By Annette McGrath, the Diocese of Down and Dromore

The Diocese of Down and Dromore has launched a Year of 24-7 Prayer from the slipway at Titanic Belfast.

At midnight on 31 December, Bishop Harold Miller and about 70 others welcomed 2014 with prayer and, to the sound of ships’ horns, a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. 

At the same time, back in the Dock Café Prayer Garden, others took up the prayer mantle, and so began an unbroken chain that will thread throughout the diocese during 2014 and lay the foundations for a Year of Mission in 2015. 

The group made its way back to The Dock, pausing several times to pray as they walked the lines of the Olympic slipway on a crisp, clear evening. 

At the doors of the cafe, Bishop Harold formally handed over the 24-7 prayer scroll to Revd Chris Bennett, Chaplain to the Titanic Quarter, as a symbol of their commitment to sustain prayer until 4 January. The scroll will then pass to Ballymacarrett where it will remain for seven days. 

As well as its symbolic value, the scroll documents the prayer journey through the diocese. Parishes will fill in the dates on which they held the prayer mantle as well as an encouraging story or comment from their time praying and a prayer of blessing for the next parish. 

After a warming hot drink, the group worshipped together and resumed praying at a number of creative prayer stations set up by The Dock volunteers. 

Between 1 January and 6 March the prayer scroll will travel between 17 parishes in the area from Titanic to Helen’s Bay. Every parish will take part over the year ensuring that night and day throughout 2014 at least one person will be interceding in a prayer room in the diocese.

You can follow 24-7 prayer journey via Twitter at hashtag #DDYOP and on the diocesan website www.downanddromore.org.