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On a Sunday morning, something special happens in a quiet room. Grown-ups sit in quiet expectation. Kids wait too. Once they enter the room, there is no rushing. There is nothing to get done. This is a Quaker Meeting.

For many of the children, it’s a place they have known for a long time. Some have been coming since they were babies, others are newer, but all of them have stories to tell. This is what Quaker Meeting looks like through their eyes.

Hazel is 14 years old. She has been coming to meeting since her family moved to the area when she was two. She says the meeting feels “very safe.” She does not remember her very first meeting, but she knows something important: the people here know her. They have watched her grow up.

“It’s really nice,” she says. “I have strong connections to people here.”

For Hazel, Quaker Meeting is not just a place. It is a group of people who care about each other.

Ewan, who is 12, feels that too. He has been going to meeting his whole life. One of his earliest memories is of a friend from meeting named Rhodes, who helped care for him when he was little.

That is what meeting can be like; Friends can be like family.

One big part of Quaker Meeting is waiting worship: the silent expectation of a deep feeling like truth or clarity. Everyone gathers in the meeting room and sits quietly. Sometimes someone speaks, but often there is just stillness.

Different kids experience this time in different ways.

When asked what it’s like for her, Calliope, who is five, says, “Quiet.” When asked what she does in waiting worship, she says, “You just be quiet. I sit, sometimes I draw.”

Ezra is six years old, and says sitting in the silence feels “good.” He likes to look around the room and feel connected to the people around him.

Even if they don’t always know what to think of the quietness, it can still feel calm.

Hazel says sometimes she has songs stuck in her head. They play over and over. Other times she thinks about people in her life who are struggling.

“This is your time,” she tells herself.“I will support you, think about you.”

She describes “holding people in the Light” during waiting worship. That means thinking about someone with care and kindness.

Ewan says the silence can be “a little boring,” but also nice. He likes the feeling of being in the community of worshipers. Even as a kid, “You’re still an important part of worship,” he says.

One thing many kids talk about is choice. At Quaker Meeting, no one is forced to do things in one way. Kids can join the quiet time, or they can go to a children’s space. What they do in the worship space is up to them. Some think, draw, or just sit.

Ewan says this is very important.

“We aren’t forced to sit in worship,” he explains. “We make the choice.”

Hazel agrees. She says Quaker worship is “flowy.” For her that means it can move in different ways.

“You’re not forced into a specific way [of worshiping],” she says. “You can be who you are,” and practice how it feels right to you.

This space for authenticity and acceptance makes kids feel welcome. They do not have to pretend to be someone else, or to think or feel things they don’t. Not everyone feels ready right away.

Cass, who is eight, remembers her first time at Quaker Meeting when she was two. She was very shy. Cass remembers feeling more comfortable in the smaller space of the children’s playroom. “I refused to come out,” she recalls. She stayed in the playroom and did not want to go into the larger space where the other kids were talking together.

But over time something changed. “I kind of felt like I could get more expanded,” she shares. Now she feels calm when she sits in worship. What once felt overwhelming now feels relaxing.

Kids’ experience of Quaker Meeting can grow with them. It can take time to settle in, and that’s okay.

Although when we think of Quaker Meeting we often think of quiet, there is a lot of joy in meeting too. Kids talk about what happens besides waiting worship.

Hazel loves the time after worship when everyone talks together. “We all know each other’s business,” she says with a sly smile.

Ewan enjoys meeting new people-and their dogs! Events like holiday celebrations give the whole community a chance to celebrate together and grow their connections to each other.

Cass loves singing songs, playing games together during intergenerational events, and reading books in the children’s space. She gives meeting a “five-star rating.”

River is 10, and has a clear favorite, potluck.

When asked what he likes about it, he replies “Yummy food.”

At potluck everyone brings something to share: favorite treats, nourishing dishes, and snacks.

For many kids, potluck is one of the best parts.

Kids learn a lot more from Quaker Meeting than how to sit in silence. Here, they have the chance to learn how to solve big problems in a loving and respectful way.

Cass shares something important she has learned about this. When the people in meeting make a decision, they do not vote. Instead, the group waits until they come up with a solution everyone can agree on.

“If 30 people want something and 10 don’t, we don’t do it,” she says. “We all have to stand together.”

This is called unity; it means every voice matters.

Kids understand how special that is.

Not every moment in Quaker Meeting is serious.

River likes to remember playing with his sisters while sitting in worship. They poke each other and make faces until one of them laughs or gets annoyed.

For him these are the small moments that are a big part of growing up in a Quaker community.

Meeting is not about being perfect; it is about being

together.

When asked about the future, kids share what they think they will carry with them. Hazel says she will remember “happy memories” of coming every Sunday, that this was an important part of their routine as a family.

Ewan says he will remember the community and all the things he experienced with it, like camping trips, and time with friends.

Ezra says simply, “I had fun.”

These may be simple answers, but Quakers know there is a lot of meaning in simplicity.

If a new child walked into Quaker Meeting, what would these kids want them to know?

Calliope says, “Just go see for yourself.”

Ezra says, “It’s fun.”

Ewan says, even if it is small, it is a place with a lot of community. “You feel close to people.”

Cass would tell them it is a place to relax and be yourself.

Hazel would say there is no judgment. “You can be who you are.”

River might just invite you to stay for potluck.

At first Quaker Meeting might sound pretty simple. A quiet room, people sitting still and waiting for a deep feeling to come to them.

But through the eyes of these children, it is much more.

It is a place to feel safe, a place to think and rest. It is a place to grow, and a place to belong. There may be songs in your head, friends by your side, food on a table, and space to be yourself.

In the quiet something big is happening: people are becoming a community. A community where all are welcome, and the kids here know it. D

Elizabeth Freyman lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she is a member of Albuquerque Monthly Meeting. Elizabeth carries a concern for centering young people and families in the life and Light of our Quaker communities. You can learn more about her work at www.walkingcheerfully.org.