Archbishop of Canterbury To Join Thousands At Free Guildford Cathedral Event

Published on: 24 May, 2017
Updated on: 24 May, 2017

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will join thousands of local Christians gathering at Guildford Cathedral on Sunday, June 4, and open an inspiring beacon event to celebrate the end of a week of global prayer for the archbishop’s Thy Kingdom Come initiative.

Guildford is one of 29 cathedrals hosting beacon events, as part of a global prayer movement inviting Christians of all denominations to pray between the festivals of Ascension and Pentecost (May 25 to June 4).

People of all ages and stages of life and faith are invited to make the pilgrimage to Guildford Cathedral’s Stag Hill site from 4.30pm.

Free tickets are available to book online at www.guildford-cathedral.org/events/thy-kingdom-come

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

Archbishop Justin said: “I’m so grateful for the invitation to join everyone in Guildford for the event on Pentecost Sunday.

“In a crowd of thousands – and from such a varied array of churches across the region – I expect God to move, because God responds whenever his people call. Through this wave of prayer and longing, we seek for the Holy Spirit to fill us with new joy and confidence to share the love of Jesus.”

The Bishop of Dorking, Jo Wells.

The Bishop of Dorking, Jo Wells, who will join Archbishop Justin and the Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson, at the event, added: “Sometimes the truth that ‘God is with us’ is tangible and palpable. I believe this is one of those moments, when God’s presence is evident: at work among a ramshackle people, uniting and empowering us in our diversity, until we bubble over with the love and joy of Jesus. That’s Pentecost – Thy Kingdom Come!”

See Bishop Jo’s short video welcome here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RCxkKXSQx8

The event will begin with a big outdoor afternoon festival of food and prayer – with barbecues, candy floss, inflatables, dancers, artists, poets and musicians. This will be followed by a cathedral service hosted by Bishop Jo Wells and Pete Grieg and especially for young people. A giant outdoor screen will also show the service as the cathedral is already set to be full to overflowing.

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement, which invites Christians around the world to pray for more people to come to know Jesus Christ. What started out as an invitation from the Archbishops’ of Canterbury and York in 2016 to the Church of England, has now grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.