The Bishop of Middlesbrough invites members of the Diocese of Middlesbrough, Diocese of York and Christians of all denominations and traditions to join him and the Venerable Paul Ferguson, Archdeacon of Cleveland, to ‘Listen to God and hear the poor’ through a ‘Stations of the Cross’ style act of worship in St Mary’s Cathedral, Coulby Newham on Friday 4 April at 6.00 pm.

The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury have written to Church of England and Roman Catholic Bishops to inform them about their plans to commit together to prayer and to support Christian social action this Passiontide, and to ask them to seek local opportunities for praying together in their respective dioceses. From Passion Sunday (6th April 2014) to Palm Sunday (13th April) Archbishop Justin and Cardinal Vincent will invite others to join them in praying for the work done by Christians to serve those in need and to strengthen their communities. Cardinal Vincent and Archbishop Justin will be inviting members of their churches and others who share the Christian faith to join them in their commitment to prayer through this week as they listen to God and hear the poor. The Archbishops’ hope is that this will not only give glory to God by fostering the work of the Kingdom, but will also support, encourage and inspire local church members who give so much to their local communities.

In response to this initiative Bishop Terry has invited Archdeacon Paul Ferguson, (the Diocese of York is still waiting for the appointment of a new Bishop of Whitby who would be the natural person for Bishop Terry to invite) to join him in a simple prayer service at which the focus will be the social action work undertaken by Christians of all traditions in the area of the Dioceses of York and Middlesbrough, which cover roughly similar parts of historic Yorkshire, and in particular the ‘Together Middlesbrough’ project.