The following is the text of a letter from the Archbishop of Canterbury. You can access a PDF of the letter here.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I am writing to invite you once again to join us as we pray ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ during the period between Ascension and Pentecost.
As we collectively and intentionally engage in prayer, we draw upon a history of tradition that recognises our profound need for the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. For these ten days after Ascension, the first disciples gathered to pray in anticipation of the outpouring of God’s Spirit on His people at Pentecost. We now, over 2000 years later, again gather to seek God’s will, and ultimately to see His Spirit enabling us to be his faithful witnesses that the world might believe.
The Archbishop of York and I are greatly encouraged by the growth of Thy Kingdom Come and the positive impact that it has had over the last 6 years across our Communion; seeing congregations uplifted and inspired to pray together in new ways and across traditions has been profound and we are delighted that churches in many countries are already looking for ways to be involved this year. We are inviting all Christians in every worshipping community to pray, and we specifically are asking everyone to pray by name for 5 people to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
We have produced a number of resources designed to inspire and help these 11 days of prayer, including a Novena and a Prayer Journal to guide personal prayer and reflection. It is our sincere hope that every church will be able to engage their whole congregation with the help of these resources.
More details are available online: https://www.thykingdomcome.global/
I am delighted that an increasing number of countries are making this worldwide wave of prayer their own by translating materials into their own languages.
Thy Kingdom Come is for all ages. The Cheeky Pandas resources for children have proved wonderfully effective as a way of involving younger members of our church families. There are multiple ways for dioceses to engage with Thy Kingdom Come, and we welcome churches and individuals to take part in a way that is right for their context and truly make it their own.
Do familiarise yourself with the Thy Kingdom Come website for more information and resources, and please do not hesitate to contact the team should you have any questions ([email protected]).
So let us once again pray ‘Come, Holy Spirit’ together: that God’s Kingdom might Come, that we would know the empowering of the Church as witnesses, and for many more family, friends, colleagues and neighbours to come to living faith in Christ Jesus.
Yours in Christ,
The Most Revd & Rt Hon Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury
