HUNDREDS of people united for an evening of prayer and worship at Winchester Cathedral on Sunday to mark Pentecost, one of the Church’s most important celebrations.

Christians came together for a major ‘Beacon’ event at as part of a nationwide festival of prayer called Thy Kingdom Come.

There were simultaneous celebrations in churches across Hampshire, the culmination of a nine-day ‘great wave of prayer’ which has swept across the UK. Now in its fourth year, ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is a global movement, which invites Christians around the world to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus Christ. The wave of prayer followed a call from the archbishops for Christians everywhere to reaffirm the life-transforming power of prayer.

The service at Winchester Cathedral was led by the Bishop of Winchester and the lead speaker was Frog Orr-Ewing, who has pioneered new initiatives in community engagement, youth work and mission.

The Bishop said: “This year’s festival was another wonderful opportunity to get together and encourage each other in the life of prayer and witness. I have heard stories about people coming to faith and of lives being changed through prayer.

“As our communities have come together to pray, people have been inspired across the region to live the mission of Jesus through the power of the Spirit who is present in people’s everyday lives.

“Let’s keep praying as Jesus taught us, for God’s Kingdom to come, for His will to be done.”