The Church of England has published two new prayers to comfort people made redundant, and those remaining in the workplace following a round of redundancies, at the beginning of a year in which the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has predicted that at least 600,000 people could lose their jobs.

The ‘Prayer on being made redundant’ helps to put into words the anxieties of those who are losing - or who have already lost - their job in the wave of recent redundancies. It includes the verse: “Hear me as I cry out in confusion, help me to think clearly, and calm my soul.” 

The ‘Prayer for those remaining in the workplace’ focuses on the guilt and increased workload associated with redundancy. It asks of God: “In the midst of this uncertainty, help me to keep going: to work to the best of my ability, taking each day at a time.”

The Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, Rt Revd John Packer, Chairman of the Church of England’s Stewardship Committee, said the prayers emphasise how the Church is there for people at all times – especially in times of crisis. He said: “This is a pastoral initiative. We need to be on the look out to support those facing redundancy. Neighbourliness is so important in crisis situations, whether it’s offering people new prayers to God, or by simply being there with a listening ear.”

The prayers are the latest release from the Church of England website’s Matter of Life and Debt section. They are offered alongside common sense advice for those with financial worries from Resources and Stewardship Officer, Dr John Preston. These include helpful resources for working out a balanced household budget; and other prayers and intercessions for those worried about debt, suitable for church and personal use.

‘Prayer on being made redundant’ and ‘Prayer for those remaining in the workplace’ are published online at www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers, and also feature in an A5 leaflet containing some of the Matter of Life and Debt material. This leaflet is available for local parishes to print out and distribute in their church, at www.cofe.anglican.org/debt.

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Notes to editors

The Prayer for the Current Financial Situation has been viewed over 30,000 times since it was published online in September; it is available online at www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers/#financial.

The Prayers for Today page of the Church of England website at www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers also contains many other useful contemporary prayers - covering issues such as exam stress, and world peace.

Surveys conducted in recent years indicate that around two-thirds of UK adults pray, leading the Church of England’s Head of Research and Statistics, the Revd Lynda Barley, to describe prayer as “one of the best kept secrets in modern Britain”. A Populas survey for The Sun, June 2005, found 65 per cent of adults in Britain said they prayed; The British Social Attitudes survey, 1998, found that 66 per cent of adults pray.