Bishop of Derby The Right Rev’d Libby Lane & Graham Pyman (Jubilee Church Derby)
Tuesday 4th June 2019 saw civic and church leaders from across the city of Derby, gather together for the inaugural Derby Civic Prayer Breakfast organised by Derby City Vision. Derby City Vision is a group of churches from across the city of Derby, looking to make a difference in our communities and the heart of the city.
Derby City Vision was pleased to host this inaugural prayer breakfast at the council house with special guests including:
The Mayor of Derby Cllr Frank Harwood
The Right Rev’d Libby Lane - Bishop of Derby
The Very Rev’d Dr Stephen Hance – Dean of Derby
The new mayor of Derby Cllr Frank Harwood, who was only elected last month, addressed those gathered and expressed his gratitude for the many ways in which churches across our city are working to support local communities and enriching our neighbourhoods through various social and community initiatives.
The new Bishop of Derby followed this greeting with a formal address. The Right Rev’d Libby Lane; who again only officially started her new role 10 days ago, shared some of her journey to faith. During her talk she mentioned that her new role feels like ‘returning home’, as it was in a local church in Derbyshire, where she made her first steps of faith as a young teenager.
Pastor of Jubilee Church and host of the prayer breakfast Graham Pyman said:
“We were thrilled to gather church and Christian charity leaders from across Derby on Tuesday morning to pray for the city, council staff & councillors, and the general welfare and prosperity of the city. It was a privilege to welcome the Bishop of Derby, Libby Lane to the city and to receive her encouragement and prayer.”
"As Christian leaders, we have a heart for the City of Derby and we want to play our part in seeing its peace and prosperity increase. Also, there are many vulnerable people in Derby and we prayed for them and for some of the various initiatives that seek to serve them.”
Graham Pyman, Cllr Stephen Willoughby, Mayor of Derby Cllr Frank Harwood, Rev’d Alasdair Kay and Cllr Ruth Skelton (L-R)
It was a privilege to be able to welcome a number of councillors representing the various political parties and departments within the council, as well as church leaders representing many of the churches working in the city.
The event was organised in conjunction with Thy Kingdom Come a global prayer movement initiated in 2016 by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York.
During our time together, we were able to pray in unity for a number of areas in our city including:
Our councillors and council staff
Our local neighbourhoods
Our economy & local businesses
For those who are struggling to make ends meet
For the elderly and lonely in our communities
Those in care and for foster carers
And finally, for the churches across our city to engage and be involved in working for the benefit of this great city of ours.
It was a fantastic opportunity for Derby City Vision and for church leaders from across the city to express our gratitude towards all those who work in and serve our city and to encourage them with our support for the sometimes-difficult job they do. We were grateful to be able to pray for God’s blessing to be upon all those who serve our community in this way.
It was wonderful to hear many who felt encouraged and enriched by being able to attend the breakfast and we plan to host such prayer times again in the future. If you like to express your interest in attending such a gathering in the future please contact: info@derbycityvision.org
For more about Derby City Vision please visit: www.derbycityvision.org
For more about Thy Kingdom Come please visit: www.thykingdomcome.global