MORE than 40 people attended a special church service in Kendal to offer spiritual support to those affected by the economic crisis.

Keen to reach out to local people who are feeling the effects of the credit crunch, the Rev Steve McMann, curate at Holy Trinity, Kendal Parish Church in Kirkland in Kendal, and his wife Heidi Montgomery organised a reflective, candlelit service for the local community.

The service, which was held on Sunday evening (January 18), was based around the Taize principles of prayer, meditation and scripture-based chanting, developed by an ecumenical Christian community in Taize in France.

“It was a lovely service,” said Mr McCann. “There was probably about 40 or 50 people in the congregation, with some people coming from as far away as Heversham.”

Mr McCann explained how the meditative approach allowed people, regardless of their religious beliefs, to reflect deeply and offer support to those affected through prayer.

“We had tea and coffee afterwards and I spoke to a number of people who said they found it very moving,” he said. “Also, one man, who had recently been made redundant, said he found it very helpful.”