NEWS & EVENTS

Stepney Area Sponsored Prayer Walk

This year our Prayer Walk began at St. Paul’s Old with refreshment and a talk by Rev. James Hughesdon about St. Paul’s Old Ford.  We prayed for James and the ministry and new church plant at the Olympic site then walked and sang our way to St. Barnabas Church, Bethnal Green where we prayed for the vicar and his assistants as well as the housing issues of the area. 

Singing on our way we were joined by others singing at the bus stop and caught the no.8 bus to St. Matthew’s Bethnal Green. On the way, we were met by Peter who guessed we were doing a prayer walk and asked us to pray for revival.  The curate Erin met us at St. Matthew’s and gave us some history of the church and her own faith journey.  We prayed for young people, children, issues of drug abuse and the ministry of Fr. Kevin, Curate Erin and the ministry of St Matthew’s.  

We walked, sang, prayed along Cambridge Heath Road at betting shops, pubs, places of street women, and redundant churches.  We prayed for St. Peters, Bethnal Green and continued onwards to St. John’s Bethnal Green where members learned about the Bethnal Green Station disaster during World War II when 178+ people died in a rush to get into the air raid shelter at the station.  We prayed at the Stations of the Cross by a painter whose memorial service would be held that week at St. John’s.  There Lois and Frannie welcomed us and gave us tea and biscuits as well as a little of their personal journeys of faith.   We continued on to the Children’s Museum where we stopped for a late lunch and prayed for the children and families who visit the museum. 

We rode the bus to St. Paul’s Bow Common where we were welcomed by the Rev. Bernadette and following prayers joined in the Christian Aid yarn prayer stations.  These stations had pictures of real people who were refugees showing loss, grief, the terrible walks over days and nights, the horrendous ocean journeys, the huge amounts of money people pay smugglers; we made knots in our yarn offered our prayers and joined each of our yarn pieces together to be sent to the government with all the other Christian Aid yarn prayer vigils.   We enjoyed tea and biscuits before giving our thanks and making our way home at 5:15pm.  There was good fellowship among us all and we are so thankful for this day of prayer, praise, and thanksgiving.