k responses to surveys undertaken during the Covid pandemic.
The project offers twelve different prayer cards which can go on prominent display in churches and cathedrals for people to use and take away with them. To order prayer cards and booklets, individually or in sets click here.
Explore has been funded by the AllChurches Trust, The Jerusalem Trust, the Laing Family Trusts, and the Diocese of London.