THE Diocese of Salisbury has launched a booklet with daily readings and prayers for Lent.

The booklet is called Praying Together and contains short scripture readings, prayers, reflection and suggested actions for each day between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday.

Almost 30,000 copies of the pocket-sized booklet have been distributed to churches across Dorset and Wiltshire.

The booklet can also be downloaded via the Christian prayer app- PrayerMate.

It can be used by individuals or small groups, at home or in church, and can take as little as five minutes or as long as half an hour to work through.

The Rt Revd Karen Gorham, Bishop of Sherborne, said: “Our Diocesan vision is Renewing Hope: Pray, Serve, Grow, and prayer is one of our priorities. Prayer is heartbeat of the Christian life and the source of Christian renewal. I will be praying using Praying Together this Lent and I church people across the Diocese and well beyond will join me.

“As well as reaching people who come to church regularly, I hope people will think especially about giving the prayer booklet to housebound parishioners or those in care homes. They are often deeply faithful in prayer and can contribute much through it.

“The booklets and app would also be a gentle introduction to a regular prayer life for a new Christian or someone returning to faith.”

Debbie Orriss, the Diocese of Salisbury’s Discipleship Co-ordinator has been using the PrayerMate app to organise her daily intercessions for several years, and highly recommends it.

She said: “Last year I used PrayerMate to join in with Praying Together and would recommend it to anyone. It is easy to download and convenient to use. It has helped me organise my prayer life better.

“The Diocesan Cycle of Prayer is available on the app throughout the year, and I find this a really convenient way of being able to pray for the whole Diocese It has helped me organise my prayer life better over a number of years now.”

For more information including how to read the booklet visit www.salisbury.anglican.org/worship/prayer/praying-together