12th June 2026

Bishops write to clergy and LLMs with call to join day of prayer for peace and harmony in our nation

The Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Rev. Philip North, the Bishop of Lancaster, Rt Rev. Dr Jill Duff and the Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev. Dr Joe Kennedy, have written to clergy and LLMs across the Diocese with a call to join them in a day of prayer on June 17 for our nation: its peace and harmony.

The full text of the letter is below.

Dear Friends,

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5, 18)

Our nation is living through times of heightened tension. In recent days we have seen serious rioting in Southampton following the stabbing of Henry Nowak and just this week violence flared on the streets of Belfast and other parts of the UK following a stabbing incident.

As many of you will know, Lancashire is not immune from these tensions. Whilst we have not seen anything like the violence in other parts of the country, social cohesion appears to be under growing strain for a wide variety of reasons.

As Anglican clergy and church leaders, our task is to listen to all voices and that can leave us feeling, at times, vulnerable. We understand the fears of GMH communities and asylum seekers.

We also understand those who feel threatened by changes to their communities they may not understand and over which they have little or no power. All of these groups are represented within our congregations, as well as within the wider communities we serve. We can all too easily feel stuck in the middle, wondering quite what to do to carry out our ministry of reconciliation.

So first, don’t forget the importance of simply being present. At times like these a nation that can feel divided critically needs people who will speak to all sides and seek to understand the emotions and responses of people on all sides.

And second, we remember the transformative power of coming to God in prayer.

On Wednesday June 17th, as three Bishops we are going to have a day of prayer and fasting for healing in our nation, and we are writing to invite you and your people to join us. We will be praying:

• For our nation: its peace and harmony
• For those who feel afraid or threatened: that they might find comfort and security
• For peacemakers and reconcilers: that their work of healing might be richly blessed
• For those who hold power: that they might use it wisely and for the common good, so we might live peaceful and quiet lives
• For the Risen Christ to bring transformation and healing to our nation and our world through his almighty power

Please share this letter as widely as you like. If you have a midweek Eucharist or public prayer that day, please pray for these intentions.

If you are leading worship in school, pray for our national life. And in your own prayers, please ask the Lord to strengthen us in our ministry of reconciliation.

Yours, 

Bishop Philip, Bishop Jill and Bishop Joe