If you have come across such books as "Red Moon Rising" or "Punk Monk" you will have encountered the concept of the 24/7 Prayer Room. The idea is that a space is set aside for prayer and people are encouraged to sign up for an hour at a time to pray there. One parish in our deanery that has done this is Wymondham, where a room in the Rectory was converted, as you can see in the pictures. There are more pictures on the Wymondham web page in the The Benefice of South Framland.  

 

This mission idea has immense appeal in our individualistic culture where people tend to be nervous about formal prayers and public traditional services. In the 24/7 prayer room, you can pray however you like, and there are plenty of stimuli. Wymondham's prayer room started as a fairly basic space, but by the end of the week it contained a whole variety of offerings: posters, books, prayers, candles, a water feature, prayer collages, paints, modelling clay, pens, paper of various colours, bread and wine, a CD player and a range of CDs, touchy-feely artefacts, gorgeous drapes, comfy chairs, calligraphy.... No wonder people who tentatively ventured in had no problem filling an hour, making the room their own for that time, adding to the displays and, on emerging, quickly signing up for another slot.

 

The thing is, this sort of venture can be attempted in a whole host of different venues. If you have a "dead space" in your church (such as an unused Lady Chapel, for instance, or a corner at the back) it can easily be made attractive for, say, a day of prayer, or even the full-blown 24/7.