Mayor leads city prayers

Hundreds of people attended a special service on Tuesday night to pray for Bath in the year ahead.

The Mayor's Call to Prayer is an annual event which brings together people from different churches to provide a spiritual lift-off to the new year.

The Mayor of Bath, Cllr Tim Ball, hosted the event at the Guildhall which explored the theme of Charity Begins At Home. There were talks about the charities that are particularly important to him, including the Mayor of Bath's Relief Fund and the Southdown/Whiteway Community Project.

The service was conducted by the Mayor's Chaplain, the Rev Melanie Reed, who acknowledged that the year ahead might be a very difficult one for many people in the city.

She said that as a result some people might be praying to God for the first time in many years.

Mrs Reed's husband, Paul, joined her on stage when the City of Bath Male Choir, of which he is a member, performed three numbers while the couple's daughter, Rebecca, played the piano and sang several solo worship songs.

The mayor will hold another spiritual event with a multi-faith gathering at the Banqueting Room of the Guildhall on Sunday, February 8, starting at 2.45pm.

For more information about Tuesday night's event, see Sam Holliday's blogspot at www.samholliday.blogspot.com (it can also be accessed via the thisisbath website blog section).