At the heart of prayer within Anglican spirituality is the work of Reconciliation: the bringing together of that which is fractured within the whole of creation, more particularly within human society, and pre-eminently between humanity and God.

This particular commitment to reconciliation derives, in part, from the English history of the Church where the Church of England has traditionally seen itself as both Catholic and Reformed � in a way, a bridge Church between Catholic and Protestant expressions of Christianity. The Church of England has always sought to hold together in its worship and mission the emphases which, over the years, have divided the Christian Church into its many parts.

Consequently, the prayer of reconciliation should find a central place within the life of such a Christian communion: and, most obviously, reconciliation between different bodies of Christians as we enter into the prayer of Jesus, �that they all may be one�. During the last century this has become an increasingly important part of prayer in Anglican spirituality. For me personally it is central in my own understanding prayer as much of my own experience of prayer as reconciliation stems from the years within my ordained ministry when I lived and worked in a community of Reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Here we worshipped, prayed and worked together each day as a community of Catholics and Protestants, lay and ordained. It wasn�t so much that we were praying for reconciliation � although, of course we did � but that our daily times of prayer were in themselves both expressions of reconciliation that had happened and reconciliation that was being deepened through that prayer. God himself was reconciling not only us within the community, but also those for whom we were uniting in prayer. Since moving on from that community of reconciliation, I have been acutely aware that we in the Church are very slow to respond to the call of God to come together in worship, witness and service. It is often easier to pray and long for unity than it is to work for it our in practical coming together.

Reconciliation and prayer feature in another way in our tradition. Throughout its history, the Church of England has always seen its vocation to be the Church for England. We are clear that being the legally established Church of the nation is very little to do with privilege � especially in our increasingly secular society. It is all about responsibility, above all our responsibility to be the Church for all the people of England, whatever their belief or behaviour. And while the main purpose of the Church of England, as with any Church, is the worship of Almighty God, a major priority alongside this is the vocation to be the house of prayer within the people as a whole � the church offering prayer on behalf of the whole people and nation.

As in Western society, the church, and indeed the Christian faith, has become more marginalised, so the importance of prayer as reconciliation has been emphasised in new way. In prayer we seek to bridge the ever-widening gulf that is opening up between our nation and its lifestyle on the one hand, and the being and ways of God on the other hand. Prayer that people�s eyes are opened to the living God, that men women and young people are reconciled with their maker; prayer for those who are poor, sick or hurt in one way or another by the world around them; prayer for those who cannot pray, for those who have forgotten how to prayer, even for those who will not pray � this is the very heart of the call to prayer as reconciliation.

Furthermore, the increasing growth of multiculturalism within society throughout western Europe, challenges our prayer for reconciliation to cross new frontiers. Because of our position within European Christendom, leaders within the Church have the clearest opportunities to build bridges between the Church and other faith communities. Praying for reconciliation with our brothers and sisters in those communities � be they Jew, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu � is one of the most urgent needs within our life of prayer. There is also the call to pray alongside those of other faith communities so that we can more effectively work together for that reconciliation within society about which all faiths care so deeply. We need to discover ways of standing together in prayer alongside each other that do not compromise or weaken our own vision of God and our particular vocation of prayer. This is an area in which we in Europe can learn from other parts of the world where Christianity has a longer history of living and working closely alongside other religious cultures.

In my particular tradition, the prayer of reconciliation has traditionally been focused in the Daily Offices of prayer and in the celebration of the eucharist. But there is growing evidence of the place and growth of contemplative prayer within Anglican spirituality. There are those depths of prayer where no words are possible; where the most effective prayer is entering into silent communion with the very life of God himself as we carry the needs of the world within our hearts. This is reconciliation at its most powerful - when we stay in the presence of God, bearing the needs of God�s world silently before his face, in that ministry of waiting before God as his love penetrates the lives and situations which we are holding before him. This call to contemplative prayer, the prayer of silence, is an area where we as Anglicans have been receiving from the witness of others, particularly from the Orthodox Churches of Eastern Christendom. This has led to a reawakening and deepening of the strand of contemplative prayer which has always been there � often being kept alive within our Religious Orders.

This has also been a deepening of our spirituality that has responded to the growing needs of Christians and others within our increasingly hectic and consumerist society. It is a rediscovery of the deeper areas of prayer in a society that becomes ever more ephemeral and where life is lived for quick results and instant gratification. As with so many other cultures, our society is increasingly sensing the force of Carl Jung�s provocative statement � �Rush is not of the devil, it is the devil!� In a society where lives are being deadened and torn apart by the sheer pressure of modern life, the prayer of silence puts us in that place where deep reconciliation operates. It is providing that practice of prayer which brings reconciliation to the depths of a person�s being: where the inner person is rediscovered and brought to peace and oneness with the one source of all being, God himself.

Although, in this fast changing world, there is an historic continuity within the Anglican liturgical tradition of prayer, the very nature of our spirituality is that it is always wanting to respond to the needs of society as it evolves and faces new challenges. It has a deep concern to mediate the presence of God in the changing demands of today�s world. This means that, in addition to our commitment to the Scriptures and the historical tradition of the Church, we are wanting to discover and rediscover other resources of spirituality, and bring these riches into our living contemporary life of prayer as it evolves to meet the challenges of the present context. In these days we, like so many others, are becoming increasingly conscious of one of the greatest challenges we face: the needs of the environment in which we live. God�s created world has been ravaged and despoiled through the processes of industrialisation and the wastefulness of a disposable view of life. And as stewards of God�s creation we, as Christians, have been slow to watch over our inheritance.

In my country we are learning again from the Celtic tradition of spirituality which, for many centuries, has largely lain dormant within England under the more general inheritance of Western Catholic Christianity. So much of the early Christian experience of England reflected the deep commitment of Celtic civilisation which emphasised our oneness with God�s creation. Celtic prayer brings into particular focus our connectedness with the earth, our interdependence with the life and rhythms of nature, and the sustenance which comes through harmony with the natural world. Celtic spirituality reinforces still further the place of reconciliation within prayer. Prayer that is offered in unison with, and on behalf of, the whole of God�s creation leads to an ever-widening work of reconciliation. In prayer we are both seeking and creating that reunification within God�s creation which so many aspects of modern life have been destroying.

I believe that God has been calling us back to this view of prayer as the reconciling force within the whole created order through the devastation that has hit our farming community over this past decade. While still reeling from the effects of BSE among cattle, we have seen the slaughter of several million sheep and cattle in the last six months because of the Foot and Mouth epidemic. These tragedies have reminded us that we are not lords over an infinitely renewable creation that will do our bidding however we treat it. Rather we are stewards of God�s creation which, unless faithfully cared for, shows the fragility and tenderness of its own being, as it succumbs to the punishing regime which we sometimes demand of it. In prayer we need to be reconciled as one part of God�s creation with the rest of his creation. The prayer of reconciliation creates and fosters that humility, and longing within us humans, so that we take no more than our God-given place within the whole interdependent system of creation.

St Paul teaches us that the whole creation groans in labour, waiting for the final freedom of God�s reconciling work (Romans 8.22). There is a prayer of deep longing within the very creation itself of which we are part. And with St Paul, my concern is that we allow God�s Spirit to work within us to help us in the prayer of reconciliation, for it is �the Spirit of God who intercedes within us, with sighs too deep for words (Romans 8.26). We are often called in prayer to intercede for those things which are beyond our understanding. As we launch out into these reaches of prayer, I believe that we are entering into the great work of reconciliation which is at the heart of God�s desire for this world.