WINTER 2004Patti Sanderson
Lower School Coordinator[What do Friends School children learn about meeting for worship? The following first appeared in the September 2004 Notes to Parents—Ed.]
The musty old Meetinghouse—
knobby knees, legs dangling from the old benches—
the look of awe as they enter—
pigtails flying, then tousled heads bowed—
the autumn leaves, golden and silent outside—
the awesome quiet inside—
the children yawn with early morning sleepiness,
each little one quietly and soberly pursuing his thought—
a long-haired, spindly-legged eleven-year-old rises and reads a prayer—or a poem—
the silence is broken and then resumed again—
a huge vase of golden chrysanthemums invades the austerity of the old wood—
more silence—
then each child turns to his neighbor, shakes hands and says good morning—
then walks back to school, calmed, thoughtful, ready for what the day may bring.
his poem, Impression of the First Fall Meeting for Worship by Janet Stone, catches a glimpse of a typical meeting for worship that takes place in all Friends’ schools. Simply stated, meeting for worship is learning to sit still, to give our souls a chance to grow, and to help us to find God. Each Thursday morning our students make their way to the Mullica Hill Meetinghouse. While our youngest children will experience their weekly gatherings in their classrooms, it is the first graders that will begin the tradition of gathering in the meetinghouse. Each first grader will be partnered with an experienced fourth-grade student who will guide the younger student through this spiritual experience. Meeting will last anywhere from twenty to thirty minutes for the lower school students.
Meeting begins as the children find their seats and settle into silence. As soon as the room becomes quiet, one child will stand and read aloud a query. This is a special question that encour ages everyone to reflect on some aspect of his or her life. Throughout the year, each class will have opportunities to plan these queries. After the query is read aloud, children sit quietly and think about it. They may be able to hear that small voice speaking to him or her. If a child chooses to share a thought, he or she may stand and respond to the query. A period of silence should follow after each comment to give everyone a chance to meditate on that thought.
Each meeting ends by shaking hands with the friends near them. Friends School is a place for your child to grow—academically, emotionally, socially, physically, and spiritually. It is a place to grow our hearts.
To help me write this article, I used the text The Mystery of Meeting for Worship written by Dorothy Flanagan and Lee Quinby, and the text Occasional Papers on the Meeting for Worship for Friends Schools by Friends Council on Education.
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Sunday, November 14, 2004 at 12:40 AM
