Author: Kathryn Turner

Where to get ideas -
Contact prayer groups within your parish
Contact the Department for Spirituality
Send a couple of people on the “Come to the Well and Drink” course or ask a member of the Team to come along to a planning meeting
Try the www.24-7prayer.co.uk website

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity
under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Sample Timetable

Below is a sample timetable which could be adapted to suit your own community –drawing on the prayer and devotions that already happen—or which people would like to try.

6pm	Mass
7pm	Evening Prayer of the Church
8pm	Prayer around the Cross (Taizé-style)
9pm	Young people led (prayer paper chain? Or…?)
10pm	Intercessory prayer
11pm	Images of Jesus
Midnight	Night Prayer of the Church
1am	Prayer for our Diocese – lighting candles on map
2am	Prayer for the dying and sick
3am	“I have heard you calling in the night…”*
4am	Mantra
5am	Labyrinth
6am	Office of Readings
7am	Sunrise Service (in this or more appropriate hour)
8am	Make a prayer sheet
9am	Rosary
10am	Morning Prayer of the Church
11am	Imaginative contemplation
12noon	Angelus
1pm	Children led
2pm	Prayer during the Day
3pm	Anointing of the Sick
4.15pm	Sacrament of Reconciliation
5.30pm	Mass
* Reflecting on Vocation and life choices.

© Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle—May 2015
Also available in other formats

One Night
One Day

24 Hours of Prayer

Why a 24 Hour Prayer?

The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is prayed by clergy and lay people around the world. Through their prayer, the earth is daily encircled by prayer—passed on from country to country, following sunrise and sunset.
The 24 Hour Prayer draws on this powerful practice and echoes the traditional 40 Hours devotion. It gives a parish and deanery an opportunity to bring people together to share times of prayer.
Through a period of 24 hours, it is possible to use the Divine Office but also to try different kinds of prayer. It is not necessary to fill the whole of each hour with prayer. Start the prayer on the hour and then allow it to flow—some will easily fill an hour, for others 15-30 minutes might be enough. People can commit to one or more hours—or to drop in as and when they can.
It is also an excellent way of underpinning the Forward Together in Hope process with prayer.

Young people could take the night shift. This is a challenge that many will be delighted to accept.
You will need to get permission for under-18s and ensure a good variety of prayer-experiences for them.
Use it as an opportunity to introduce them to forms of prayer they may not have encountered before—as well as having more active and creative ideas.
Think also about catering

What do we need to think about?

Planning an event such as a 24 Hour Prayer ensures that it runs smoothly and that people can focus on the prayer and not just the logistics. It can draw on the gifts of different people—for prayer, welcoming, hospitality and more. Here are some things to consider...

Â	Someone to be “on duty” throughout the 24 Hours. People can come and go—but you will need a rota to ensure security—and continuity.
Â	Variety of Prayer—a mix of traditional and contemporary—of contemplative and creative.
Â	Food! Prayer takes energy—especially the overnight shift! Have tea, coffee, soft drinks and biscuits available throughout. / You could offer chip suppers and pizza to the young people late evening and during the night.
Â	Permissions for young people / Consent forms, etc are available on the “Exploring the Way” CD or from the diocesan website.
	And?!

Not just inside the church!

Although a church is the obvious place for a 24 Hour Prayer, the Prayer does not need to be confined to it.
If your parish has “Anchors” (people who pray at home), let them have a copy of the timetable and any texts or useful “equipment” so that they can join in the prayer at various points during their day.
Depending on the days chosen, children and young people might join the prayer in the church—or be given something to take home to pray with their families.
Consider how local schools could be involved.
Think about asking people in hospital—many would welcome something to while away long hours—that links them with the wider community.
It might also be possible to reach into local prisons or young offenders’ units through their chaplains.

Think about linking your 24 Hour Prayer with the Deanery visits being planned by the
Forward Together
in Hope Team