Canon Charlie Allen introduces the Community of Prayer
During the Covid-19 pandemic, we began broadcasting worship online, so everyone could experience faith and prayer from home. It wasn't long before an online community gathered around the livestreaming of daily services.
The Community of Prayer provides support and resources for those who join us online, either partially or exclusively.
Who is the Community of Prayer for?
Everyone! Whether you consider Durham Cathedral to be your primary ‘spiritual home’, or a spiritual resource in addition to your local church community, the Community of Prayer is open to everyone. We welcome all who find that the life of the community resonates with them.
How do I join?
The first step is completing a short form with a few details about yourself. Once your application has been approved by a member of the cathedral's clergy, you will receive a welcome email with more information and an invitation to join the community's closed Facebook group.
Previous Online Quiet Days
Embracing Lent
Find the resources to participate in Embracing Lent Online Quiet Day.
Creation and Climate Justice
Find the resources to participate in Creation and Climate Justice Online Quiet Day.
Our Rhythm of Life
A Rhythm of Life is a thing of beautiful simplicity. It is not there to constrain or to conform, but to remind us who we are and what we value – and to call us back when we get distracted from that. A good Rhythm of Life is generous enough to be interpreted in many different contexts and to be lived by many different people, yet it still provides a sense of commonality and identity.
Members of the Community of Prayer are encouraged to embrace the four elements of our Rhythm of Life and make them their own:
Prayer
Prayer is the heartbeat of our life together here at Durham Cathedral, with Morning Prayer prayed at the start of each day and Evening Prayer (or Evensong) drawing the day to a close. These acts of worship quietly transform us, and enable us to intercede for the needs of the world. Members of the Community of Prayer are encouraged to pray these services with us as often as they are able, either online or within the Cathedral itself.
Hospitality
Durham Cathedral has been a place of hospitality since its very foundation, with pilgrims flocking to the shrine of St Cuthbert. The Community of Prayer embraces this calling by committing ourselves to offer the hospitality of our hearts and minds to one another as fellow pilgrims on the way of faith. Evidence of this is seen in the generous way we engage with members of the community, and in our desire to seek the face of Christ even in those whom we may find it challenging to understand or to walk alongside.
Learning
There are many ways to engage online with this aspect of discipleship at Durham Cathedral. Sermons are offered regularly to spark prayerful reflection and conversation, the great issues of our time are debated, and themed material is available at various times of the year. We encourage members of The Community of Prayer to make the most of these and other resources, and to be proactive in their desire to bring faith into dialogue with the world around us.
Transformation
Jesus called us to be agents of transformation and bearers of hope as we seek to live God’s kingdom in the here and now. Inherent within this is a commitment to work for peace, justice and reconciliation, and a desire to strive for the integrity of creation. We invite members of The Community of Prayer to embrace this calling within their own lives and to nurture it within the various communities in which they are placed.