Durham Cathedral recently welcomed a very special pilgrimage group as members of its online community, the Community of Prayer, visited the region from all across the world.
The Community of Prayer is an online community formed during the pandemic when the cathedral made a decision to livestream daily services on Facebook at the start of the UK’s first lockdown.
Canon Charlie Allen, the member of clergy who established the Community of Prayer, says,
“Members of this group have been joining us daily for worship via our live stream for three years now and count themselves very much part of the cathedral family. We have been delighted to welcome them on behalf of the North East as for many, this was their first time physically in Durham itself and, for some, their first time within the UK.”
Members of the Community of Prayer were invited from across the globe to stay within the Cathedral buildings and grounds as part of a pilgrimage.As well as prayers, services and a warm welcome to the North East by Reverend Canon Michael Hampel, Acting Dean of Durham, the pilgrimage group were also given behind the scenes tours, VIP access to the cathedrals museum and even got to try their hand a stone masonry in the cathedrals works yard.
Over the course of several days the group made time for prayer and reflection as well as visiting locations linked to St Cuthbert and other Northern Saints across the region. They visited Jarrow Hall, took a boat trip around the Farne Islands and walked ‘The Pilgrim Way’ at Lindisfarne. They even stopped to get a picture with the Angel of the North.
Anne Collins from the Community of Prayer says,
‘I found the Community right at the very beginning of lockdown when we were all searching for a way to pray and to be in a community. Since then the Community has continued to be a lifeline through the rhythm of prayer and for the connection to a place both sacred and historic. I look forward to continuing my pilgrimage with those I now journey alongside.’
Many Community of Prayer members, who come world-wide from Australia, Finland, Canada and the Philippines as well as places closer to home in County Durham, have expressed a strong sense of ‘belonging’ to Durham Cathedral. This pilgrimage is significant as it is the first time this unique project has brought together Christians from across the world face to face.
Online worship continues to go from strength to strength with over 500 people regularly connecting with Durham Cathedral services online daily and over 500 members of the Community of Prayer.
