Quaker Meeting

For many centuries Quakers have been meeting for silent worship. It’s a simple practice, which encompasses many of the Quaker values. People come together to sit. There is no ritual or prayer, and no hierarchy in the meeting. Each person makes of the experience what they will. If someone feels moved to speak, they express their thoughts uninterrupted. And then the silence resumes. It is a gentle and often very powerful experience.

At the school, we meet in this way each week. Everyone at the school, students and staff, comes together in the Meeting House to sit for a period of 20 minutes in friendly and supportive silence. It is a time and space for reflection, for slowing down and connecting with feelings and experience. If someone feels moved to speak, they know they will be heard.

Silent meeting is an empowering experience that contributes to the well being of everyone in the school. It helps students develop the ability to focus and reflect, and introduces them to the power of listening. It helps to create the calm and friendly atmosphere that visitors so often notice at the school.