THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will be in Somerset next month for a special prayer event.

Archbishop Justin will join the Diocese of Bath and Wells in a 24-hour Wave of Prayer.

Alongside the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Michael Beasley, the Archbishop will attend a number of prayer events being held across the county between 7.30pm on Friday, September 6.

All are welcome to join the event, praying for the communities of Somerset, either as churches, groups or individuals.

Bishop Michael said: “Across our Diocese of Bath and Wells our churches support local communities in a host of different ways – from running summer holiday clubs and foodbanks, to hosting memory cafes and film clubs.

“Earlier in the year I asked them all to consider, ‘What is the change your communities want to see and how can we come together as churches across Somerset to support them in prayer?’

“There’s been a wonderful response and together we will be sending a wave of prayer across Somerset over these 24 hours.”

The archbishop will join a Movement Worship Night for young people, which marks the start of the 24 hours at St Michael’s Without, in Bath city centre.

The next morning, he will head to the Sedgemoor Cattle Market in Bridgwater. There, he will have breakfast with members of the farming community and pray with them in the cattle ring, at the heart of the market.

The next stop will be St Francis Church, also in Bridgwater, where he will pray and visit prayer stations that have been created by the church and wider community, including members of the Hinkley Point C Chaplaincy team and anti-modern slavery campaigners.

The archbishop will then travel to Nailsea School, where the focus will be on praying for young people, their caregivers, educators, and supporters.

The final stop will be in Frome, where a new Christian community is being established in the former vicarage of St Mary’s church.

The archbishop will officially open a new prayer space converted from a derelict shed in the grounds of the church. Once open, the ‘Prayer Shed’ will be accessible for continuous prayer.

Many churches across the diocese will be holding prayer events over the 24-hours.

St Mary’s, Timsbury, has volunteers reading all 150 psalms over the 24 hours, while Wrington benefice is holding a prayer breakfast. Churches from the Chew Valley will be gathering for a prayer walk and at St George’s, Wembdon, they will come together on Friday evening to pray for their community.