Luke Hawkins – CIYD
I had never hosted a prayer space before. I had seen them used in schools, but now I was in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin planning a school retreat day for Transition Year Students (aged 15-16). The organisers had asked for a worship time to end the retreat, and we had been given use of the Lady Chapel, a beautiful 800 year old space for prayer. The students who would be worshipping together would come from every Church background and none. What to do? How to make the worship time relevant for all and also respect the incredible space we had been given?
“Why don’t you give Prayer Spaces in Schools a call?” Came the suggestion.
Great idea. So we got Emma onto a Zoom call and explained the brief: school retreats, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the theme is story.
“Well you’re going to need some Jelly Snakes for a start.” Came the reply.
Right. Jelly Snakes. Pardon? Of course it was to do with St. Patrick, who famously banished the snakes from Ireland, and so the idea of young people slowly and reflectively eating Jelly Snakes whilst praying for something to be banished from their lives was born. We brainstormed for the next half an hour and landed on nine more prayer ideas which could tie into our session and deal with all the major issues in a young person’s life: forgiveness, baggage, gratitude, hope, justice, hearing God.
Come the day itself I was armed with her blurb and outline for each prayer station, as well as a simple script for how to introduce it to the students. Oh and lots of Jelly Snakes.
The result? Everyone prayed in some shape or form. I saw young people I had not expected to engage, work their way around the Chapel and finish by kneeling at the Communion rail to continue prayer. We had people coming up to us for 1:1 prayer. Happily, the Chapel prayer books and candle stands were also used, tying in our contemporary ideas into the prayer traditions of the space. One of the students said that the space was ‘unlike anything he had ever experienced.’
One of the prayer stations was ‘Letters from God’, students were encouraged to write a letter to themselves from God. They were incredible, really heartfelt responses to what the students felt that God was saying to them: ‘I know we haven’t spoken in ages, but know that I love you’ was one of the most memorable responses.
The school staff said the same thing: ‘the prayer activities were excellent, really well thought through, and engaged the students well.’ With a number of staff pointing out the movement and different prayer stations was really helpful for students with additional educational needs.
All in all, it was an incredible experience for everyone concerned, and one which we owe entirely to Prayer Spaces in Schools.
