Wing and a Prayer

PRAYER ANGELS will fly in the nave of Ripon Cathedral in a joint art project to say thank you to health workers, carers and all those engaged in frontline services during this pandemic and to help support the vital work of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Ripon Cathedral has just launched A Wing and a Prayer, an art installation project that hopes to see thousands of paper angels with people’s prayers written on them suspended from the ceiling of the nave.

People are being asked to fill in a prayer request online and donate an angel on which their prayer will then be written before it becomes part of the art installation later in the year.

Clergy will offer up the prayers during services and it is hoped the cathedral will be filled with angelic prayers to be reminded of the amazing contributions made by so many during the COVID-19 pandemic and to remember those who have lost their lives.

All funds raised from the project will equally support both the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the ministry of Ripon Cathedral.

Margaret Hammond, Development Manager at Ripon Cathedral said:

“Ripon Cathedral felt very strongly about working with Yorkshire Air Ambulance as many of the charity’s crew are currently working on the frontline to help protect people across our region every day.

“So we are delighted they agreed to partner with us on this project and we are looking forward to raising funds to help keep the Air Ambulance flying at this difficult time, as well as supporting the work of Ripon Cathedral in the community”.

Helen Callear, Director of Fundraising (North and East) for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, said:

“We are delighted to have been chosen as the charity partner for the ‘A Wing and a Prayer Project’ at Ripon Cathedral. This is a project very close to our charity’s heart and with event cancellations and fundraising activities on hold, the YAA need all the support we can get to keep our helicopters in the air and save lives across the region.”

“By donating an angel in honour of our key workers or a special person, you are supporting the vital work of Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the ministry of Ripon Cathedral for the benefit of people and communities across the region,’ she added.

The origami angels are also available to download and print out at home for people to keep and to put on show in the windows of their homes, take pictures and share on social media.

Find out more about Wing and a Prayer on the Ripon website.

Donate an Angel here.