With Pray2010 upon us organisers are pleased that registrations for the gathering have continued at pace.
On current numbers more than 2400 people are going to be present across the four nights and three days from July 7 – 10 but there is still ample room for latecomers to attend.
In a further endorsement for Archbishop Bathersby’s gathering, approximately 25% of attendees will be coming from interstate (all seven states and territories) or overseas, with Pakistan and New Zealand representing some of the farthest pilgrimages being made.
The positive uptake of tickets, both from around Queensland and beyond, has been pleasing for project co-ordinator and Faith & Life Executive Director Mr Geoff Gowdie.
Mr Gowdie said the multifaceted event, which he describes more simply as a ‘giant prayer expo’, would surprise people by its interactive nature, practical application and the range of diversity within its many workshops.
“Prayer is not about set formulas, it’s about understanding core beliefs and the reality that one can relate to God in many different ways,” he said.
“Seeing how other people pray and learning some of those ways is often helpful because it’s a learning experience that can free us.
“People can realise for the first time ‘Oh, that’s prayer’, or ‘Oh, you can do it that way’, so it’s often as much about clearing away the formula,” he said.
Realisation of the Pray2010 concept has taken 2 years from the Archbishop’s first floating of the idea, through the juggling of the international speaker’s diaries and now down to the brass tacks of staging and the technical set up of venues.
It’s being held at the combined campus of Clairvaux MacKillop and St Bernards’ Parish because only a venue this size could accommodate the 37 keynote presentations, more than 130 presenters and choice of 300 workshops over the four days.
In recalling the Archbishop’s initial impetus for the gathering, Mr Gowdie said the archbishop was concerned that people can easily neglect prayer.
“Of course the Archbishop understands that in today’s world people find it difficult to pray because life is so busy and there are so many distractions and challenges in these uncertain times,” he said.
“Yet through it all he’s still absolutely committed to getting the Christian vision out into the community and believes firmly that prayer is at the heart of it.
“Whether or not people want to have a relationship with God depends often on experiencing ‘how to’ and if they can experience how to, sometimes it fuels the ‘want to’.
To register online for tickets please visit www.pray2010.org.au
Alternatively online registration can be completed on site at the Upper Mt Gravatt location (jointly held at Clairvaux MacKillop College and St Bernard’s Catholic Parish, Klumpp Rd, Upper Mt Gravatt). Please allow enough time to do so before keynotes or workshops start.