High Street Mission leads prayers for England

30 May 2006 

Church Army's David Coleman is leading World Cup crazy Eltham Church goers in an unusual High Street mission on the morning of England’s opening game on Saturday 10th June.

Members of Eltham Park Baptist Church will be wearing England shirts and giving out World Cup newspapers, sticker books and pocket guides to shoppers. They will also sell badges featuring England’s only World Cup Winning Captain-with all proceeds going to the Bobby Moore Cancer Fund.

The stall will also feature flags, balloons, football music and a giant size World Cup on which shoppers will be encouraged to post notes about anything they’d like the church to pray for - even Wayne Rooney’s foot.

The event is the brainchild of Church Army's Communications Manager David Coleman who comments; "I am lucky enough to own a football shirt signed by ten of England’s World Cup winning team of 1966. The only signature missing is that of Bobby Moore so I thought it would be fitting to take the opportunity of the fortieth anniversary of the 1996 win to do something practical to help raise money for the cancer fund set up in Bobby’s name."

David adds; "We want to show local people that Christians are going to enjoy the World Cup as much as anyone else and our Kick Off 2006 campaign has the aim of helping to engage shoppers to think about the big questions of life off the pitch as well as on it."

Material distributed will include a special World Cup issue of Christian Tabloid The Son and Christian Enquiry Agency’s pocket guide - Kick Off 2006 (click here for details - http://www.cpo-online.org.uk/catalogue.asp?cat=1729&rel=SON007) which features Christian footballers starring in the biggest football competition on earth. Campaign Co-ordinator David Coleman has invited other Eltham Churches to support the campaign as part of on-going closer working relationships between churches in the area.

David concludes; " is the theme for Church Army Sunday on 24th September, but the World Cup has given a chance to make an early start with a mission event focused on a tournament almost everyone is talking about."

The Church of England has also devised special prayers for the World Cup which are available at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/prayers/