The Revd Andrew Pearson has begun the enormous task of delivering prayer cards to all 4,600 homes in his Leeds parish. So far he’s posted over 1,300 cards with around 3,300 to go.
Andrew (who is Priest in Charge of the Church of the Venerable Bede in Bramley) says, “The cards say that prayers will be offered in the church for that street in the following week and if anyone has a request for prayer then they are to call ‘Andy’.
“As well as people wanting ‘bobbies on the beat’ I’ve been told that folk want to see their vicar on the street as well.
"Through these prayer cards I am getting into parts of my parish previously unreached (some say they haven’t seen a priest there in 30 years). It helps me and the church remember that our ministry is for the cure of souls for the whole parish – all ten thousand of them!
“So far there have been 15 prayer requests, mainly by text. This also means I can follow up the requests by phone and sometimes with a pastoral visit as well.
"I’m not disappointed by the number (it's over 1 in 100, the same odds as the Lost Sheep parable) and it’s just the beginning of the contact. It also leads to conversations in the street – one parishioner asked me to pray on the spot, in her driveway, for her son who has cancer."
The ministry is not without its costs - Andrew’s had his finger badly bitten by a dog - but it’s also keeping him fit: “It’s a very hilly parish and many homes have about 15 steps to their front door.
"It will be well into 2018 before I finish, but I think it’s well worth the effort”
Contact: Revd Andrew Pearson, 0113 272 3337 or 07715 563729 or email