Here in Gloucester, we’ve seen 3000 young people walk through the doors of a prayer space over the last three years. Mostly, eyes open a littler wider with an unexpected sense of wonder as they move around the space and grow in their awareness of themselves, others, and God.
Our story, like the stories of all prayer spaces in schools, includes moving and profound experiences of children and young people being awakened to something they didn’t know they were looking for; stories of peace, forgiveness, of rekindled hope for the future, and much more. Locally, our prayer activities stem from three core reflections:
Thank you.
Sorry.
Please.
These simple, vulnerable, honest prayers find their way into every space we host. Whatever our background, however we’re feeling, we can all say thank you, sorry, and please. And from there begins a journey where faith can grow, and where people can truly draw near to God.
There are many ways to symbolise these prayers and creatively bring them to life. Here are a few simple ideas that have worked well for us in Gloucester schools.
THANK YOU
A space to reflect on the importance of gratitude, to celebrate the good things in life, to be thankful for things we sometimes take for granted.
Equipment
Balloons Felt tip pens String
Reflection
It’s sometimes easy to forget about the things that really make a difference – things that inflate us and make us who we are. Encourage participants to take a moment to think about the things that they’re really thankful for.
Response
Set up the space with the balloons, and invite people to take one, blow it up and write their ‘thank you’ prayer on it. Hang the balloons with the others; this activity looks great if the balloons can be strung up in the roof of a gazebo or covering a classroom window.
SORRY
Sometimes called ‘forgiven’, this space helps students reflect and pray about the things they’d like to say sorry about; things that have hurt themselves or others. It can also be used to help students reflect on what others have done or said that they’d like to forgive. This activity can be quite moving for students, so it’s good to keep it fairly private, but also have someone from your team on hand to respond to anyone who’d like to talk.
Equipment
Wooden board Pencils Sand paper
Reflection
We all do or say things that can hurt ourselves and others. There are things we all regret, both big and small. But when we say sorry and when we forgive, we are set free to start afresh. Encourage people to think of something that they regret. What happened? How did they feel? What would it look like to make peace?
Response
Set up a white board so that when people are ready, they can write or draw anything that they would like forgiveness for - or simply the word sorry. Provide sand paper so that they can scrape the words off, as a symbol and prayer of starting afresh.
PLEASE
A space to reflect and pray about our big hopes, about the things we long to see change in our lives and the lives of others. You can make this specific with information or newspaper headlines of local and global issues, or keep it fairly simple to encourage a freedom with peoples’ hopes and dreams.
Equipment
Loom (made out of an old picture frame, wrapping string around it repeatedly) Strips of coloured paper Pens
Reflection
There are things in our lives and the lives of others that need mending.
Ask: what are your big hopes for your world and the whole world? What needs to change?
Response
Provide strips of paper on which people can write their big hopes, before threading them into the loom. This will enable them to think and pray through any brokenness that needs restoring, as an image of lives being woven back together, and about hope and healing for the future.
To keep up to date with the latest stories, and for loads of ideas, resources and inspiration about prayer spaces in schools, visit www. prayerspacesinschools.com. And please come and join with us in London, Bradford, Bristol or Edinburgh at our autumn day conferences! Book your place here: www.prayerspacesinschools.com/day2013
