The Very Revd. Jerry Lepine, Dean of Bradford, will be marking this year’s ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ by visiting and praying at the three Cathedrals in the Diocese of Leeds as part of Bradford Cathedral’s Centenary celebrations.
Dean Jerry will be visiting and praying at Wakefield Cathedral on Thursday 30th May, Bradford Cathedral on Monday 3rd June and Ripon Cathedral on Wednesday 5th June, at 3pm on each day.
Dean Jerry is also inviting people from the Diocese of Leeds to come and join him during this pilgrimage of prayer.
The period of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus. What started in 2016 as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.
Dean Jerry says:
“As part of Bradford Cathedral’s Centenary I am looking forward to praying in each of the three Cathedrals in this Diocese during Thy Kingdom Come. The Archbishops have invited us to make this period of time a focus for prayer, particularly praying that people will come to faith and I look forward to joining with Dean John in Ripon and Dean Simon in Wakefield, and would like to invite anyone from the Diocese to join us on these occasions.
“The prayer is focusing around evangelism and growth, but also it is good in this season to be waiting on the Holy Spirit that we might be filled with renewed faith and a desire to witness and serve our Lord. Time for prayer is never wasted at this time.
“The Cathedrals are historic places of prayer, going back to the first Millennium. The cathedrals of this Diocese are not only a place of pilgrimage and mission, but also spirituality. This is part of the gift of having three Cathedrals.”
Alongside the pilgrimage of prayer, the ten days will also see Bradford Cathedral holding its Ascension Day service on Thursday 30th May from 7pm, a service which everyone is invited to attend. This annual Eucharist is a particular opportunity for churches, across the district, to gather to celebrate one of the major Christian Festivals. This year Bradford Cathedral are welcoming the Bishop of Bradford, the Rt. Revd. Toby Howarth to preach, alongside a specially configured music group who will lead the worship.
Over the period of the ten days of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ the Cathedral will establish spaces for prayer, culminating in a 24-hour prayer event from 7pm on Friday 6th June with each hour focussing prayer on a different group in the City including education, poverty and social justice, Health and the NHS, University, students and international students, and many others.
The Cathedral is also encouraging those in Bradford to help Light Up The World to help pray for more people to come to know Jesus Christ. You can shine your light by pledging to pray today at https://www.thykingdomcome.global/lightuptheworld.
You can find out more about ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ at https://www.bradfordcathedral.org/worship/thy-kingdom-come.