When Symon Hill of Ecclesia texted me about this idea last week, I immediately said I would support it if at all possible. Now the high court has given the green light for an eviction of the occupy tent community camped outside St Paul's Cathedral, it is clear that at some point in the coming weeks, a showdown is inevitable.
Our sincere hope it that it will be a negotiated and peaceful end. It is not in the interests of the protesters, the Cathedral or indeed the city of London Corporation for it all to finish in violence. So the ideas of the ring of prayer is simply; should a forceful eviction take place, people of faith should get to the site if possible, and pray and witness throughout all that occurs.
Prayer is a proven source of successful Nonviolent Direct Action - it reduces conflict and forces each side to examine their behaviour. Christians in London should prepare themselves to head to St Paul's and show the power of Christ the peace maker. Christians and people of all faiths who can't get down there should organise localised prayers as a sign of solidarity should a forced eviction take place.
The reason is clear - the occupy movement has been the most important movement in decades in challenging the appalling state of modern capitalism - and we should do all we can to recognise the significance of this protest. We can not read 'Those with two coats must give one to the one with none' in our Bibles and fail to realise that God calls us to a life of sharing, not a world of inequality and greed.
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