Christians in Cornwall are sending a call to prayer around the world ahead of the G7 summit this week.
As world leaders and their support teams gather in Carbis Bay near St Ives, Christians and churches are taking the opportunity to encourage more people to pray and to unite together in prayer, sending a positive message of hope and guidance to the world's decision-makers.
Among the many prayer events taking place is an international prayer Zoom. It's happening this Sunday, 6th June and it's hoped thousands of people across the globe join together to pray for the world leaders and all those involved in the summit.
Philip Rodda is a local preacher living in St Ives and one of the organisers of the prayer Zoom:
"When we first heard on the news that the summit was coming to Cornwall, I just felt that it was important that we pray for the leaders of nations - as Paul told Timothy. So every week since the announcement, a few of us, including our local Christian MP, Derek Thomas, have been praying for the G7 summit."
Philip Rodda told Premier that he's learned of people across the world coming together to pray for the leaders :
"We know that people all over the world have been praying for our leaders, and particularly as they come together. And so we just thought it would be good to open it up to all the people that might be interested to come and pray together and have a united sense of prayer rather than just being disparate. We already know of people in Costa Rica and South Africa and possibly even Australia, who might be joining us."
Philip says there are so many aspects of the summit to pray about:
"For protection, for the welcome, for the leaders themselves and that we have decisions that are made that are conducive to the Gospel, from a Christian point of view."
Picturesque St Ives is always a popular tourist destination, but locals are now getting ready to be in the world's spotlight, sharing their beaches and streets with world leaders, including President Joe Biden, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
William Thomas, who was born in St Ives, is also a local preacher. He told Premier he hopes the leaders understand that behind the area's beauty, there is also a bleaker picture :
"St Ives is such a beautiful area, we live in such a beautiful environment that God has blessed us. But we have the same issues of deprivation as many other parts of the county. And so to have the leaders of the major nations of the world coming to our area is clearly quite significant."
"We've recently celebrated Pentecost, when God came, and everybody heard them speak in their own tongues, God sent unity, God sent His Holy Spirit to unite people. And so our prayer has been for the G7 summit, that there might be unity amongst nations, that there may be peace, there may be harmony, there may be a one-ness in acknowledging that, above all, there is One who is higher."
Those leading prayers will include the Bishop of Truro, Sarah Yardley from Creationfest, Derek Thomas MP and the Chair of Methodists in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The international prayer Zoom begins this evening at 7pm:
https://parliament-uk.zoom.us/j/69228490387
Meeting ID: 692 2849 0387
Passcode: 400816
Other prayer events being held for the G7 summit include a World Prayer Centre event between 11th and 13th June:
https://www.worldprayer.org.uk/event/g7-prayer-summit-11-13-june-2021.