Church groups across Scotland are asking Christians to join in prayer at 7pm on 26th April 2020.

This is now the fifth week of joint calls by Scottish churches to pray at the same time in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"As we continue to journey through this challenging time, we are conscious that the course of our journey will take us to different places. At some points, we will have greater clarity as to where that journey is taking us. At other points, we will be less sure. The two disciples who left Jerusalem to journey to Emmaus were definitely in the latter category. (Luke 24: 13-35) As they journey, they try to make sense of all that they are currently experiencing and, in truth, they are finding it difficult. It is as if the source of their hope has gone. Unexpectedly, they then find themselves in the presence of someone whom they do not recognise. The unrecognised presence listens to their story and, having listened, begins to offer a new way of understanding that story. As they come towards the end of their journey, the unrecognised is revealed as the risen Lord: 'The Lord has risen indeed'! The Lord is always with us on our journey and so we pray:'"

Churches Together In England will also be continuing to pray each Sunday at 7pm and will be using the #prayersofhope to share the message on social media.

A Gaelic version of the statement and the prayer can be found here

We offer a prayer at this time:

We pray:

Lord, we are those who journey
And who find that journey hard today.
We are those who journey
And long to find our hope renewed.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, whether in our own company or with companions beside us,
We journey on.
Whether sure, or unsure, as to our journey's end,
Come beside us through the risen Lord.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for others;
For carers of the living and of the dying;
For the bereaved and for the anxious;
For those fearing loss of work and of business.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for scientists and researchers;
For those seeking to understand the challenge we face;
For those creating potential vaccines;
For those advising decision-makers.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.
Lord, we pray for those who shape our common life:
In local Councils and in Scottish Government
And in the Government of the United Kingdom.
Grant to them wisdom, compassion and understanding.
Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Lord, we pray for your Kingdom to come
And for your will to be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Lord in your mercy,

Hear our prayer, Amen

Signed by:

Rt. Rev. Colin Sinclair, Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland

Most Rev. Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, Roman Catholic Church

Most Rev. Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church

Rev. John Fulton, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland

Rev. Dr David Pickering, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland)

Rev. Martin Hodson, General Director, Baptist Union of Scotland

Rev. Mark Slaney, District Chair, Methodist Church (Scotland)

Rev. May-Kane Logan, Chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland

Lt. Col. Carol Bailey, Secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army

Adwoa Bittle, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Rev. Jim Ritchie, District Superintendent, British Isles North District, Church of the Nazarene

Pastor Chris Gbenle, Provincial Pastor, Province of Scotland, Redeemed Christian Church of God

Bishop Francis Alao, Church of God (Scotland)/Minority Ethnic Churches Together in Scotland (MECTIS)