Prayer Spaces in Schools Newsletter June 2017

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01/07/2017 Stories
Dear Friends,

Welcome to July
Our friends in Scotland and Malta (and probably others too) have already celebrated the end of their school year. Here in England (and Germany, etc.), however, we’ve got a few more weeks to go, so we’re still counting down until we can sing ‘school’s out for Summer’. There’s been no slowing down though – June has been a busy month!

“The Best Thing Ever…”
For example, Balliol Primary School in Newcastle hosted their first prayer spaceat the end of June, with support from local Anglican and Methodist churches. On the final day, the Head teacher Tweeted this short summary; “It has been one of the best things we’ve ever done. Great on so many levels.”
Leaver’s Services
A couple of weeks before that, the Diocese of Durham in the north and the Diocese of Guildford in the south both hosted massive Leaver’s Service PrayerSpace events for their Year 6 children in Durham and Guildford Cathedrals. More than 5000 children took part, and the feedback that we’ve already received from staff and pupils has been overwhelmingly positive.

In Durham, students form some of the Diocesan secondary schools helped to plan, host and lead the Leaver’s Service, and some were interviewed for the following article. One of the teenagers explained what they’d done, and why they’d done it; “Not only have we been leading the service and the prayerstations, we have really enjoyed talking with the leavers about the move to their new schools. It has meant that we have been able to pass on some encouragement to younger people that are yet to come to secondary school and helps me to reflect on maybe what I was like when I was in Year 6 and give them hope for their secondary school years as I think about leaving mine. It’s really helped me to open up and pass on knowledge and experiences to the leavers – I just really hope that they enjoy secondary school.”

One Month to Go 
Exactly one month Phil Togwell will be flying to Australia to host the first PrayerSpaces in Schools Training Tour, which we’re hosting in partnership with the Anglican Schools Commission. Phil will be running training days for local Christian leaders, staff, and anyone else who’s interested in  prayer spaces in Brisbane, Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. If you’re in Australia and you’ve not booked a place then you’ve still got time… please book in – we would love to see as many of you there. Click here for more details.
Prayer Spaces in Schools, Day Conferences 2017
Last, but definitely not least – our Day Conference 2017 tickets are now available… HERE! Join us in LONDON on Saturday 23rd September or YORK on Saturday 30th September, on the 10th anniversary (almost to the day) of the very first prayer space, for what we’re confident will be our best-ever Day Conferences.

Researchers, Professor Julia Stern and Rachael Shillitoe, will be presenting an interim summary of the findings from our six-month research project into the impact of prayer spaces in schools. We’ll also have a bunch of practical workshops and hosted conversations around prayer space themes, case study interviews, brand new resources, news from prayer spaces around the world, and plenty of time for networking and exchanging stories and ideas. And cake. There will be cake. To book your ticket/s, click here.

Social Media
One of the best ways to stay tuned into the news and stories from prayer spaces is to follow Prayer Spaces in Schools in social media. Join us – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

Peace be with you,

Tandia Hughes
Prayer Spaces in Schools team