On Sunday 17th May the Church of England’s national online act of worship will be broadcast from Blackburn and Liverpool.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the Church of England has broadcast a national act of worship online at 9am every Sunday to complement the online worship being offered by parishes across the country. Those leading recent services include the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and most recently, the Bishop of London.
On 17th May the service will come from the northwest, and be led jointly by two priests who are married to each other: the Revd Canon Dr Rowena Pailing, Vice Dean and Canon Missioner at Blackburn Cathedral, and the Revd Canon Dr Crispin Pailing, Rector of Liverpool. The theme will be ‘advocacy: a voice for the voiceless’ and a number of local people will be involved, including key workers, a young chorister, and actor Dean Sullivan, better known as Jimmy Corkhill from Brookside.
Canon Rowena Pailing said, ‘It is always a privilege to lead others in prayer and worship, and this national act of worship is no exception.’
She continued, ‘Not everybody knows that Blackburn has a Cathedral or how beautiful it is, so this is also a great opportunity to spread the word, and to highlight the work we do, especially in supporting those who are vulnerable.’
The service, a Eucharist, can be viewed at https://www.churchofengland.org/ from 9am on Sunday 17th May.