Kindergarten and Meeting for Worship

Each year the Abington Friends School community looks at a specific Quaker testimony, thought or idea to focus our attention, deepen our understanding, and provide opportunities for reflection on ways for the community to engage and connect. This year's Quaker theme is "worship." As the adults in the community, both faculty and staff, we have been looking at the word "worship" and what it means to us as individuals in a diverse community of religious and spiritual beliefs. And then what does that look like for our students? 

As we have looked at the theme of "worship" and how it connects to Meeting for Worship in our school community, we asked students across grade levels, "How would you describe or explain MFW to a friend?"

Below are some of our kindergarten class responses: 

"It is a quiet place. You have to be silent because it gives us time to think and listen. Sometimes you might say something to the whole group or keep it in your heart."

"You have to be quiet during some of it and its like long moments of silence, only longer! You can think about things you like to do, like “look at the beach in your head.”

"We go to Meeting for Worship and calm our bodies. You rest. You think about happy stuff and my day. Sometimes I think about sad things."

"In Meeting for Worship, we be quiet. We listen to friends. I feel good inside."

"It helps us to settle. We sit down quietly and sometimes we read a book. I listen. I think.""

"You need to be quiet and it is like a long moment of silence. It is a place to calm down in. You can take a deep breath and think. I sometimes go to my happy place- the beach."

"We sit on a bench in the meeting house. We just sit. We look like we are just sitting. But we are thinking about stuff that we like, problems, solutions. Words we want to share. Words I want to keep to myself."

"At Quaker schools we go to Meeting for Worship. We are quiet. We listen."

"Inside I feel calm in the quiet. We shake hands to say hello at the end."

"It is really hard to stay silent. You can take deep breaths. You can close your eyes. You can count. You can look at friends. You can listen."

After this activity, we noticed some common threads of listening, waiting and how it can be hard to sit in silence. At Abington Friends School, Meeting for Worship is held on Wednesdays and is the spiritual center of our week. As teachers, we have often thought and prepared with our students what happens during MFW, how to share a message, and how to settle with deep breaths. We have read books and posed queries during MFW. Yet how can we "prepare" for Meeting for Worship?

As part of our year long look at "worship," last week's teacher in-service had the adults in our community "preparing" for Meeting for Worship in a myriad of ways. "Preparing" opportunities included singing, yoga, meditative art, making sand gardens, listening to music, hearing a reading of Sounds of Silence, going on a nature walk, and journaling. Many of the messages shared about the adult experiences during our in-service Meeting for Worship felt as if these "preparing" experiences were positive, individual and collaborative, helped friends to settle more quickly, and many felt more connected as a community entering Meeting for Worship together.

The possibilities to "prepare" for Meeting for Worship are plentiful and the next steps are how to use this information and experience to inform and help our class to "prepare" to go to Meeting for Worship. Over the next few weeks we will be trying different ways to "prepare" for Meeting for Worship, noting that it may look different for each child and the class as a whole from week to week. We are excited about the possibilities and will keep you informed on how this experience unfolds for our class over time. Please remember you are always welcome to join us for MFW on Wednesdays. We leave the classroom at 8:20 to meet our second grade meeting partners for the walk over to the meeting house.                                                                                  

Collaborative nature art project
before in class MFW

Preparing for MFW by creating with nature items