Prayer for Bishop Stephen

Bishop Karen has written to churches asking for a time of prayer for Bishop Stephen as he begins his new role.

“This will be my last Ad Clerum as Acting Bishop of Salisbury and an appropriate one to send on the day we remember Columba, Abbot of Iona, reminding us of our vocational journeys and the unexpected challenges and opportunities life holds. Your support and encouragement, particularly over the last year as I have juggled two roles, has been much sustaining and appreciated. Thank you for it. I am now looking forward to wearing just one hat/mitre again and welcoming Bishop Stephen as our new Diocesan Bishop and colleague in the next few weeks.

“As part of Bishop Stephen’s welcome, I would like to invite all of us across the diocese to join with me in prayer. The attached Novena, beginning of Saturday and ending on the day of Bishop Stephen’s inaugural service, draws us personally into prayer, reflecting on those characteristics we as a diocese asked for in a new diocesan Bishop.

“Uniting in prayer at this juncture of our life together will, I believe, create a new openness to God in our hearts and homes, in our schools and churches. As we move on from Pentecost into Ordinary time, we place ourselves afresh at God’s disposal, trusting God for the future as we, together with Bishop Stephen, discern a new vision which honours the possibilities and realises the challenges of being the Church in the 21st century.”

You can download the Salisbury Novena document here, or read it below.

Salisbury-Novena