Having already been involved in various events and conference around the UK over the last couple of years, hosting workshops and setting up prayer spaces for people to explore in different places, we decided that it was time to organise our own Day Conference - Wednesday 5th October 2011, 10am until 4pm. To be honest, we hoped to be able to gather 30 or 40 people together for a day of story-swapping, plotting, scheming and dreaming, learning together... but things have accelerated a little bit since then.

At this moment, 99 people have booked in for our day together in The Crypt, St James Clerkenwell, near Farringdon tube station (the venue is beautiful, by the way), and we're very excited! Participants are coming from far and wide, from Truro and Guernsey, Liverpool and Leeds, some travelling many miles to be with us. And they are a mix of youth and schools workers, project leaders and church ministers, as well as teachers and other educational professionals.

We're delighted to have Chris Curtis joining with us to input into the day. Chris is CEO of Youthscape, he's one of the architects behind the Youth Summit, and has a long history of schools and youth work. He'll be addressing us towards the end of the morning.

And we'll also be hearing from all of the Prayer Spaces in Schools team. Catherine Clayton will be hosting a 'How to...?' workshop for those just starting out hosting prayer spaces. Emily Bosworth and Tim Abbott will be hosting a 'What next...?' workshop for those who have found that prayer spaces have opened up new possibilities for engagement with their local schools, and how to respond to these. Rach Warwick and Phil Togwell will be hosting a workshop exploring the theology and values of Prayer Spaces in Schools. And there will be plenty of time for feedback, Q&A, and for hearing stories from many others who have been hosting prayer spaces in different places.

So... this really is the last chance to book in. Until next time, that is.

If you can't make our Day Conference, there are other opportunities to learn about Prayer Spaces in Schools. Tim, Catherine, Emily and Phil are all hosting workshops at different conferences the following weekend, for example. Of these, Phil will be in Frankfurt at 24-7 Prayer's Eurogathering event, which will be our first real opportunity to discuss the development of Prayer Spaces in Schools in mainland Europe. And Tim will be at the Christian Muslim Forum conference in London, which welcomes Christian and Muslim teachers into a variety of workshops and opportunities for dialogue. We're very excited! Have a look at our EVENTS page for more details.

And please contact us if you'd like to host a Prayer Spaces in Schools workshop where you are, or among your networks. We'll do everything we can to help you.

Posted by Phil

Phil Togwell lives in a large community house in Romford (UK) with his family (three daughters - Megan, Poppy and Angel, and one wife - Emma) and various visitors and pilgrims... exploring and experimenting with rhythms of prayer, mission, hospitality, life together. Phil is learning to cook, slowly. He likes curries, mountains, lengthy late-night conversations and reading books. He dislikes cats. Phil leads 24-7 Prayer's UK team and the Prayer Spaces in Schools team.