The chapel in the Royal Sussex County Hospital (c) Kristen Bailey 2009
I had an appointment at the Royal Sussex last week, in a part of the (sprawling) hospital I hadn't visited before, and the hospital chapel was close by, so i thought I'd take a look. It was wonderful to be alone in this silent room, knowing that all around me was noise and bustle.
The chapel was built in 1854 (it is inside the main hospital building, built in 1828) and it's still Victorian in style, with a Wedgewood blue ceiling and glossy wood panelling. It feels like an Anglican (Church of England) chapel at first, but care has been taken in providing for many different styles of prayer.
You could light a candle, as I've seen in Catholic and 'High' Anglican churches.Then there was a 'Prayer Cairn', where you're invited to take a stone from the tray, hold in your hand while saying a prayer then place it onto the cairn being built on the table.
I'm from the Baptist tradition, and used to just closing my eyes (or not, if I'm not praying with others) and getting on with my prayer. It was good to try this 'creative' way of praying - holding the stone helped me to concentrate on my prayer. It also felt good to place my 'prayer' in the cairn with the prayers of others.
I'll still be praying on the bus and in the shower and as I'm walking to the shops, but I'm going to look into other ideas like this 'prayer cairn', to see what I can use to help me pray more, and for specific people/situations. PS: I do requests!
The Methodist Church of Great Britain: Ideas for Prayer
Prayer Requests: Creative Prayer
Creative Prayer: Comtemplative Prayer Stations
Beliefnet: Ten Creative Ways to Energize Your Prayer Life
* SONG OF THE DAY: Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer *
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