CHRISTIANS across Essex took part in a mass prayer to ask God to help them solve the church's crisis over women bishops.
The Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, organised the day of prayer after the General Synod voted "no" to the appointment of women bishops in November last year.
At Chelmsford Cathedral, prayer began at 7.45am, before a congregation of 50 Church of England worshippers gathered for a Eucharist taken by the Bishop of Bradwell, John Wraw, at noon on Thursday.
Prayers at the Cathedral were held on the hour from 9am to 4pm, and prayer zones, with different interactive elements, were also laid out around the cathedral.
Prayers also took place at churches across the county in a mass event the Bishop hopes will help lead the church onto the right path for the future.
He said: "While we have got hundreds of women clergy, and the vast majority support women bishops, we do have a minority of people opposed to it.
"I do not want them to leave the church and do not want them to feel they are excluded.
"When it came to the vote we set the bar very high because in order to pass it, it needed a two-thirds majority. There are some who say that men and women are just different and they have different roles, and it is not appropriate for women to be bishops.
"I must tell you that I disagree with that.
"Also, there are some who say that Jesus only chose males as his disciples and also that we are part of a worldwide church and can only make it with everybody else.
"We care about that minority and we need to find a way to come up with a new agenda and at the moment we don't know quite how to do this. I hope this brings us all more understanding into each other's views, and although it drives me round the bend, they are still my neighbour."
A new group set up by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York will meet to plan new legislation on February 4, and the House of Bishops will meet too.
"The next Synod meets in July, so we hope by July we will have something to bring to them," Bishop Stephen added.
Reverend Chantal Mason, who has only been the chaplain to the bishop for a few months, was at the cathedral event.
She said: "Today, this day of prayer is about the church being compelled by God's love to come together.
"It is a day to pray that God will make real our desire for unity in 2013.
"We must learn to understand what it means to be a family knowing that we will stay together, whilst also working out our disagreements in love.
"We know that this will be facilitated through prayer for each other.
"In prayer, gender is of no significance and so as male and female priests, along with the whole church, we are all being called together to pray for our unity."
