LONDON (Reuters) - The Internet is helping some of Scotland's faithful get closer to God after one of the country's oldest churches launched an online prayer service Monday. The Rosslyn Chapel, founded around 1446 just outside Edinburgh, said it set up the "e-prayer" service for worshippers to leave prayer requests.
"The idea was inspired by some churches who do this in the United States, but we believe we are the first in Scotland to jump into the Internet age in this way," said a spokesman for the Scottish Episcopal Church.
"The response has already been very good...We believe its impersonality can be a strength because people can make prayer requests anonymously from their own home," he said.
After the prayers are received they are printed off and offered to God in the chapel by a member of the congregation.
The Reverend Michael Fass said: "These e-prayers are allowing us to build up a long-distance worshipping community...They are connecting people to the church who wouldn't be connected in any other way."
The online prayer site is available at www.scottishepiscopal.com.