“Children are fully spiritual beings. They often see and sense the sacred in everyday life more readily than adults do! If we listen to them carefully and bring this awareness to their art projects and other forms of expression, we may detect a transcendent quality to their experiences.”
“There is no better rule to act by in this important task, than perfect submission to the Spirit of Truth, who is promised to lead us into all truth. If we mind this, we shall not indulge our children in anything which the Spirit testifies against in ourselves. And we shall be far from pleading that because they are young, some greater liberties may be allowed them in this or that thing. Rather, we shall feel that as they are a part of ourselves, the same divine law should be a rule for both them and us.”
“If children are to be instructed in the groundwork of true religion, ought they not to discover in those placed over them a lively example thereof? …Of what importance then is it for guardians of children to rule their own spirits; for when their tempers are irritable, their language impetuous, their voices exerted above what is necessary, their threatenings unguarded, or the execution of them rash, however children may for a time suffer under these things, they are not instructed thereby in the groundwork of true religion.”
“It can be scary to trust children with independence. But kids are better problem-solvers than some people might think. When my son, at age 10, asked me if he could play laser tag with friends, I asked him how he could avoid pulling a trigger (in deference to the Quaker value of pacifism). He decided to serve as referee. I was proud of him for exercising “discernment,” [a] Quaker value, all on his own, for listening to his “still, small voice within” and letting it guide him to a solution that satisfied his need for belonging.”
“Denying the power of one man to determine the religious life of another, it also denies to a parent the power to determine the religious life of his child, and asserts in its place the duty of a parent to awaken his child’s own response to reality. There is thus a need for instruction and nurture, but with the emphasis laid on understanding and not on passive acceptance. The child will be shown, not told.”
“Children have an inherent capacity for spiritual insight and experience, which is sometimes extraordinarily vivid and powerful. Many adults can recall powerful experiences of deep spiritual perception in early childhood, which sometimes leave a life-long impression. This is not primarily a matter of children’s ‘beliefs’, but of their capacity for spiritual experience that can be either nourished or neglected.”
When I go to church I always sit in the same pew. / I sit in front of Mandy and Linda and a couple of other people too. / We sing and take time to praise the Lord, / and when Jack starts talking I get a little bored. / Sometimes I get upset and I start to cry. / Everyone cares so they turn and ask why.
“What I really want my sons to see is their dad and me caring about people, spending time working for justice for the oppressed and building relationships with people regardless of their economic or any other status. Oftentimes, this is what really gets to me about being a mom: I don’t have time to go out and do amazing social justice work. I’m consoled by looking at historical Quaker women, most of whom had numerous children, and yet managed to make a difference.”
“I’ve been to quite a few discussions about how different people spend their time in meeting for worship, been given suggestions and things to try, but those ten minutes I have twice a month are different every time. I listen to and reflect on the readings and ministry. I breathe deeply. I admire the beautiful world out the window. I give thanks for the people who are present and think of those who are not. I try to clear my mind of daily worries. I try to focus on my feelings. Sometimes I just stare at the ticking clock waiting for it to be over. I’ve felt enlightened, relaxed, happy. I’ve made resolutions. I’ve come to feel a sense of peace. But I wouldn’t claim to ever have cleared my mind completely or to have heard the Inner Voice.”
“There should be the greatest care imaginable, what impressions are given to children; that method which earliest awakens their understandings to love, duty, sobriety, just and honourable things, is to be preferred.”
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