As a Quaker school, we gather every Wednesday for Meeting for Worship.
When walking to the Abington Friends Meetinghouse, it often feels as if the walk down the path is part of our preparation for settling our minds and bodies. Nature envelops us as we notice the changes in the seasons and the grounds around us. There is something very settling and comforting in that walking path to the Meeting House. The path may remain the same yet looks different every week.
At the end of the path, is a pole, that we have lovingly dubbed the "quiet pole." At this point in our walk, deep breaths are taken and voices are quieted as we begin to move indoors to our Meetinghouse.
Settling into the silence with some calm breaths and quiet bodies, everyone finds a different way to relax their body. Some children watch the other children, while others close their eyes, or even silently count their fingers or the lights up above.
Meeting for Worship (MFW) provides time and space for the community to open their minds and hearts to larger questions, concerns and thoughts that are sometimes overlooked in the business of life. At times, a child or teacher might stand and share a message with the group. At other times, the Meeting is silent and reflection is still happening but it is individual and within. In the classroom, we often speak about how Meeting for Worship messages can be shared and others do not need to be. Sometimes one feels comfortable sharing and feels that it is a message that should be heard by all, while others quietly hold the thought or idea. We have also discussed with the children that it is not like a Morning Meeting in our classroom where everyone is asked to participate. A message might sit within for a short time or over many meetings before one may or may not decide to share it with the community.
Another Meeting for Worship practice we have shared with the children is that we try to avoid what we call a "popcorn" meeting. Between messages there should be silence so that others can hear and absorb what was shared. If messages come out one after another, like popcorn popping, the individual message has difficulty standing alone and is sometimes not given the necessary time for reflection.
The silence is broken with a handshake and a morning greeting to friends close by. Meeting for Worship then closes with a song, This Little Light of Mine, reminding us to let the guiding "inner light," the love that is within each of us, to shine through.
The silence is broken with a handshake and a morning greeting to friends close by. Meeting for Worship then closes with a song, This Little Light of Mine, reminding us to let the guiding "inner light," the love that is within each of us, to shine through.
While Meeting for Worship is a time for silence, within this silence is a time for listening, sharing, and reflecting...all gathered as a community. Many of these concepts can be abstract for a young child yet the deep sense of community and the opportunity to use silence as a way to learn about oneself and others is invaluable. After Meeting for Worship, one of our kindergarten friends shared, "It was loving and very quiet and peaceful. It was warm in my heart and cold outside!"
The kindergarten classes have Meeting for Worship in the classroom on the first Wednesday of the month. On the other Wednesdays we leave our classrooms at 8:20 am to begin walking to the Meeting House to join the entire Lower School for MFW by 8:30 am. Please note that you are always welcome to join us on Wednesdays for Meeting for Worship. Next Wednesday we will have our Thanksgiving Meeting for Worship and hope that you can join us as we contemplate all that we are grateful for.
