Praying for Brexit

It was good to be at Chelmsford Cathedral and to share leading prayers for Brexit with Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, and Nicholas Henshall, Dean of Chelmsford Cathedral this morning. When originally arranged, it was thought that this would be the day after the UK had left the EU. That is not the case, and nobody can, at the moment, be really sure as to what will happen. However, even when it became clear that Brexit was not going to happen yesterday, it seemed right to proceed with the prayers, perhaps needed more than ever. As +Stephen pointed out, whatever happens, we need to retain good relationships with our sisters and brothers in the EU; we need to prayerfully remember our MPs, many of whom have been subjected to unacceptable hate mail and the like, as they shoulder responsibilities of leadership and decision-making; and we need to build a more united society. Whether we voted ‘leave’ or ‘remain’ should not be what defines us, but our commitment to a better and fairer nation and world.