Living Cornwall Editor
Christians will be invited to pray in the streets of Truro on Monday when the new Archbishop of Canterbury visits the city as part of a national tour.
Archbishop Justin Welby will use his first trip to Cornwall to meet fellow Anglicans in an informal setting, as well as leading a service at Truro Cathedral. Billed as a "day of prayer", the former Bishop of Durham will be joined by the Bishop of Truro, the Right Reverend Tim Thornton, and other church leaders. His visit forms the final leg of a Journey Of Prayer, ahead of his enthronement on March 21.
Diocesan communications office David Watson explained that the purpose of Archbishop Justin's national tour is to promote prayer and to encourage others to pray with him. Mr Watson said the head of the Church of England hoped large numbers of people from across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly would join him.
The city centre walkabout will begin at 10.30am, when he will be joined by schoolchildren and members of faith groups. At the cathedral, staff have organised a range of resources to allow visitors to try different forms of prayer. They include guided prayer, prayer trees, prayer labyrinths, prayer maps and a children's prayer space. Archbishop Justin will spend part of the day praying alone and, at times, with others.
Bishop Tim said: "We would like people to come to the cathedral and join with the Archbishop in prayer. As we journey through Lent, considering our own discipleship, what better time to pray for him as he takes this momentous step on his journey. We can also pray for ourselves and for the wider church. Prayer is a radical action with enormous and unforeseen consequences. Prayer enables us to recognise that we are not in control but that God is. And so prayer allows us to be transformed into the people God wants us to be."
Truro is no stranger to the high office of the Church of England, having supplied its own Archbishop of Canterbury in 1883, when the first Bishop of Truro, Edward White Benson, was enthroned. The last time Cornwall welcomed an Archbishop of Canterbury was in 2004, when Rowan Williams launched a new Bible in the Cornish language. George Carey celebrated Pentecost in the city in 1993, and six years earlier Robert Runcie's visit marked the centenary celebrations of Truro Cathedral.
