THE COUNTY'S Anglican cathedral hosted an all-day festival.

Blackburn cathedral welcomed more than 300 parishioners from across Lancashire for their Festival of Prayer on Saturday, giving worshippers of all ages the chance to explore different ways of engaging with God through prayer.

The event began with a service by the Bishop of Burnley, Rt Rev. Philip North followed by the keynote address which was delivered by writer and broadcaster Canon Angela Tilby.

Bishop North said the event highlights the importance of prayer in today's world.

He said: "It has been really successful.

"It's a great to have an event like this in winter, when it's cold and miserable outside, it brings people together into the warm of the cathedral.

"This is the second festival we have held, last year we held one celebrating the eucharist and it was very popular.

"This year, we decided to focus on prayer because without prayer, the ministry and mission of the Diocese will come to nothing.

"And It's through prayer that we can make a difference in the world, that's the theme really."

Attendees, who had to book their place at the festival, came from across the county to take part.

Margaret Pool came from Preston and said she found it 'very enjoyable'.

She said: "I have been a Christian all my life, so when I saw it advertised I felt I should attend.

"It was very good, very enjoyable and it was lovely to see inside the Cathedral."

After the service, parishioners had the opportunity to attend a variety of workshops held by guest speakers that introduced worshippers to new ways of praying.

Younger parishioners were also invited to take part in 'messy church', an all-day event which gave the youngsters a chance to look at prayer in their own way through games.

Carolin Mayor, who attended the messy-church with her daughter Abigail, said it was a great opportunity to share knowledge between parishes.

She said: "Abigail attends the Sunday club, so it was really good for her to meet children from different parishes.

"The festival itself is a great opportunity to share our knowledge with other parishes and pick up ideas we can incorporate into our own church."