C of E Issues Prayer Ministry Guidelines to Prevent Abuse

Pastoral prayer, it states, is a ‘wonderful gift’ that provides comfort and healing to people in tough times, drawing them closer to God and each other, yet it also demands an awareness of vulnerability and the risk of misuse.

The book ‘Lord, Teach Us To Pray’ integrates theological foundations of prayer ministry with practical advice for teams involved in pastoral and prayer ministry within local churches, drawing on a broad spectrum of expertise.

”Developed by members of the Church of England’s Faith and Order Commission and specialists from the Faith and Public Life team, the document also received advice and input from others, including victims and survivors of abuse.

The book is titled after a question asked by one of Jesus’s disciples in Luke 11 when Jesus first explains the Lord’s Prayer. In the foreword, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, remarks: ‘Because we should pray and need to pray doesn’t mean that we always know how to do it.’ “Sometimes when we pray, we might find it difficult to articulate our thoughts clearly, but it’s important to keep going.”

”Public prayer, especially when one is invited to pray alongside and for others, should be conducted in a safe and pastoral way. Our response should be both prayerful and sensitive. The book emphasizes that learning to pray, discerning what is required, and bringing this before God in prayer takes a lifetime, it states.

It offers guidance on the practical preparation for local prayer ministry teams, including good training and requirements such as DBS checks, as well as their spiritual preparation.

The book provides an example inspired by the self-reflective habits of St. Ignatius of Loyola from the 16th century. It looks at the potential pitfalls leaders or members of prayer ministry teams can fall into, from’saviour syndrome’ to feeling ‘out of their depth’ in complex situations.