One of our Church Schools in the North West of the diocese has recently transformed part of its outdoor space into a prayer garden giving all of the children an opportunity to think, observe, and question while taking part in creative prayer activities.
Ashby Church of England Primary School’s Peace Garden was turned into a Prayer Garden for the day in a joint venture with Ashby Youth For Christ (YFC). Kate from YFC and the school’s Head Teacher Liz Powell had the idea to use this space for a pop up prayer event which used the theme of the school’s values and took inspiration from the Book of Psalms.
Children from each class had the opportunity to visit the garden and spend time exploring the various prayer stations that had been set up by the team from YFC. Prayer stations included:
Friendship – At this station children were offered the opportunity to take a pencil and draw around their hand whilst thinking about the fact that Jesus asks us to love and not judge one another.
Forgiveness – Here children were given ‘stones’ and were encouraged to pray for something they wanted to say sorry for or for someone they would like to forgive. Then they put the stones into water. The stones were in fact mini bath bombs and so they dissolved as a sign of God’s forgiveness.
Wisdom – This station offered the opportunity to ask God to help in making good decisions at school and at home. The children wrote down their prayers and added them to a ribbon hung in the trees.
Compassion – Here the children were able to choose a colourful bead or button representing a teardrop and think about something that makes them sad or someone they know who is sad. They then put their tear in the bottle reminding them that God sees our sadness.
Endurance – Children spent time at this station making matchstick people out of pipe cleaners while thinking of something that they are finding difficult. Next they added their stick person onto the ‘uphill’ sting, representing the support that God gives during out struggles.
Trust – This station reminded the children that we can all trust that God will keep us safe. The station was based around the story of Moses’s mother placing him in a basket in the Nile. The children were able to write their prayers on a post-it and put that note into a basket for God’s safe keeping.
The day was a huge success with the children able to explore at their own pace and adding their prayers to the garden. In fact, the sight of the colorful display of prayers led the school to make a permanent space in the Peace Garden for everyday prayer, so that children can continue to add their prayers and use the space during sessions with YFC. The prayer space can been changed and adapted based on current events with new themes or activities added.
Find out more about Ashby Church of England Primary school and keep up to date with their work on their Facebook page.