The number of people using the Church of England’s Daily Prayer audio service has passed a million, as the podcasting revolution becomes part of many people’s daily pattern of worship.
The podcast, also available as audio on the Daily Prayer app, follows the Church of England’s traditional cycle of Morning and Evening Prayer, with a range of voices and music.
The short atmospheric services feature prayers and readings following the pattern set out in the Church of England’s Common Worship services, recorded by volunteers across the country.
They are edited together with music from the St Martin’s Voices choir at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, by the Church of England’s Digital team.
It was launched in March last year after churches across the country reported large numbers tuning into prayer services broadcast online during Covid restrictions.
It comes amid signs of a resurgence of interest in the ancient monastic cycle of daily worship.
So far, the Daily Prayer podcast has reached one million unique listeners, with around 8,000 listening every day. In total there have now been five million downloads since its launch in March 2020.
Daily Prayer is one of a series of prayer and discipleship apps and podcasts available from the Church of England, including ‘Time to Pray’, which won Gold for Best Use of Audio at the 2021 Digital Impact Awards.
