You and your school community are invited to take part in a service for children and young people on April 18, 2020 at 2pm in Truro Cathedral.

The service will be very special in that it will be led by youngsters from across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly – so we need your help!

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly hold a very special place in the story of pilgrimage, having many well-trodden routes crossing our part of the world. You may well know how your community has links to pilgrimage routes or have explored the local footpaths which would have taken people on their journeys. On that basis, we would love to plan the service around this – celebrating and sharing the history and tradition of pilgrimage as we meet together.


The deadline has now passed for initial ticket allocation. But you can still reserve school places for the service by contacting Church House direct on 01872 274351. 

It is still not too late for children and young people from across the diocese to get involved in the service. Have a look at the list below, to see which ideas inspire your community to get involved.  

1. Run a ‘design a banner competition’

Run a competition to design a banner that can be used to welcome children and young people to this service and others like it in the future! Enter your school’s winning banner design into our competition by March 6, 2020 for the chance to see it on display at the service. All entries must be submitted as a one page portrait style colour PDF document.

2. Design & create a prayer station

We will be installing a pilgrimage prayer route, following prayer stations designed and created by you, in the cathedral.  The prayer stations have maximum dimensions of 1m wide by 1m deep and 1.5m high.  They should be based on the theme of pilgrimage.  We will have at least 12 spaces available, so submit your plans either via email or post, ready for judging.

The closing date for entries is March 20, 2020.

Prayer stations can be set up early on April 18 (workshops begin at 10am) or the day before – we will make these arrangements with you once we have our winners.  Even if your school is not invited to create a prayer station, all plans will be displayed in the cathedral on the day of the service.

For those who haven’t come across prayer stations before, but are intrigued and would like to participate, check out this website(there are lots of others) for ideas to get your creative juices flowing or contact the Discipleship Team at Church House.

3. 18 April morning workshops – Book Now!

We will have a series of free workshops running from 10am on April 18, culminating in the service, which begins at 2pm.

Please use the links below to book now!  Limited places available!

Booking deadline March 27, 2020 

4. Complete your own Pilgrimage!

Credit: Fas Khan, Unsplash

It is around 60 miles from Truro Cathedral to St Mark’s CE Primary in Morwenstow and to Five Islands Academy base on St Mary’s – can your school complete the pilgrimage and earn their medal?  Perhaps you could think about using this as part of your Daily Mile initiative?  Do you have a pilgrimage route near to you that your children can walk?  How far is it from your school to the cathedral?

If you complete a pilgrimage send us your photos/videos (via email and with consent forms) and feedback before March 27, 2020. We will show the photos/videos in the cathedral on the day of the service. We will be awarding schools that take part with certificates.

5. Design a school slate for the cathedral’s new roof

Why not run an in-school competition for a slate design to represent your school? Send your winning design to us by March 27, 2020 and the winner(s) will be able to re-create their design on a slate during the morning session on April 18.

6. Get singing!

Children from King Charles, St Francis and Falmouth Schools joined together to sing “My Lighthouse” by the band, Rend Collective (watch the video here). Learn the song and the actions and come along to the service where we will sing it together.