Bishop John, the Bishop of Worcester will be collecting the prayers of those affected by the financial situation outside the Redditch branch of Jobcentre Plus next Wednesday morning. Anyone is welcome to write their name and/or their concerns on paper being handed out by Bishop John and the prayers will be offered at the Ash Wednesday service in Worcester Cathedral that evening.

“People often ask me to ‘say one for them’,” says Bishop John. “So many people have been affected by the financial crisis and I want to let them know that their local church is there to offer support and prayers. By collecting people’s concerns I can pray for them at the Cathedral and let them know that God cares and is watching over them however difficult their situation.”

Nearly 11,000 people [10,883] across Worcestershire were claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in January. The Redditch local authority area has seen particularly significant increases in the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance in the past 6 months, with almost 1,000 more claimants in January 2009 [2,164] than there were in August 2008 [1,269]. This is 4.2% of the people of working age in the area (compared to a rate of 3.8% nationally and 3.2% in Worcestershire).

Bishop John will be joined by chaplains and volunteers from Faith at Work in Worcestershire, who regularly visit employers across the county to talk to people about their worries and concerns and offer practical support when job cuts are made. Support for those affected by the current financial situation is also available in all local churches.

ENDS.

Notes to editors

Below are the figures for the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance in Worcestershire local authorities. The claimant rate is the percentage of people of working age in that area claiming Jobseeker's Allowance:

And the figures for Worcestershire as a whole:

Source of JSA claimant count figures: Office for National Statistics www.nomisweb.co.uk

The Diocese of Worcester is one of 44 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.