Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! The event runs continuously from 7pm on Monday to 7pm on Thursday and there are no breaks. You can come and go at any time. Generally there’s a change of worship leader every two hours. During some slots a short talk or message may be shared, or we may respond to what the Holy Spirit is doing and focus on prayer, or offer prayer ministry, but generally the flow of worship will be maintained. During the quietest hours of the night, if there is no worship leader scheduled, recorded music will be played to steward an atmosphere of quiet, personal worship. Mornings usually begin with a devotional.

Comrie Croft impose a curfew after 11pm. Of course, you can use the worship space but after this time the Cowshed will only have acoustic sets or recorded music; no drumming and only limited amplification. The night hours can be a beautiful time and an opportunity for personal reflection and soaking. On one of the nights, the Labyrinth will be set up from 11pm onwards.

You can come and go at any time, but if you feel most comfortable coming at the “beginning” of a new section then look for the changes of worship leader on the event schedule and time your arrival for the start of a new set. Although the programme rolls continuously, there is a rhythm to the day with mealtimes being generally quieter, evenings busier, and mornings and afternoons often taking on more of a focus. The event schedule, available at the Cowshed Information Desk, will help you plan your time at Glory in the Cowshed (a basic version can be downloaded here) and our admin team will be able to provide friendly advice during the event. If coming for an evening, you’ll want to be in by 7pm.

We invite you to make a suggested donation towards the costs of running the event, however, you may still come if you do not donate. Read more on the costs page.

Yes, but if you know you’re coming, booking online will secure you a space, help us with our planning and make for quicker registration on arrival. It will also mean you’ll be sent more information before you come. If you turn up without booking, we’ll invite you to make a suggested donation – note that while we accept cash and cheques on site, we will have no facility for card payments. Gifts can be made electronically using the PayPal link on this website, or by bank transfer (ask at the Cowshed Information Desk for bank details).

Free parking is available on site. On arrival please follow the Glory in the Cowshed signs and any directions given by our site team. Note Comrie Croft operate a one-way system and there may be children running around the area.

Glory in the Cowshed is not a conference. It’s primarily a worship event. However, we love and value good biblical teaching and expository sharing and will be including short talks throughout the week. See it as a “worship event with some teaching” rather than the more familiar “teaching event with some worship”.

The morning devotions are led by a speaker and also provide an opportunity to meditate on scripture.

There’s more information about all this on the teaching page.

We encourage the use of spiritual gifts at Glory in the Cowshed, provided they operate within a New Testament perspective.

Regarding prophecy, we have a simple policy for everyone’s safety:

1. The emphasis should be on strengthening and encouragement, not direction.
2. Check first with the person responsible for anchoring the session before sharing publicly.
3. If you feel you have a word for an individual, do not give it one-to-one, but ask one of the leaders to join with you as you share it. This enables the word to be weighed, for both your own and the recipient’s benefit. During our main worship times, we ask that you would not give prophetic words to others, but keep the focus on Jesus.
4. Do not pray with or share prophecy with a child without the parents also being present, and giving their permission.

Glory in the Cowshed is an all-age gathering and we would stress that there is no separate children’s programme as such; supervision is the parents’ responsibility at all times. There will be a dome tent containing art and craft materials and there will be a few organised activities at set times for different age groups – these will be shown on the event schedule.

This is an area we are developing and we hope to increase the number and variety of activities for children this year.

While families may want to explore the outdoors together during the event, our child protection policy requires that children are not left to roam the estate unsupervised.

No! This is a popular space and we encourage everyone to use the art tables at any time. Just leave things clean and tidy for others after you, and ensure that any children are supervised. Space for easels is co-ordinated – see Debbie before setting up. The art tables may be used for occasional co-ordinated children’s activities as indicated on the event schedule.

Some basic art materials are provided – please ask team at the art area. You are welcome to bring your own equipment and materials. If you have specific requirements (space for an easel, for example) then it will help our planning if you can get in touch before you come. Direct all art-related enquires to Debbie who is co-ordinating Art at the Cowshed.

Yes, but there are some that have trained in movement in worship, and we give room for them in the middle of the carpet area. There is plenty of space in the building for expressive dance. There will be a designated movement in worship co-ordinator throughout the day: please follow their directions.

The banners belong to individuals or groups, and some are quite valuable. Please ask the movement in worship co-ordinator before borrowing them.

We have gathered a team of experienced worship leaders and musicians who have journeyed with us through other similar events, especially The Next Wave. These are people we know and trust. They are not all professionals, and it is not a concert, however, in the main space, let’s honour these folk by allowing them to bring what they have prepared. The musicians area is to be used by this team only and most of the instruments are their personal belongings.

If you know one of the worship leaders well and have experience playing with them, then they may be happy for you to accompany them on a set but this should be arranged in advance of the event as we would like to get to know you first.

If you wish to bring an instrument to play informally round the fire pit in the courtyard, great – participatory jam sessions are encouraged! Just make sure it can’t be heard in the main worship space and respect the 11pm curfew.

Get to know us! We’re a relational bunch – a growing family – who work together around the year on other worship events. The Next Wave is a regular extended worship event in Edinburgh that we host together two or three times a year. It’s an ideal opportunity to join us on the journey since much of what happens at Glory in the Cowshed has emerged from The Next Wave. Wellsprings and Dawnbird both have worshipping communities, in Edinburgh and West Lothian respectively, and there are opportunities to connect with times of worship akin to the Cowshed.