Use the contrast between the spikey shell and the smooth conker to reflect on God’s transforming work.
Collect conkers still in their spikey shells. Invite everyone to carefully pick one shell up and hold it while thinking of something ‘spikey’ or not nice they would like God to sort out. This could be anything, for example, unforgiveness or sickness or a difficult situation among friends. This can be done silently so that everyone has privacy to be honest with God about things they might not want to share with everyone else.
Read the following verse from Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Carefully break open the shells and hold the conkers for a minute, reflecting on how something so lovely comes from something spikey, a picture of how God can transform people and situations.
Leave at least one conker unopened somewhere everyone will see it. Pray the same prayer each time you see the spikey shell until the shell opens to release the conker.
We did this in our Messy Church celebration time and it was a short but powerful, significant moment of prayer.