Reply To: Prayer Spaces

Hi Rich / Peter

You might try reaching out to Algonquin College. They built a Spiritual Centre as part of their Student Commons project which opened in 2012. I remember it as an innovative solution to the campus “prayer room” question.

• Type of facility being used for prayer (description) – Spiritual Centre – great info on their website
• Tailored to one faith or multi-faith? Multi-faith / broad spiritual needs. ” The Spiritual Centre at Algonquin College exists to provide a collaborative environment of positive spiritual and religious engagement, diversity, and respect. The Spiritual Centre strives to celebrate, support, and nurture the spiritual and religious well-being of everyone in the Algonquin College community.”
• Available at all campuses? (You will need to reach out to Algonquin for details)
• Who manages the space? Student Support Services
• How did they design it? It was originally included in the programming and design of the Student Commons which opened in 2012.
• Input from students? Faith communities? The Students’ Association leadership at the time was a key advocate for creating a spiritual gathering centre “to become a centre for conversation, dialogue, and welcoming of spiritual ideas and for the various faiths on the Algonquin campus.”.
• Successes and opportunities for improvement – The Spiritual Centre at Algonquin appears to have evolved / matured well over time.

Hope this helps