The young lad jumped straight in whilst I was describing to the class how dropping a little tablet into the water and watching it fizz away was a creative way to pray; a way that we could receive forgiveness, and a place where we could forgive others too.

We were talking about two kings.

A primary school pupil had wisely and enthusiastically stated in an earlier lesson that there are two kings in the Christmas story. King Herod. And Jesus: "because Jesus was a king"! One king used power well. The other king abused his power. Which king do we want to be like? Which king are we like?

Almost everyone in the class strongly agreed; the opinion is that there are people who just don’t deserve forgiveness. In response, Luiz – a youth leader on our team – stood up and gave an awesome explanation that forgiveness doesn’t just set others free, it sets us free too.  He quoted someone who once said “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

"That makes a lot of sense. Thanks. That’s really helpful" the student replied.

In a church building, a minute’s walk away from the school, we set up a warm, homely lounge in one of the side chapels. A makeshift fireplace stood alongside a Christmas tree, with presents underneath and sofas to the side. Cards hung on the wall and a growing paper chain circled the ceiling.

Welcome to the prayer room.

The whole of key stage 3 were booked in for four days leading up to the end of term. Stations around the room told something of the Christmas story, encouraging hopes and dreams, prayers of guidance, thanks, repentance, peace, light in the darkness.

In addition to the Prayer Room, the prayer stations formed the basis of various performances, which all came together to create the schools’ first Christmas concert. Over 400 parents and supporters came over two nights to watch the stations from the prayer room come to life in an evening of music, art, drama and poetry. Working with these departments throughout the school term created a brilliant sense of anticipation about the Christmas story and the prayer week itself. Our 24-7 prayer community here hosted the event, giving away mince pies and hot spiced berry drinks, and welcoming parents themselves into the prayer room.

A senior leader of the school came up to me afterwards saying,

When I came to the school the school lacked a soul, there was no music, no singing. But tonight, I’ve seen the beginnings of what I’ve longed for, for two years.

Another teacher said “this has really awakened something in me”

We’re already making plans for other concerts, music and drama workshops throughout the year, telling stories like Easter and the feeding of the five thousand! We long for the impact of our prayer weeks to thread themselves throughout the whole life of the school community to shape the image and identity of the school itself.

But all of this extra activity has been birthed - and will remain – in prayer. In the simple, yet profound encounters, conversations and responses prayed by students and staff as they explore God for themselves.

One yr8 student wrote:

God, if you wrote me a Christmas card, I’d want you to say “I will heal your mum and dad”

On a prayer chain of hope, some responded:

for my dad to come out of prison


to stop arguing

to see my brother again

for my granddad to get better

The head of year 8 came over and was talking to a student who she often clashes with because of bad behaviour. “Have you gone to the vase of water to forgive me?” she asked jokingly.
The student replied, “No, I went to the tree, and wrote a thank you for you”

A local Imam came along too and said “Thank you, I’ve learnt a lot.” He thought the Christmas Prayer Room was great.

As did the young student full of questions, wrestling with forgiveness. As we started playing some chilled out Christmas tunes in the background, and the students spread themselves among the various stations, he got up and went straight to the vase, picked up a tablet, and carefully let it go.

Prayer Spaces like this one in Gloucester are impacting thousands of children in schools in the UK and beyond. If you'd like to support this amazing work you can do so in the following ways:

1. You can PRAY. Pray for the national team and for local churches hosting Prayer Spaces in primary and secondary schools all over the UK and Ireland.
2. 
You can GIVE. Please consider joining with us as a Prayer Spaces in Schools Supporter.
3. You can GO. Run a Prayer Space yourself. Use the resources on the Prayer Spaces in Schools website. Get trained and inspired at a workshop near you (or invite us to come and host one). Visit a Prayer Space 'in action' (if you contact us, we'll try to connect you). And go for it.