During the past 3 months, the Mtarfa school community had the opportunity to experience the blessings of prayer spaces.
The journey made it possible for all stakeholders responsible for the educational process of the students to unite in this personal and yet communal experience. It started with educators during a staff development meeting. Experiencing the validity of these created spaces and acknowledging the need to present different forms of prayer led to most of them coming along with the students of their classes to share this experience with the students entrusted to them. The students spoke about this experience at their residential homes and parents queried what these prayer spaces were all about and consequently, the schools’ headmistress thought of making it possible for the parents to experience these prayer spaces as well.
Parents’ involvement
Following this journey, the parents’ session which was held next, was also very fruitful not only from the SDS team perspective but also from the parents’ feedback. The idea was to show the parents what the children will be experiencing or doing and how this is necessary for their holistic development but also to encourage them to give their helping hand so that the school can offer these spaces more often along the scholastic year. Most of the parents who attended showed their willingness to give a helping hand so as to create more spaces like these on the school grounds.
On a very positive note, the parents participated and commented that reflective, personal, hands-on prayer spaces are a necessity for the holistic sanity of any human being irrelevant of age, gender, social, political and religious orientation. During the feedback session, the parents opened a healthy discussion on how to pray, how to appreciate different forms of prayer and how can prayer be helpful in everyday life. These prayer spaces led to a reflective conversation on ones’ spiritual experience during ones’ journey here on earth. All in all, this journey is just in its first steps, After the follow-up meeting with the SMT, these experiences will be offered more frequently to the school community with the collaboration of all entities i.e. the SMT, the educators, the parents, other members of the school staff and the SDS team. Please contact the SDS team if you have an opinion or share your experience related to this experience.
