ALL the different churches in Basingstoke joined together in a special service to pray for peace on Sunday.

More than 300 people from Church of England, Roman Catholic and free churches in the town packed into St Michael's Church to hear the Bishop of Basingstoke, the Right Reverend Trevor Willmott lead them in prayer for world peace.

There were representatives of 16 different churches - including Methodists, Salvation Army and the United Reform Church - plus Hindus and the Bahai faith.

A message of goodwill was read from Basingstoke's Muslim community, which held its own service to pray for peace.

The Bishop told the congregation that the Gospel challenged them to try to find the way of peace in the complex situation that existed in the world today.

He called on Christians to support all those working for peace - especially the United Nations.

"I hope this service will be a chance for people of goodwill to come together and, no matter what their background or belief, that this will be a chance to reflect on what is happening in the world and to pray for the peace of the world," he said.

Father Vincent Harvey, of the Holy Ghost Roman Catholic Church, took the service and said afterwards: "It was good to see people from all denominations of the Christian faith - and representatives from other faiths - come together to pray for peace.

"In silence, the Mayor, Cllr Rita Burgess, lit a candle for peace on behalf of all the people of the borough - followed by the Bishop and all the churches.

"The representatives of non-Christian faiths also lit candles for peace.

"We were also praying for the leaders of the different countries with the dilemmas they have to face. We were definitely praying for peace but we were realistic in acknowledging these dilemmas.

"We recognise that no action is not acceptable - there has to be some sort of action. We prayed that they will choose the right road."

The Rev Simon Cade, vicar of All Saints' Church, one of the organisers of the service, said: "It was unprecedented to have Christians from so many traditions come together to pray for peace.

"Lots of people found the service very moving and very powerful and helped them face some of the issues and understand some of the complexities better."

He added: "The theme of the service was a clear call for peace, for our leaders to be brave in turning away from the path of destruction, even at the last moment."