Children
& Meeting for Worship
Living
our lives out of that which is holy is at the center of
being Quaker. Worship in the manner of Friends is a connecting
place to that center - for adults and for children. So what
do we do to insist that Meeting for Worship be a meaningful
experience for our children? |
Ideas
from Two Meetings
|
Volume
2, Issue 3, December 2006 |
|
|
Little
Meeting at Stony Run (BYM)
Little Meeting is an additional hand to support families over the
bridge to Meeting for Worship. This optional class (during the first
20 min. of worship) is designed to ease children's acclimation to
Meeting through practice in settling activities, guidance in inner
exploration and the warmth of a child-oriented environment. We wish
to engage children in the magic and peace silence provides, not
the restrictive boredom they often anticipate. We offer a means
of seeking the Inner Spirit without defining or limiting what that
experience or entity may be for that child.
For more info, go to: www.stonyrunfriends.org
|
Mystery
of Worship at Boulder, CO
Boulder MM offers a worship class once a month for 25 minutes before
worship for kids ranging in age from 6-14. It is super-voluntary—kids
may only participate if they really want to! Through experimentation,
the Meeting has found it’s model: the main feature of the
class is a period of silence – maybe ten minutes at first
– followed by sharing and discussion. They emphasize practice
and support more than teaching and say it seems vitally important
to help children learn to appreciate silent reflection as a tool
for centering themselves and seeking guidance.
For more info contact: Christie Duncan-Tessmer, PYM’s
Children’s RE Coordinator: christiedt@pym.org~
215-241-7008
|
| What
has your Meeting tried? Send
me an email with a short (or long!) description of how your Meeting
has helped children participate in Worship. I’ll collect them
for sharing with everyone.
-Christie
christiedt@pym.org
|
| Foundations for Children in Quaker
Worship |
Kathleen Karhnak,
Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting
|
| |
In thinking about children and worship, I go back to the
same foundation I start with for myself as an adult: quieting
the self in order to listen to God. I also recall my experiences
of worship as a young child. I remember feelings of joy, love,
and indescribable warmth. I also remember a feeling of connectedness
to God, the larger world of people, and the natural world.
So now as a parent of a young child, past clerk of First Day
School and present clerk of my Meeting, I wonder: how can
I help make room for children to experience joy in worship?
How can I hold appropriate expectations and boundaries for
my child while not making worship feel like a punishment,
something to endure? One starting place…
To continue, go to: http://www.pym.org/education/making_space/2006_12_foundations_kids_mfw.pdf |
| A
Missing Testimony: Devotion
|
Melanie
Douty, Falls Monthly Meeting |
It
has become clear to me that besides the S.P.I.C.E.S.
there is a missing testimony: Devotion. The letter "D"
maybe doesn't fit in neatly...S.S.P.I.C.E.D?
In any case, my longing for the Religious Society of Friends
is that commitment to deepening spiritual life be implicit
in being a Friend. The testimony of devotion means that
along with participation
on committees, contributing financially, making potluck
items and attending meeting regularly, we hold the expectation
that we study, pray and share together growing our understanding
of our faith and our own unique relationship with God and
through practice improving our ability to be guided by the
spirit. It means that we remember to notice beauty and exclaim,
"that is SO BEAUTIFUL and I am SO lucky to be alive
to see it!" In other words: to have adventures, have
fun, laugh and praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Finally, it means that being related as spiritual friends
draws us closer together knowing one another and being known
to offer and receive support and to celebrate together.
My query connected to this is: how will we as a religious
society commit ourselves to being religious?talking about,
praising, beseeching and listening to God more openly as
a way of life so that there would be no doubt that we are
about God, for God, with God,God, searching for God, finding
God, loving and being loved by God together?
|
| Resources:
Free to download from the web! |
Back
to "A Missing Testimony: Devotion"
So what does "SPICES" and "SSPICED"
stand for anyway? "SPICES" is a mnemonic to remember
six Friends testimonies, seven following Melanie's leading.
| S |
Simplicity |
S |
Simplicity |
| P |
Peace |
S |
Stewardship |
| I |
Integrity |
P |
Peace |
| C |
Community |
I |
Integrity |
| E |
Equality |
C |
Community |
| S |
Stewardship |
E |
Equality |
| |
|
D |
Devotion |
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