Inviting Children Into Silent Worship

Quaker worship is rooted in silence and the idea that a) Jesus Christ is present in our gatherings and is able to teach us himself and b) God can and does speak to anyone and through anyone no matter what age you are or how “religious” you appear to be on the outside. Two weeks ago I told the Godly Play version of the Parable of the Good Shepherd during the message part of our worship gathering. That means the children stayed with during our whole meeting for worship, including our silent portion. This is what I said to help invite our children into that space.*

We are going to take a time of what we Quakers call “silent” worship. It is a quiet time to sit, listen and to wonder about the story.

 Silent worship is one of the ways that Quakers do their work. We close our eyes and listen in the silence – this gives us time to think, pray, and hear if God wants to speak to us.

 So silent worship is a very special time.

 It’s okay to color or draw; and if you can write, you are welcome to do that, but we don’t want to do anything that will distract us or our neighbor from paying attention.

 And if you feel like you have something you want to share, you are welcome to share a hopeful or kind word to the rest of the group.

 We believe that God can speak to and through any person.

 Let’s enter a time of silent worship.

Feel free to adapt, share or use as you see fit.

*This text was helped a lot by my good friend Chad Stephenson on twitter @chadstep.