Can I bring children along to a Quaker Meeting?

Yes! Many Quaker Meetings in the UK are able to support families who want to come along.

Many Quaker Meetings have a dedicated children’s meeting which takes place at the same time as their main Meeting for Worship.

This means their parents or carers can enjoy some peace & quiet in the main Meeting for Worship, while their youngsters are learning and playing with a responsible childcare team.

What do children get up to in Quaker Meetings?

Each Local Meeting will have their own approach, depending on how big or small the Meeting is.

Most often, there’ll be 2 or more designated adults who take the youngsters to a separate room to play and learn.

These sessions may take a special focus, such as learning about peace, equality or sustainability, usually through a crafty activity or story.

Do the children ever join the main Meeting for Worship?

Yep! Children often join the main Meeting for Worship for 5-15 minutes, to get an experience of what the main Quaker Meeting is like.

And some Meetings hold ‘all age worship’ - bringing the youngsters in for the full meeting, with activities to be quietly enjoyed.

Some of the best ministry can come from burbling toddlers!

Why do families come to Quaker Meetings?

Many families find it valuable for their children to have contact with some kind of faith and spirituality, but in a non-dogmatic way.

Some discover that Quaker communities offer just this. In Quaker Meetings in the UK, there’s no priests, no preaching, no programme. Families from diverse spiritual backgrounds are welcome to enjoy the stillness and community to be found in a Quaker Meeting.

Quakers encourage young people to ask questions and become curious about the world, rather than having particular beliefs drilled into them.

A personal anecdote

I had such a positive experience growing up going to a Quaker Meeting.

It was my dad that brought me and my sibling along to the community. He was a practicing Buddhist, and he didn’t necessarily consider himself a Quaker at the time. He wanted us to have regular access to spiritual community, somewhere where religious views wouldn’t be forced upon us. The Quaker meeting was simply a good, regular, local option with a lively childrens’ meeting.

I remember it firstly as a community full of inspiring, conscientious, good-willed people, who cared passionately about humanity and the earth.

But they didn’t preach their ethics: instead, Quakers nurtured me to grow my own moral compass from a very early age. I was encouraged to think curiously and independently about the value of life and the impact of my actions on other humans and the world.

It’s made a huge difference to the person I am today.

I want to bring my children along: how do I find out if my local meeting can support families?

If you search for your Local Meeting on Quaker.org.uk/meetings, you can get a quick answer as to whether they have an existing children’s programme.

Even if they don’t have a children’s meeting at the moment, it is still worth getting in touch to find out if they could start one - they may be very enthusiastic to welcome a new family! You can reach out to a friendly contact person at your local meeting here.

Written by Caitlin Curtis