Watch and Pray

Church of England Central Services

About this app

Watch and Pray: Wisdom and hope for Lent and life is the Church of England’s theme for Lent 2024.

Introduced by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, it contains 40 daily reflections for both adults and families encouraging us to wait in hope for God to meet and sustain us, one for each of the 40 days in Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday (14 February) and ending on Easter Day (31 March).

For adults, each day (Monday to Saturday) the app offers:
- A passage from the Bible
- A short reflection on themes of faith, failure and forgiveness
- A practical challenge
- An original illustration
- Full audio recordings of the above.

For each week there is:
- A theme based on one one of the chapters of ‘Tarry Awhile: Wisdom from Black spirituality for people of faith’, the Archbishop of Canterbury's 2024 Lent Book by Selina Stone
- A brief introduction to the readings for the week
- A simple prayer.

For families, the app offers:
- 40 daily challenges for each day of Lent
- A weekly theme to help all ages think about how we can grow closer to God and each other as we wait for Easter
- Short passages from the Bible
- Simple prayers for use throughout the week
- Colourful artwork illustrating the weekly themes
- Full audio recordings of the above.

The prayers, challenges and reflections for both adults and families are taken from the Watch and Pray booklets from Church House Publishing, informed and inspired by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book 2024.

This latest version of the award-winning Church of England campaign app, produced by the Church of England Digital and Publishing teams and developed by Class Professional Ltd (incorporating Aimer Media).

“These Watch and Pray reflections challenge us to seek God in both familiar and unfamiliar places: in darkness and in quiet; in movement and migration; in the healing and transforming work of the Spirit; in the weeping of Holy Week and in the joy of Easter morning..”
Archbishops Justin Welby & Stephen Cottrell

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Ratings and reviews

Its early days yet, but I am really enjoying this app. Its very easy to use and navigate. Although it automatically defaults to the current day"s study, there is a chance to revisit days if you want ro look at something again, or if you missed a day. A particularly useful function is the little blue arrow, which if clicked reveals the whole text of the day"s reading. This is especially useful for those times when I haven't got a Bible to hand ( eg if I am on the bus)!

Last year I really benefitted from the daily readings and reflections. This year the reflections are lacking an in-depth analysis of the passage and the church seems to have been hijacked by the green movement. I don't want my lent studies to tell me to switch to eco friendly light bulbs or to walk more. I am looking for more spiritual guidance and learning through scripture.

I'm Catholic, but out of work rn, and all the Catholic apps in here either cost money or don't seem to work very well. I read the first reflection and, since I grew up in a string of Pentecostal and mostly mixed race or African American churches, this first reading made a lot of sense. This is probably what I need rn. Thanks

What's new

Minor fixes for some devices