Prayer is integral to our life as Christians. Prayer involves listening and talking to God, anytime, anywhere. It helps us grow closer to God and hear God’s desires for our world, our communities and ourselves.
During 2026, we are having an especial focus on prayer, building on our 24-hour Wave of Prayer in September 2024.
“Across our diocese of Bath and Wells I would like to make 2026 a year of especial focus on prayer. To be clear, this is not because I think we’re not praying. We are. But could we learn to pray better and pray more? I think we could. Might we do better if we sought to learn from each other? Almost definitely. Might focusing more on prayer shape us to become the people God has created us to be? Certainly. Could we become the answer to our prayers? In God’s good grace I hope so."
Bishop Michael
Our diocesan prayer for growth and transformation
Loving God
You alone bring growth to your Church and transformation to our communities.
We give thanks for the ways in which you are already at work in our lives and world.
As we look to the future, send your Holy Spirit to give vision to our planning,
wisdom to our actions, and grace in living and telling your story.
Help our churches to grow in commitment to you, in numbers and diversity,
and in partnership with our local communities in all that gives life,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Get involved
There are a number of things being planned for 2026, many of which will take place locally and we are looking forward to hearing lots of stories - please e-mail prayer@bathwells.anglican.org or give us a call. There are a few things where we are hoping for linking up across the diocese, which has come out of listening to deanery leaders:
Pilgrimage
We want to hear about pilgrimage routes and destinations around the diocese so that we can begin to share them, connect people up and share learning about all the great things that are happening. If you have a pilgrimage route or destination locally, please let us know by completing this simple form. We will then gather the informaiton we receive in 2026 so that we can work out how best to share the growing network of pilgrimage routes that exist.
Wave of prayer around the deaneries
We are hoping to see a wave of prayer across the diocese in 2026. Caroline Deakin, Area Dean of Locking, is leading on providing prayer boxes to give some starter resources and ideas. If your deanery would be interested in having a week of prayer between January and March 2026 then please let us know, email Rich Miles, Missional Priest, who is helping coordinate this activity.
Resources
Information and resources will be added to this page throughout 2026.
Three prayer cards are now available to order online for delivery to your archdeaconry office. Please do ensure you liaise with others in your deanery, benefice or parish prior to odering to avoid duplication and/or waste.
- Diocesan prayer A6 postcard
- Everyday prayer bookmark
- Praying with the Lord's Prayer A6 postcard
They will also be available to collect by those attending the Pre-Advent Retreat Day being held at Wells Cathedral on Tuesday, 25 November. Download and preview these below.
Useful pages
Diocesan prayer calendar - this is a monthly prayer calendar that you can sign up to receive.
Prayer - everyone, everywhere! resources - these resources were developed to encourage people to pray wherever and whoever they are.
10 prayer ideas - simple 'how to' guides.
Download
Diocesan Prayer A6 postcard PDF
Praying with the Lord's Prayer A6 postcard PDF
Lord's Prayer Bible Chat Mat (from Matthew's Gospel)
Thy Kingdom Come Lord's Prayer Resource 2025, by Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York
Who to contact
Julia Hill Head of Mission Support and Ministry Development