24-7 in School: Stop, Think, Encounter God

Published: June 22nd, 2009

Teenagers sit on bean bags, scribbling short but heartlfelt prayers on post it notes to stick on the bubble tube, or drawing prayers on the floor. Nearby, their classmates are watching thought-provoking video poems, or writing their sorry-prayers on magnadoodles to wipe them away. Other pupils are thinking through forgiveness while they watch vitamin C tablets fizzing away in water. Sounds like your average high school RE lesson, right?

In another corner, they are moving tiny paper people around a table to pray for friendships and relationships, looking at themselves in the mirror and writing their names on huge hands as a reminder that their names are written on God's hand. Others are finding their favourite places on google earth to pray for them, writing a prayer for their family on a flag to stick on the large local map or flicking through today's newspaper to pray for things happening around the world. This is prayer in school.

Orison spent a week at Jubilee International High School in Addlestone, Surrey, running a prayer space in their theatre. 800 pupils, including 4 classes from a local primary school, came in their RE lessons and were invited to drop in at breaktimes and lunchtimes.

In the forgiveness zone, two year 5 boys realised, as they sat writing things they were sorry for on magnadoodles, that they'd fallen out with each other. They stopped writing and sat and talked, saying sorry to each other and forgiving each other for things they'd said and done. Other pupils sat watching the vitamin tablets dissolving with tears running down their cheeks, saying afterwards, "It really helped me to let go of some things I'd been holding on to." The bubble tube area was another favourite, as one girl said, "The bubble zone made me feel relaxed and I had a nice conversation with God."

What an amazing privilege to be able to offer these young people space to stop, think and encounter God!

***24-7 Prayer UK in Schools - launch; September 2009***

Rachel Warwick is part of a 24-7 UK's new Prayer in Schools team. If you're currently running prayer rooms in primary or secondary schools, we'd love to hear from you. And if you'd like to run a prayer room in one of your local schools, we'd also love to hear from you, and do anything we can to help/support you. 

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