06/03/2025
Diners and drinkers in a popular area of London are leaving more than 100 prayer requests a month after they are invited in by a nearby church for a special evening where they light candles, listen to music and pray.
Congregation members at the Parish of Our Most Holy Redeemer in Clerkenwell, in the Catholic tradition of the Church of England, head out on a Thursday night every month after Mass with votive candles and lanterns to invite people in the busy Exmouth Market area into the church.
Vicar Fr Christopher Trundle said the Night Light evening, focussed on prayer, contemplation and adoration in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, is attracting up to 150 people, with more than 100 prayer requests left by those visiting.
He said that congregation members go out into the crowds in Exmouth Market to “invite people to encounter the love and beauty of God in Jesus Christ”.
“We are very clear that we are inviting people into Jesus’s presence and there is a growing community, committed not only to praying for all who come into church, but also making this space for Adoration in their lives each month. It has been wonderful to see how sacramental worship and ancient ways of praying are really connecting with people today.
“At Night Light we invite passers-by into church to light a candle, and we leave cards for prayer requests. There is live music, ranging from the traditional to the contemporary.
“People have profound reactions and are deeply, deeply moved by what they experience, without a doubt. Some ask for pastoral conversations and others ask to be prayed for, perhaps because of something that has happened in their life.
“Where people have left prayer requests, we pray through them over the next few days.”
The church is among the parishes receive backing from a £9.4 million grant made by the Church of England’s Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board to churches in the Hackney and Islington area over the next six years.
The grant is funding plans for new worshipping communities, youth ministers and estates missioners as well as Catholic renewal work, supported by a Catholic Mission Enabler, Fr Toby Thomas.
To watch a video on the work of Our Most Holy Redeemer see #LivingHope - Fr Christopher Trundle and Fr Toby Thomas.
The grant is supporting a number of initiatives at Our Most Holy Redeemer, including a new weekly 5pm Sunday evening Mass at the church, support from the Catholic Mission enabler and help with music.