More than a thousand people queued to join a prayer gathering at a church in East London as temperatures soared above 30 degree Celsius on a Monday evening in early July.
SAINT, the church community which meets at Hackney Church, hosted an evening of sung worship and prayer in collaboration with two other Anglican churches in London, King’s Cross Church (KXC) and IMPRINT Church, the parish church of St Mary Woolnoth, St Edmund the King and St Clement Eastcheap in Bank, City of London.
This was the latest in a series of similar evenings, which the trio of churches gather for six times per year, entitled the Joint Prayer Gathering.
By 6:30pm, half an hour before worship began, a queue had formed, snaking around the church’s garden.
Although Hackney Church is a popular music venue attracting well-known artists, the queues for church are amongst its longest.
Many in the queue shared stories of what they had come to pray for.
One woman, Demi, said: “Today, I’m praying for restoration in my family.
“There’s a lot that has gone on over the years, and I have faith that it’s all going to be ok, with the faith in Jesus.
“I’ve come here today to pray for that.”
As the service began, 1,500 people filed into the church’s floor and balcony, filling it to capacity, and began singing “One thing I desire, only this I seek, is to dwell here forever.”
After some time in sung worship, the Rev Pete Hughes, Vicar and Lead Pastor of KXC, invited the congregation to kneel in prayer, repeating a refrain from the Lord’s Prayer “not my will but Yours be done.”
He also shared a reflection on Psalm 42:1, a verse from the Bible, which reads “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God,” and felt apt for the day’s weather.
The prayer gathering carried on until 10:00pm that evening, with more people joining as others left.
Photo credits: Deveraux Gallagher, Bex Rai, Milo Macdonald Thomas