|PIC1|Prime Minister Gordon Brown hosted a reception at 10 Downing Street on Wednesday in honour of the Global Day of Prayer London taking place at Millwall football stadium this Sunday.

Mr Brown invited 80 senior church leaders to the two-hour reception 'In Honour of the Global Day of Prayer London', during which he also highlighted the Millennium Development Goals and Call to Action declaration.

The Global Day of Prayer London (GDOP) is a movement of collaboration across the Christian church in the capital towards unity, prayer and transformation, and is part of a global network which began in South Africa at the turn of the Millennium.

In 2007, over 250 million Christians united in 203 countries to pray. Here in London, GDOP has been a focus of prayer and Christian action since 2006 with last year's event at West Ham stadium attracting 20,000 Christians.

This year's event is to be held at Millwall football stadium, with an expected crowd of 25,000. Organisers have a vision of hiring the new Wembley Stadium in 2010 to accommodate the ever-growing interest.

The Prime Minister acknowledged the work being done by church leaders on behalf of the most vulnerable people both at home and abroad and commended their work towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

He went on to urge a renewed effort to achieve the MDGs through support for the Call to Action declaration. A number of organisations, including Premier Radio, Micah Challenge and Tearfund endorsed the Call to Action declaration.

GDOP London founder, Pastor Dr Jonathan Oloyede, said: "A number of church leaders have been meeting with Prime Minister Brown since the very earliest days of his office to discuss major issues London's communities face, and how the churches are seeking to find solutions, and offer hope and care to the most vulnerable citizens.

"Having heard about the Global Day of Prayer, the Prime Minister kindly agreed to host a reception at No 10, for which we are extremely grateful. At Millwall this Sunday, we will be urging thousands of Christians to be agents of transformation for the global poor."

In his commendation of the event, Brown told guests: "Whether it is supporting young single parents, providing education, or helping to improve the criminal justice system, the work of leaders such as yourselves makes an invaluable contribution to British life and I'd like to thank you for that.

"I know that you are passionate about promoting fairness and development in every country of the world. That is why I'm delighted that we are using this opportunity to join together to tackle global poverty."

This Sunday's event, apart from praying for Madeleine McCann and abducted children, Christians will focus their prayers on the gun and drug crime in the capital.

They will be joined by Richard Taylor, father of Damilola Taylor, the 10-year-old stabbed to death in November 2000. Mr Taylor, together with his late wife Gloria led the Damilola Taylor Trust, aimed at 'healing many of the ills faced by today's youths'.

Mr Taylor will speak of how his faith helped him and his family following the death of his son and how it was a driving force for them in their tireless work to put an end to "this terrible cancer in our nation's capital".

Just last week 15-year-old Peckham teenager Lyle Tullock was stabbed to death, the 12th teenage murder in London since the start of 2008.



For full details of the Global Day of Prayer, visit www.gdoplondon.com