We put on the advertising that this was:

• a special, prayerful place to stop for a few days;
• space to reflect, pray, worship and listen;
• time to be recharged, refreshed, reinvigorated, encouraged ... by giving space and time to God and to yourself.

As we know, Jesus modelled this as he spent time alone with God the Father in prayer, often in isolated places. He seemed to need the space to enable the activity of his ministry - 'time out' with God. Then he passed this on.

In Mark's gospel the disciples are sent out by Jesus two-by-two. On their return they gather around Jesus, eager to tell him all that they've done. His response to them is: 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile' (Mark 6.31).

The work of building fresh expressions of church can be demanding, but even Jesus needed time out! How much time out are we giving ourselves?

St Bernhard of Clairvaux - one of the great reformers of the 14th century encouraged his people with these words in a Pentecost sermon:

'If you be wise, you will make yourselves reservoirs rather than channels of God's love - the difference being the channel discharges all its water almost as soon as it is received - and a reservoir waits until it is full to the brim and only gives away what is superfluous - it gives away without loss to itself.

'...we have in the church today many channels, but few reservoirs. We want to give away before we have received, more willing to speak than to listen. Beloved, learn to minister from the overflow and do not desire to be more generous than God ... behold how much has to be poured into us that we may venture to pour out, giving of our plentitude, not of our poverty.'

At Lee Abbey it took time for us to begin to change gear ... to move into that place of 'being' rather than 'doing'. Many of us are activists, and rightly so because action is a vital part of life, and of ministry. We don't feel called to just sit and pray that God will magically change the world. As St Francis prayed: 'Make me a channel (or reservoir?) of your peace'.

There is a balance to be found between contemplation and action. By 'contemplation' I don't mean navel-gazing, but a rhythm of prayerful awareness of God – of his love, his abiding presence, and the challenge of his gospel. It can and does lead to action – often starting with the one person I can change – me! And then out into a needy world. Could contemplation be a crucial step along the way towards fresh expressions of church? I recommend a Grove booklet by David Runcorn on this subject, entitled The Road to Growth Less Travelled – spiritual paths in a missionary church.

In chapter 5 - 'A Contemplative Spirituality' - Runcorn says this:

'[Contemplation] is not about being quiet rather than active. Contemplative traditions ... have close links to the awakening of social conscience and to resistance movements. It is a way of depth and maturing that will help lead people away from a religion of easy answers...'

We don't have to be 'introvert' to go deeper in our faith, or to enjoy the space and silence of God's embrace that is beyond words and human activity. In Myers Briggs terms I am an 'extrovert', yet I have come to value silence and contemplation greatly, especially as a means of listening – to my deeper self, and to God in the midst of my responses to life.

The retreat was a journey for all. Like a super-tanker, it takes time to stop, especially when we're very active. In time the initial struggles gave way to a deeper ease. Much was shared and learned from one another and from God, in a safe and held space. 

Here are reflections from a few of the pioneers, when asked what the retreat had been for them:

• peace, space and affirmation;
• an unexpected sense of healing;
• inspiring, enlightening, relaxing, connected;
• time to live and breathe again, and a sense of His intimacy with me.

The retreat was not a conference. It was a place with space to be with God. We don't have to go all the way to north Devon to find space and God. It's about finding a rhythm for you and God in daily life.

Please blog your response here, and share your views on this.

Fifteen minutes later a stillness has settled on the room and they sit engrossed, touching a plasma ball as they think about how they might connect with God, writing the names of significant people in their lives on leaves and adding them to a tree, playing with Mr Potato Head as they think about the labels that they use for other people.

This is Breathe, an installation that enables pupils to explore some of life's big questions. Its ingredients will be over familiar to anyone involved in alternative worship – iPods with words and music to listen to, stations with a focus that encourage questions and wondering, creative activities with an element of surprise that unlock their spirituality.

The difference, perhaps, is that this is not worship and it's taking place in a school, far from any church. And it's happening with young people who just don't normally do still and quiet. One teacher booked Breathe without knowing much about it and when it was set up hurriedly sent for the deputy head to come and help supervise. She expected her class to throw wooden bricks at each other instead of using them to measure out their carbon footprint; she imagined them starting a riot instead of engaging in spiritual reflection. We were all quietly amazed as they passed our expectations.

One boy who had been in trouble with the police and who was on the brink of exclusion wrote movingly afterwards about his mum's experience of faith and how perhaps there was something in it. Another time, at a conference for diocesan officers, we kept Breathe open late so a couple of staff members who worked in the venue and were intrigued by what they had seen could have a go. One wrote: 'Really very inspirational. Didn't ever really take time to think about things and in this relaxing environment really gives you the chance to.'

Resources like Breathe create a space – for questioning, reflection, wondering – and a sense of place – that this is what you do here. (Words coined by Bob Mayo in his work on the spirituality of young people.) It makes the most of the curriculum requirement to learn about and from religion, the potential for a thin place in the otherwise noisy school day; if young people have to do that, why not give them the best of what we have discovered that feeds our souls? The challenge for those of us who maybe take for granted the riches of creative spirituality is how we can create more opportunities like these for those outside the church to participate in.

Each month in Grace we invest time and energy in creating a space for people to encounter God. We've often asked ourselves how we can also do that in other contexts for people who will never come into our building. I'm not sure we've come up with many answers, but we've been inspired by groups like Beyond in Brighton and their beach hut advent calendar. Again, they have used the thin place that Christmas provides and invited people to consider what it's all about.

These stories remind us that God has set eternity in the hearts of people and perhaps all they need is a little nudge and a bit of space to connect with their creator.

Jenny Baker is a writer and a co-founder of the Sophia Network for women in youth work. She is a member of Grace, an alternative worship community in Ealing. She is the author of Heart, Soul, Strength, Mind (Monarch). More details about Breathe here.

In November, Tear Fund released the results of a major survey to mark Global Poverty Week: ‘Prayer in the UK: Be part of a miracle’.  They discovered that 20 million adults in the UK pray regularly. All of them find it helpful. At least half believe that prayer makes a difference in their lives, in the lives of their families and friends and in the life of the world: prayer changes things. Encouraging people to pray as part of their response to global poverty strikes a chord.

A large number of different research strands now demonstrate that Britain is becoming a more spiritual place again. A growing section of our population is more open to experience of God; more open to prayer. That trend has been building for a number of years and probably has some way still to go. The ministry of spiritual directors is in great demand from those who are not regular churchgoers as well as those who are. Retreat centres and religious communities are attracting a growing number of visitors. This search for spiritual experience and connection showed itself again over Christmas in attendance at church and cathedral services.

Mission is finding out what God is doing and joining in. So if part of what God is doing is stirring people to pray, how can we as a church look to join in what God is doing and support this vast number of people in their prayers?

First, I think we need to recognise honestly that many of us within the church are starting a long way back in this respect. Our services are no longer recognised by many as places of spiritual depth and encounter with God. John Drane has argued for some years that we have become a ‘secular’ church in a ‘spiritual’ society. In many churches of all traditions there may be little expectation of encountering God through public worship, in the ministry of the word or in any other way. We need to clear away the clutter at the start of a new year, not just in the space we use for worship (though that is important), but in our liturgy and songs, and especially in our notices.  Silence and space to be open to God and respond to God’s grace will be vital. Whether our meeting place is an ancient chapel, a school hall or a café, will those who gather find a sense of reverence and of God’s presence in our midst?

Second, we need I think to work on creating particular times and spaces and symbolic actions to help people to pray. Discovering these will only come about through listening to what people find helpful and a sense of experiment. These opportunities to pray seem to work best when they are offered in a way which is open and available to people to join in as they feel is right. However, it is also important to provide help and support in terms of the words and actions used. We are too used, I think, to the idea that prayer together is about sitting or kneeling in a pew with head bowed and eyes closed while someone at the front reads prepared intercessions.

Many established congregations and fresh expressions of church are now experimenting with prayer stations: different points in a building where people can come and pray in a range of ways which engage the senses. These stations have been traditionally part of cathedrals and churches in a more catholic tradition for many years and are a very good example of the ancient-future dynamic at work in fresh expressions of church. For all or part of the service, the congregation move around these different stations and engage with them in prayers of confession or intercession or silent reflection. There may be at each station a symbolic action such as lighting a candle, placing a stone on a cairn or making the sign of the cross with water. There may be the opportunity for laying on of hands or anointing for healing and grace.

Moving to the prayer station and engaging in these simple actions or using the words provided engages people in prayer and offers them words and actions which articulate in a deep way the spiritual longing inside them. Shaping these prayer stations draws out new gifts of creativity in those who develop them. Sometimes they can be permanent and occupy a corner of the church for a season for all who come in and use the building. Sometimes they are just for one moment or occasion.  They can be helpful in ordinary times of thanksgiving and intercession but also immensely powerful in a time of shared grief, intercession or tragedy.

One of the most memorable acts of worship I shared in 2007 was at the Portsmouth Diocesan Conference where a fresh expression of church called the Friday Fridge led the conference in Compline entirely through the use of prayer stations and static displays. Every part of the order of service was used. The act of worship was profoundly engaging. Some people moved around in silence. Others talked to each other as they explored the different parts of the service. Many different gifts were used in preparing the worship. For me, a traditional liturgy I have always loved was given new depth and meaning.

Make it one of your resolutions for 2008 to find out how people outside your church community say their prayers and how you can help and support them in their journey.