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A new 'Prayer for the Current Financial Situation' has been
viewed nearly 8,000 times since it was published online in
September, increasing traffic to the 'prayers for today' section of
the website by 28 per cent.
The number of people visiting a section offering debt advice -
including a feature that helps visitors work out how the credit
crunch will affect them - has also gone up by 71 per cent in the
past few weeks, the Church said.
'I'm delighted the content is resonating with people, and there
is something the church has to offer people,' said the Church of
England's national steward John Preston, who wrote the debt
advice.
'I think that people aren't necessarily going online to seek
religion, but as they are browsing, their thoughts turn to it.
'We know that many people do pray, but things are made so
accessible by having it online. Instead of having to go somewhere,
and find something, we just provide some words that people can go
through wherever they are.'
The prayer for the financial crisis notes that 'we live in
disturbing days", with rising prices, increasing debts, job losses
and collapsing banks, and calls on God to 'be a tower of strength
amid the shifting sands'. -- AFP