• View the most recent MWB agenda and minutes
• Submit agenda item for next MWB. (choose “business agenda item” as recipient)
• About MWB

Providing emergency shelter in Ramsey County for children and their parents working with dozens of area churches, synagogues and schools, Project Home provides 40-60 beds of emergency shelter for children and their parents in Ramsey County each night.

During fiscal year 2011, Project Home emergency shelter beds were slept in 12,689 times.

Your Opportunity!

Friends School of MN invites TCFM to support homeless families. In March, FSM provides hosts for Project Home in the evening from 5:30 pm until 8:30 pm and overnight from 8:00 pm until 7:30 AM.
Please join in as a host. Contact Rebecca Slaby, or Carolyn Carr. The Sign-up link is in the Feb 19th, 2012 Announcement Sheet.

Brief Shift Descriptions

Evening Shift (5:30 – 8:30 pm)

Help to set out snacks, play with the children, help with homework, talk with families and help them to get settled in for the night.

Overnight Shift (8:00 pm – 7:30 am)

Support the evening shift, continuing with the evening shift duties and help the families get settled in and to sleep for the night. Bring bedding so you can sleep in a designated area. You would set out a simple breakfast in the morning and do light clean up after the families leave, usually by 7:30 am or earlier. (The Friday and Saturday night shifts go to 8:30 am).

SPACC PDF Volunteer Descriptions

As Ministry and Counsel strives to balance its charge to hold the spiritual health of the Meeting at large with the concerns and care for TCFM’s individual members and attenders, we are creating a number of small working groups within the committee. These groups are charged to focus on and bring forth ideas and energy on a number of the “larger issues” that often get lost in the fullness of M&C’s work.

The first of these is a working group on nurturing Meeting for Worship comprised of Lois Yellowthunder, Mary Ann Crolley and Bob Schmitt.  This group brought forward to M&C both content and some process to nurture our weekly worships.

A selection of excerpts on worship from the TCFM website, the Faith & Practices of Northern Yearly Meeting, Britain Yearly Meeting and Pacific Yearly Meeting will be used to focus our attention to ways we can individually and collectively deepen and open ourselves to the movement of the spirit.

Each of these excerpts resonates with the others and also brings its own singular light to the topic.  We found a richness in the collection of 4 than there might be in selecting one or trying to edit it down to one statement.  We are also aware that the words in each of these excerpts had been held and labored over by 4 communities of Friends.

A small plan

Cards with one of the 4 excerpts will be placed on the Meeting room chairs monthly.

Also once a month, the M&C closer at each worship will read one of the selected 4 excerpts at the opening of worship.

During the coming year, M&C will also facilitate a series of 3 Adult Education sessions focused on our individual and collective experience of Meeting for Worship: how do we prepare for it, kindling the fire of worship, and carrying the experience outward in our lives.

Below are the 4 excerpts. Friends are invited to hold these.

If you feel a leading to speak in Meeting

Ministry & Counsel suggests that you hold that leading up to the Light with these considerations in mind:

• Does the Spirit require that I stand and deliver my message, or can I comfortably sit quietly and not speak?
• Is my message a religious or spiritual one: a message of worship?
• Is the message I want to share intended to be given in ministry to others, or is it a leading meant for me alone?
• Is what I have to say part of our shared worship or is it just speaking of my own feelings?
• Is what I say short and to the point?
• Am I speaking my message before the Meeting has had ample time to reflect on the last message, keeping in mind that considerable silence between messages deepens the ministry of the Meeting?
• Am I speaking clearly and distinctly so all can hear?

—Excerpt from TCFM Website

Vocal ministry and careful listening are equally treasured elements of our worship.

• As individuals we do not initiate messages without clear prompting from the Spirit.
• When giving vocal ministry, we are asked to mind the Spirit,
• to keep close to the root of the message,
• to avoid unnecessary words,
• to speak clearly and distinctly so all can hear,
• and to allow time between messages for each message to be weighed carefully.
• Vocal ministry does not take the form of dialogue.

—Excerpt from Faith & Practice Northern Yearly Meeting

Remember that to every one is given a share of responsibility for the meeting for worship, whether that service be in silence or through the spoken word.  If the call to speak comes:

• Do not let the sense of your own unworthiness, or the fear of being unable to find the right words, prevent you from being obedient to the leading of the Spirit.
• Ask wisdom of God that you may be sure of your guidance and be enabled humbly to discern and impart something of his glory and truth.
• Pray that your ministry may rise from the place of deep experience, and that you may be restrained from unnecessary and superficial words.
• Faithfulness and sincerity in speaking, even very briefly may open the way to fuller ministry from others.
• Try to speak audibly and distinctly, with sensitivity to the needs of your fellow worshippers.
• Wait to be sure of the right moment for giving the message.
• Beware of making additions towards the end of a meeting when it was well left before.

—from Britain Yearly Meeting, Faith & Practice, 2008

As one is weighing whether to speak, certain questions may be helpful:

• Is this message Spirit-led, or merely emotionally compelling?
• Is this message intended for this group, or is it only for me?
• Is it better saved until another time or place?
• When the call to speak is clear, the worshiper should stand if possible.
• He or she should speak simply, briefly, audibly, and from personal spiritual experience.
• Occasionally, ministry may take the form of singing or of standing silently.
• Neither debate nor discussion with previous speakers is ever appropriate,
• And speaking twice during a single Meeting for Worship is very seldom so.

—from Pacific Yearly Meeting, Faith & Practice, 2001

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Our meeting times are:

2nd 1st Day (Sunday): After 11am Meeting (~12:30) at the Meetinghouse

4th 1st Day (Sunday): 5:30pm potluck in one of our homes.

To find the location of the potluck, call Joseph at 612-272-6461. To get on the Young Adult Friends e-mail list-serve, contact Matthew at matthewfbyrnes@gmail.com

Worshiping Together(WT)-3 is THE MAIN PAGE for what we expect the next few “Worshiping Together Sundays”  to look like.
The next WT Sunday will be October 10. (Sunday Oct. 3 is Family Meeting.)
The longer-term thinking, based on the experience of recent Sundays, will be found at WT-4.

Please offer us your comments at the bottom of this page, or bring your ideas about this to the Worshiping Together table during Fellowship time. Or email Richard at Richard.Osbo.Fuller at gmail.com.

*  There is a handout for parents outlining how this works.

First Day School starts at 10:55 on “FDS Sundays”

First Day School Sundays are the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Sundays of the month.
(On the 1st Sunday of each month we have Family Meetings with children and adults gathering in the Fellowship Room at 11AM. This is in addition to the regular 11AM worship in the meetingroom. On the occasional 5^th Sunday we have inter-generational worship: 30 minutes of centering worship in the meetingroom for all ages.)

On FDS Sundays parents should have children in the classroom by 10:55.

The next “FDS Sunday” will be October 10, and therefore also our next Sunday of “Worshiping Together,”

during the last quarter hour of 11AM meeting for worship.

In the first weeks of Worshiping Together, we expect to spend some time figuring out how things need to go for this to be a rewarding experience for all. We will necessarily enter into some periods of confusion, and we look forward to them.

For detailed attempts to think this through, week-by-week, see WT-4.

* CURRENT PLAN: children do NOT bring work done in class to the meeting room.

IN THE MEETING ROOM, APPROX. 11:45-12:15, M&C has responsibility

M&C will try this on September 26, and then revise it, as necessary.
Tom Stoffregen is the M&C contact person on this.

* Where will the youth sit, in the meeting room?

• DRAFT PLAN: When a family knows ahead of time that the children (or teachers) MAY want to join family members already in the meetingroom, they should agree roughly where in the room they will sit. Preferably not too far from the doors.

• CURRENT PLAN: Youth will not sit in classroom groups. The class ends when the kids enter the meetingroom and teachers are no longer responsible for the children at that point.

———————————-

* FDS and M&C encourage feedback about the new WT!

There is a table during the Fellowship time each week. People are encouraged to take their ideas & concerns there. Email and phone calls are also encouraged.

Issues by individual Classrooms

Nursery Children are not included in Worshiping Together

Parents will pick up their children in the Nursery after the rise of meeting.

Preschool

Preschoolers are included in WT

Kindergarten – First Grade

Second, Third & Fourth Grades

“Middle School,” Grades 5-8

High School

Will come sometimes, at least.

• WT-1: Current updates to Worshiping Together process
• WT-2: Introduction to the “Worshiping Together” process
• WT-3: Issues related to how we imagine the flow of children and worship on any given Sunday, once the process is well established.
  THIS IS THE MAIN PAGE FOR YOUR BEST THOUGHTS
• WT-3-OLD: “WT-3″ will always reflect the current thinking. To keep WT-3 as uncomplicated as possible we will remove ideas that have been discussed and set aside. Friends who want to see what WT-3 looked like BEFORE the current version can go to WT-3-OLD.
  
• WT-4: Preparations we as a community may need to make to achieve the goal of a rewarding inter-generational worship experience.
• WT-5: Open issues, concerns, exceptions, things to be mindful of. As we approach general agreement about “how are we going to do this,” I imagine this will be a place to record and keep track of “paths not (currently) taken.” If we agree on a course of action over the objections of some, let those objections be recorded here, with proposed alternatives, if possible. Then if things develop the way the objectors feared they would, we have a record in community memory, and perhaps some suggestions about alternative ways to proceed. This will be a place to stockpile dissenting opinions, and outstanding issues that we will do well to remember as we encounter the realities of the process as it unfolds. I will also use this area to archive all comments made, after they have been incorporated into the body of the work.
  
• WT-6: Jokes about what is happening, or might happen.

Sunday 9/26, update 6

Our first Worshiping Together Sunday was a fine experience for many!

ALL the classes entered without breaking the mood of worship.

Many adults were excited to see so many children.

Teachers were happy to have the chance to join the Meeting in worship.

Question of the day: How will we handle the influx of children’s name tags?

WT-3 and WT-4 have been lightly updated, in light of Sunday’s experience.

Thursday 9/16, update 5

The first “Worshiping Together” Sunday is Sept. 26, the second is Oct. 10

In the first weeks, as we are sorting this out, teachers have discretion about bringing their students down to the meetingroom doors at 11:45.

WT-3 page, “the main page” re-purposed:

The old title was: WT-3: We imagine the flow of children and worship on a Worshiping Together Sunday
The focus was on imagining what we wanted, at some level that combined ideal and practical.
The new title is: WT-3: We imagine what the flow of children and worship on the next few Sundays

So WT-3 is now for TCFM members who want to know what to expect in the near term.
The main preparation work has moved to WT-4, which is focused on the PROCESS of bringing the community into a worshiping wholeness over the next several weeks.

Friday 9/10, update 4

We are now opening a window of intense discussion and change.

A significant sharpening and slimming down of the thinking occurred on WT-3 on 9/8, no major new ideas, but something approaching a draft plan.

Teachers will react to the draft plan on Saturday, 9/11, and these pages will likely change in response to their thinking.

Sunday 9/12 is a discussion in Adult Ed which will likely produce further chances, which should show up early next week.

The new plan will not be implemented 9/19, the first day of FDS, because that is the orientation day, with everybody gathering in the Fellowship room at 11AM.

However, if we find ourselves in general agreement, the new plan might start the next Sunday, 9/26.

Monday 8/30, update 3

Worshiping Together Update #3:
*TCFM Website re-designed, “comments” function working, WT Pages now accepting comments.

WT-3, Big Update:
M&C presents their plan for 11:45-12:15:

HERE IS THE PLAN: M & C has responsibility for what happens with the children after they arrive at the meeting room door.

M&C will try this the first week we decide we are ready, and then revise it, as necessary.
Tom Stoffregen is the M&C contact person on this.

PROPOSED:

Saturday, 8/29, update 2

Big update.

WT-2 lightly re-written to adapt to broken “comments” function on this website.

WT-3, major update: “CURRENT PLAN” is beginning to appear for some topics. “PROPOSAL”s are also showing up. M&C is taking responsibility for what happens once children & youth are in the meetingroom. There are sections for thoughts about each classroom/age-group. Perhaps there will be Sundays when individual classes choose not to come to adult worship.
Previous contents of WT-3 moved to WT-3-Old.

WT-4, major update: Preparation time line. Slow, class-based, implementation? Scheduled evaluation?

Friday, 7/29, update 1

Report on discussion at M&C, 7/28.

This is from my (Richard Fuller) point of view. Others who were there, feel free to email your perspective to me and I will incorporate your thinking into this report.

1. M&C proposed that each Sunday, it would be the person closing meeting who would open the doors at 11:45 and welcome the children in.
2. There was general agreement that the teachers are doing LOTS of great work, and that we want them to feel supported as we move into the final planning for this Worshiping Together process.
3. Most M&C members feel that adult worshipers are ready (mostly) for the change to Worshiping Together at 11:45, and M&C suggests the WT subcommittee and the FDS committee focus on the needs of teachers, parents and children.
4. M&C is firm that 11:45 WT should start this fall, but realizes that, since the first Sunday after Labor Day is September 12, it may not be possible to have everything ready to go by September 19, when FDS classes begin.
5. It was suggested that during the weeks of preparation for WT, adults from 11:00 worship might come to each of the FDS classes and “invite” them, and explain why (that particular adult) was excited to have the class coming into worship near the end, instead of at the beginning.
6. Members of the WT subcommittee plan to have informal discussions with teachers and parents in early August, in an effort to draft a plan of specifics on how this will work. We will have a progress report to M&C in time for their next meeting, 8/25. We hope to have a ready-to-edit-or-implement draft plan, covering everything we can think of, by the second Sunday in September, the 12th.

A subcommittee has been formed

Richard Fuller has asked Heather Ferguson and Caroline Fahrney Kirchner to help him stay on top of this process as it develops, and they have agreed.

• WT-1: Current updates to Worshiping Together process
• WT-2: Introduction to the “Worshiping Together” process
• WT-3: What we expect the next few Sundays to look like, before further tweaking.
  
• WT-3-OLD: “WT-3″ will always reflect the current thinking. To keep WT-3 as uncomplicated as possible we will remove ideas that have been discussed and set aside. Friends who want to see what WT-3 looked like BEFORE the current version can go to WT-3-OLD.
  
• WT-4: Preparations we as a community may need to make to achieve the goal of a rewarding inter-generational worship experience. THIS IS now THE MAIN PAGE FOR YOUR BEST THOUGHTS
• WT-5: Open issues, concerns, exceptions, things to be mindful of. As we approach general agreement about “how are we going to do this,” I imagine this will be a place to record and keep track of “paths not (currently) taken.” If we agree on a course of action over the objections of some, let those objections be recorded here, with proposed alternatives, if possible. Then if things develop the way the objectors feared they would, we have a record in community memory, and perhaps some suggestions about alternative ways to proceed. This will be a place to stockpile dissenting opinions, and outstanding issues that we will do well to remember as we encounter the realities of the process as it unfolds. I will also use this area to archive all comments made, after they have been incorporated into the body of the work.
  
• WT-6: Jokes about what is happening, or might happen.

Richard Fuller here. I am a member of the First Day School Committee, the committee responsible for the oversight of our First-Day education of our children.
(We recruit teachers, help them with lesson plans, if needed, decide each year what age-groupings of kids in classes make sense for that year, keep on top of child-safety issues and a bunch of other stuff.)

We work with Ministry and Counsel to coordinate when and how the children and adults worship together on First Day (Sunday) morning.

Since the 1980s, children have been part of adult worship starting at 11 AM, and they left the meeting room about 11:15.
Last spring First Day School and Ministry & Counsel committees agreed it might be better for the children’s experience of worship if they came in at 11:45, so that they could experience meeting for worship after the adults had settled in to a deeper state of waiting.

Of course, a couple of Quaker committees cannot “decide” what all the Quakers in a meeting will do. We ARE the relevant committees to initiate that decision, but we need to consult with everyone affected by the change, or at least allow everyone who will be affected the opportunity to raise concerns and make suggestions. We need to listen and we need to take what we hear into account.

And many suggestions WILL be needed. This will be a big change, requiring many arrangements. FDS & M&C committees are excited about how this will bring adults and youth of the community together, but we need YOUR input to make it a successful experience, one that gives our children & youth a better understanding of waiting silently in worship for the movement of the Divine.

There has been MUCH discussion already, of how this will work, but it has been scattered among committees and small informal groups. What I hope to do here on the TCFM website is to

• Provide a place where EVERYBODY can see how the discussion is developing
• Encourage people to comment here (at the bottom of most WT pages) or to email or speak to us on as many of the issues as they have opinions about
• Offer a place that outlines the discussion and invites input for folks who don’t have other avenues of input, like committees they are serving on.

I see the WT pages on this website as a supplement to meetings and informal conversations, but also as a place of record, where we summarize our current thinking, a place where people who may have missed an important meeting can catch up.
I encourage you to follow the discussion here, and to comment, but also to come to the “Worshiping Together” table during the Fellowship time, or to talk to members of Ministry & Counsel and/ or the FDS Committee, or to email me at richard.osbo.fuller(at)gmail.com.

On the WT-3 and WT-4 pages we are listing all the issues and questions we can think of, plus proposing ideas and naming CURRENT PLANS, where we have them.

In the language of Process Work, we need to map the “field;” we need to recognize as many of the elements of the situation as possible, before we can make changes that will benefit the community as a whole, rather than just some parts of it.

My plans for how this web-assisted discussion will work

I am posting a series of WT (Worshiping Together) articles devoted to

• WT-2: This introductory post, or page
• WT-3: Current Plans, Proposals & Issues related to how we imagine the flow of children and worship on any given Sunday, once the process is well established.
• WT-4: Preparations we as a community may need to make to achieve the goal of a rewarding inter-generational worship experience.
• WT-5: Open issues, concerns, exceptions, things to be mindful of. As we approach general agreement about “how are we going to do this,” I imagine this will be a place to record and keep track of “paths not (currently) taken.” If we agree on a course of action over the objections of some, let those objections be recorded here, with proposed alternatives, if possible. Then if things develop the way the objectors feared they would, we have a record in community memory, and perhaps some suggestions about alternative ways to proceed. This will be a place to stockpile dissenting opinions, and outstanding issues that we will do well to remember as we encounter the realities of the process as it unfolds. I will also use this area to archive all comments made on all the issues.
• WT-6: Jokes about what is happening, or might happen.
• WT-1: Current Status Updates – When you come back to these pages after having been away, you can check here, rather than having to review all the pages.

I need to emphasize this is an experiment, like all of life. Many of us have ideas of how this will work, but it will take trying things to know what really works. And if something isn’t working for some folks, they need to comment here or bring those issues to the “Worshiping Together” table in the Fellowship room or to talk to someone on the FDS or M&C Committees.

My imagined role as “discussion-shepherd”

I will update these WT posts as the discussion continues and as an eventual consensus develops. I will regularly add inputs from meetings, and reports of informal conversations.

YOU –all of us– are ENCOURAGED to share your thinking.

The main contact people are:
Richard Fuller (FDS Committee)
Caroline Fahrney Kirchner (Parent, FDS teacher)
Heather Ferguson (Parent, M&C member)
Marybeth Neal (clerk, FDS Committee)
Tom Stoffregen (Parent, designated M&C contact)

Talk to us face to face after worship. Call us or email us.

Comment here. At the bottom of most of the WT posts is a comment area. Please contribute ideas relevant to that WT topic. I will assimilate the substance of the comments into the WT framework where it can be seen in context, and then I’ll move the original comment to the WT-5 area.

Please post comments not only on your own ideas but ideas you hear from others. This web discussion area is supposed to reflect and represent the larger face-to-face conversation.

Please email your ideas to Richard.osbo.fuller (at) gmail.com. I will assimilate the substance of your thoughts into the WT-3 and WT-4 where it can be seen in context, and then I’ll place your message –your words– in the WT-5 area, unless you prefer otherwise.

There is a corollary to my request for ideas: If you are speaking to a Friend about “Worshiping Together” and you are saying something that you DON’T want quoted on this website, please state that clearly. If you talk to me, I will automatically be doing my best to summarize what you say here. I am encouraging all of us to report what they are hearing. We assume this is a community-wide conversation where everybody has the opportunity to know what is being said. If you are saying something that is not for the ears of the whole community, you have a responsibility to be clear about that.

• WT-1: Current updates to Worshiping Together process
• WT-2: Introduction to the “Worshiping Together” process
• WT-3: Issues related to how we imagine the flow of children and worship on any given Sunday, once the process is well established.
  THIS IS THE MAIN PAGE FOR YOUR BEST THOUGHTS
• WT-3-OLD: “WT-3″ will always reflect the current thinking. To keep WT-3 as uncomplicated as possible we will remove ideas that have been discussed and set aside. Friends who want to see what WT-3 looked like BEFORE the current version can go to WT-3-OLD.
  
• WT-4: Preparations we as a community may need to make to achieve the goal of a rewarding inter-generational worship experience.
• WT-5: Open issues, concerns, exceptions, things to be mindful of. As we approach general agreement about “how are we going to do this,” I imagine this will be a place to record and keep track of “paths not (currently) taken.” If we agree on a course of action over the objections of some, let those objections be recorded here, with proposed alternatives, if possible. Then if things develop the way the objectors feared they would, we have a record in community memory, and perhaps some suggestions about alternative ways to proceed. This will be a place to stockpile dissenting opinions, and outstanding issues that we will do well to remember as we encounter the realities of the process as it unfolds. I will also use this area to archive all comments made, after they have been incorporated into the body of the work.
  
• WT-6: Jokes about what is happening, or might happen.

The WT-3 version outdated on _____

The WT-3 version outdated on Sept. 16

[Title of page changed. Old title was: WT-3: We imagine the flow of children and worship on a Worshiping Together Sunday]

(updated, 9/11, after Teacher Orientation) Beginning Sept. 26, children should be in their First Day School (FDS) classrooms at 10:55.

Worshiping Together(WT)-3 is THE MAIN PAGE for plans related to how a “Worshiping Together Sunday” will work.
The first WT Sunday will be September 26 or October 10.
(Sunday September 19 is the FDS ORGANIZING session. Parents and children gather in the Fellowship room at 11AM, and the kids will not go into the meetingroom at all that day. Sunday Oct. 3 is Family Meeting.)

Please offer us your comments at the bottom of this page, or bring your ideas about this to the Worshiping Together table during Fellowship time. Or email Richard at Richard.Osbo.Fuller at gmail.com.

*  There will be a handout for parents outlining how this is expected to work.

• Will the handout offer suggestions about what to say to kids (of different ages) about what to look for, and how to behave?

On “FDS Sundays,” First Day School starts at 10:55.

First Day School Sundays are the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Sundays of the month.
(On the 1st Sunday of each month we have Family Meetings with children and adults gathering in the Fellowship Room at 11AM. This is in addition to the regular 11AM worship in the meetingroom. On the occasional 5^th Sunday we have inter-generational worship: 30 minutes of centering worship in the meetingroom for all ages.)

On FDS Sundays parents should have children in the classroom by 10:55.

The first “FDS Sunday” will be Sept. 26.

While the start time of 10:55 is clear, the details of how and when the kids enter the meetingroom are still being worked out.

The first “Worshiping Together Sunday” will be Sept. 26 or Oct. 10.

PLAN:

• Every week through October, all three main entry doors will have a sign posted, for that week, that tells parents and others what will happen that day.
• This website will always have current information people can check about the upcoming Sunday. The information will be here, and there will be a link to it on the TCFM home page.
• Richard Fuller, or another “FDS Greeter” will be stationed in the foyer each Sunday, ready to help.

* How much discretion can we give to individual classes, especially the teachers, about whether they come to Meeting for Worship on a given day?
CURRENT PLAN:
For now, for the first “Worshiping Together Sunday,” whether it happens on 9/26 or 10/10, let’s say each class is expected to arrive outside the meetingroom doors at 11:45. This will minimize the variables we have to cope with in the early stages.
After some experience we may discover  we can improve things even more by not expecting “every class, every week.” Still, that will be our goal, for starters.

• Longer-term, can we encourage a feeling of choice, at least on the part of each teacher?

* CURRENT PLAN: children do NOT bring work done in class to the meeting room.
A drop-off point in the Library?

* How can we help preserve the centered atmosphere developed in the classroom as we move toward and into the meeting room?

• How can we minimize a kid-jam outside the door, with the attendant jostling and distractions?
  • PROPOSAL: Teachers can ask for extra adults to accompany the class to the meetingroom doors.

* What about kids who are not ready for “Worship Together”?

• Do we staff a room for kids who are not ready?
• What if a significant part of the class has got a “thing” going, and the teacher expects they would be a disruption in the meeting room?
  DEFAULT: It’s not the teacher’s responsibility after the kids are inside the meetingroom. Then, it’s up to M&C.

IN THE MEETING ROOM, APPROX. 11:45-12:15, M&C has responsibility

M&C will try this the first week we decide we are ready, and then revise it, as necessary.
Tom Stoffregen is the M&C contact person on this.

* Where will the youth sit, in the meeting room?

• DRAFT PLAN: When a family knows ahead of time that the children (or teachers) MAY want to join family members already in the meetingroom, they should agree roughly where in the room they will sit. Preferably not too far from the doors.

• CURRENT PLAN: Youth will not sit in classroom groups. The class ends when the kids enter the meetingroom and teachers are no longer responsible for the children at that point.

* What is considered “appropriate behavior” for kids during meeting for worship?
OUTSTANDING ISSUE:
What guidance do we give kids about standing and sharing in worship?

* M&C intends that announcements after worship will be compressed.

* What if a child is disruptive, or a group of children?
CURRENT PLAN:
If the child has chosen to sit with her family, the family members are responsible.
For children not sitting with their parents, the M&C member who is closing meeting is responsible, along with other M&C members present.

* How can we encourage opportunities for adults to talk to kids about “what just happened in worship”?

———————————-

* FDS and M&C encourage feedback about the new WT!

There is a table during the Fellowship time each week. People are encouraged to take their ideas & concerns there. Email and phone calls are also encouraged.

Issues by individual Classrooms

Nursery Children are not included in Worshiping Together

Parents will pick up their children in the Nursery after the rise of meeting.

Preschool

Preschoolers are included in WT

Kindergarden – First Grade

Second, Third & Fourth Grades

Fifth & Sixth Grades

Middle School

High School

Optional? Might come at least once a quarter?
Should feel invited.

The WT-3 version outdated on Sept. 11

(updated, 9/10)

Worshiping Together-3 is THE MAIN PAGE for plans related to how a “regular Sunday” will work. The first POSSIBLE regular Sunday would be September 26. (Sunday September 19 is the FDS ORGANIZING session. Parents and children gather in the Fellowship room at 11AM, and the kids will not go into the meetingroom at all that day.)

Please offer us your comments at the bottom of this page, or bring your ideas about this to the Worshiping Together table during Fellowship time. Or email Richard at Richard.Osbo.Fuller at gmail.com.

Outline for WT-3:
1. Issues around the Worshiping Together activities in the meeting room, from about 11:45 to about 12:15

2. Issues that arise for the times before and after Worshiping Together

1. IN THE MEETING ROOM, APPROX. 11:45-12:15, M&C takes responsibility

M&C will try this the first week we decide we are ready, and then revise it, as necessary.
Tom Stoffregen is the M&C contact person on this.

* Where will the youth sit, in the meeting room?

• DRAFT PLAN: When a family knows ahead of time that the children (or teachers) MAY want to join family members already in the meetingroom, they should agree roughly where in the room they will sit. Preferably not too far from the doors.

• CURRENT PLAN: Youth will not sit in classroom groups. The class ends when the kids enter the meetingroom and teachers are no longer responsible for the children at that point.

*Do we assume every class will be present in the meetingroom every week? May we leave it more gradual and at the discretion of teachers so that students are slipping in little by little with timing at the discretion of teachers?”

* What is considered “appropriate behavior” for kids during meeting for worship?

• What guidance do we give kids about standing and sharing in worship?

* What if a child feels she needs to leave worship, to go to the bathroom or for another reason? DEFAULT: Children who choose to sit with their parents can get guidance from them. Youth who choose to sit alone or with peers will rely on their resources.
OUTSTANDING ISSUE: Will Advancement Committee have a member designated as a hall monitor who will be responsible in such a situation?

• Will we have a list of “situations” like this, with suggested responses, to give interested parties?

* M&C intends that announcements after worship will be compressed.

* What if a child is disruptive, or a group of children?

• CURRENT PLAN:
  • If the child has chosen to sit with her family, the family members are responsible.
  • For children not sitting with their parents, the M&C member who is closing meeting is responsible, along with other M&C members present.

———————————-

* FDS and M&C encourage feedback about the new WT!

There will be a table during the Fellowship time each week. People are encouraged to take their ideas & concerns there. Email and phone calls are also encouraged.

2. ISSUES IN THE TIMES BEFORE & AFTER “WT”

(In roughly the order they will occur on a Sunday:)

*  There will be a handout for parents outlining how this is expected to work.

• Will the handout offer suggestions about what to say to kids (of different ages) about what to look for, and how to behave?

* Where do parents drop their kids, in order to arrive at worship before 11AM?
* How do teachers handle their pre-class preparation, before 11AM?

PROPOSAL: We have group singing from 10:45 to 10:59.
After taking off their coats, parents bring their children to this area, which might be in the Fellowship room or the Meetingroom. Parents can either sing with the group or leave the children.
After completing their preparation, teachers come to the singing area to join the singing and then gather their class, just before 11:00.

* What things can we do so that latecomers disrupt FDS classes as little as possible?

Is this really a problem? Is it more of a problem for some classes, less for others?

• Latecomers go to a supervised play area rather than their FDS classrooms? Then kids join their classes as a “late group,” at ___ (11:20?)? Teachers can plan their activities with a break at that point, when it is easy to assimilate newcomers?

UNLIKELY IDEA: Madison Meeting offers a “Family breakfast” of oatmeal at 10:15. Families can arrive with some members still half-asleep and still be ready to go at 11:00.

* Since many details still remain to be decided, including when the first “Regular Sunday” actually will happen,
how will parents and others know what to do when they arrive on Sunday?
PLAN:

• For the next many weeks, all three main entry doors will have a sign posted, for that week, that tells parents and others what will happen that day.
• This website will always have current information people can check about the upcoming Sunday.
• Richard Fuller, or another “FDS Facilitator” will be stationed in the foyer each Sunday, ready to help.

Other ways a new start-time can be publicized:

• Announcements in the newsletter, announcement sheets, and a changed FDS brochure.

* What sort of positive preparation for entering worship do teachers give the kids?

• Can teachers and others make suggestions about what might teachers say, generally, about meeting for worship?
  • What would it be good for teachers to say in the moments before the class gets up to go to the meeting room?
    Is someone willing to volunteer to author/edit a list of suggestions?

* How much discretion can we give to individual classes, especially the teachers, about whether they come to Meeting for Worship on a given day?

CURRENT PLAN:
PART A:
For now, to begin with, for the first “Regular Sunday,” whenever it happens, let’s say each class is expected to arrive outside the meetingroom doors at 10:45. This will minimize the variables we have to cope with in the early stages.
PART B: There may well be some “Preliminary Sundays,” when we experiment with just the older classes Worshiping Together, before the first “regular Sunday.”
TO SUMMARIZE, the goal during the ramping-up process is that we want eventually to see a month of Sundays when ALL the children are in worship with the adults.
We may discover during the ramping-up that this is not a good goal. Also, we may discover, if we successfully achieve the goal, that we can improve things even more by not expecting “every class, every week.” Still, that will be our goal, for starters.

• Longer-term, can we encourage a feeling of choice, at least on the part of each teacher?

* CURRENT PLAN: children do NOT bring work done in class to the meeting room.
A drop-off point in the Library?

* How can we help preserve the centered atmosphere developed in the classroom as we move toward and into the meeting room?

• How can we minimize a kid-jam outside the door, with the attendant jostling and distractions?
  • PROPOSAL: Teachers can ask for extra adults to accompany the class to the meetingroom doors.

* What about kids who are not ready for “Worship Together”?

• Do we staff a room for kids who are not ready?
• What if a significant part of the class has got a “thing” going, and the teacher expects they would be a disruption in the meeting room?
  DEFAULT: It’s not the teacher’s responsibility after the kids are inside the meetingroom. Then, it’s up to M&C.

* How can we encourage opportunities for adults to talk to kids about “what just happened in worship”?

Issues by individual Classrooms

Preschool

Are Preschoolers included in WT?

Kindergarden – First Grade

Second, Third & Fourth Grades

Fifth & Sixth Grades

Middle School

High School

Not included?
Optional? Might come at least once a quarter?
Should feel invited.

The WT-3 version outdated on Sept. 8

1. IN THE MEETING ROOM, APPROX. 11:45-12:15, M&C takes responsibility

HERE IS THE PLAN: M & C has responsibility for what happens with the children after they arrive at the meeting room door.

M&C will try this the first week we decide we are ready, and then revise it, as necessary.
Tom Stoffregen is the M&C contact person on this.

* Where will the youth sit, in the meeting room?

• PROPOSED: When a family knows ahead of time that the children (or teachers) will want to join family members already in the meetingroom, they should agree roughly where in the room they will sit. Preferably not too far from the doors.

• CURRENT PLAN: Youth will not sit in classroom groups. The class ends when the kids enter the meetingroom and teachers are no longer responsible for the children at that point.

Comments from Teachers:

• In Texas, children came in at the end. The teachers come with special chairs.
  And in Durango –a smaller meeting– children sat with another adult that wasn’t a parent.
• I like the idea of kids staying with the teachers.
• I don’t like what I’ve seen in other meetings, when kids crawl around in a designated area.

*Do we assume every class will be present in the meetingroom every week?

One teacher writes:

I hope the time period for entering meeting is not frozen at 11:45 when the doors open and masses pour in like clockwork.
May we leave it more gradual and at the discretion of teachers so that students are slipping in little by little with timing at the discretion of teachers?”

* What is considered “appropriate behavior” for kids during meeting for worship?

• What guidance do we give kids about standing and sharing in worship?

Comments from Teachers:

• We gave kids paper and pencils and what they wrote was beautiful.

• It isn’t about silence but respect for a sacred space.
  Even it a kid hasn’t yet grown into an ability for silent worship, they can learn respectful behavior.
  I want them to have a positive experience of meaning.

* What if a child feels she needs to leave worship, to go to the bathroom or for another reason?

• Will we have a list of “situations” like this, with suggested responses, to give interested parties?

* Will announcements after worship be made as they are now?

• One class a month might introduce the class members to the meeting.

* What if a child is disruptive, or a group of children?

• PROPOSED: If the child has chosen to sit with her family, the family members are responsible.
  CURRENT PLAN: For children not sitting with their parents, the M&C member who is closing meeting is responsible, along with other M&C members present.

* What if  a child is upset by something during worship, an expression of grief or other strong emotion by an adult worshiper?

• DEFAULTS: The child will find help from a trusted source. An adult who has some context with the child may approach him or her.

* How, after the handshake, can we encourage children and youth who have done well, sitting in worship?

One teacher writes:
Kids who sat through meeting got a certificate In the “Black Hat Society.”

———————————-

* How will FDS and M&C encourage feedback about the new WT?

CURRENT PLAN:
There will be a table during the Fellowship time each week for several weeks before and after the new procedures are in place,
People will be encouraged to take their ideas there. Email and phone calls are also encouraged.

* What if you, an adult, are bothered?

• Are there any guidelines for judging
  • “this is my problem, a challenge to my spiritual growth” vs.
  • “this is a problem our community needs to address” ?

  DEFAULT: Feel free to bring up issues at the WT table during Fellowship, or with someone on FDS or M&C with whom you feel comfortable.
  “My problem vs. Our Problem” should not be an issue in this exploratory conversation.

2. ISSUES IN THE TIMES BEFORE & AFTER “WT”

(In roughly the order they will occur on a Sunday:)

* Will there be a handout for parents outlining how this is expected to work?

• Will a handout offer suggestions about what to say to kids (of different ages) about what to look for, and how to behave?

* How do teachers handle their pre-class preparation, before 11AM?

PROPOSAL: We start by having child-care available from 10:30 to 10:45 where teachers can drop their kids while they prepare for class. This ends with group singing, which starts at 10:45.

* When do teachers need to be in their classrooms, ready to receive students?
PROPOSAL: We have group singing from 10:45 to 10:59.
After taking off their coats, parents bring their children to this area. Parents can either sing with the group or leave the children and go to the meetingroom.
Teachers come to the singing area to gather their class, shortly before 11:00.

* How do we handle the likely “drop-off drift”? As we know all too well, families tend to run late.
Setting a tone, “you won’t want to be late for this,” is good.
ALTERNATE IDEA: Madison Meeting offers a “Family breakfast” of oatmeal at 10:15. Families can arrive with some members still half-asleep and still be ready to go at 11:00.

• What other things can we do so that latecomers disrupt our efforts as little as possible?
  Latecomers go to “Extended Singing” rather than their FDS classrooms? Kids join their classes as a “late group,” at 11:20. Teachers can plan their work with a break at that point, when it is easy to assimilate newcomers?

* How many ways are there, that a new start-time can be publicized?

• Large sign in the entry way,
  prominent notice on the website,
  as well as newsletters, announcement sheets, changes to the FDS brochure, etc.

* What sort of positive preparation for entering worship do teachers give the kids?

• Can teachers and others make suggestions about what might teachers say, generally, about meeting for worship?
  • What would it be good for teachers to say in the moments before the class gets up to go to the meeting room?
    Is someone willing to volunteer to author/edit a list of suggestions?

* How much discretion can we give to individual classes, especially the teachers, about whether they come to Meeting for Worship on a given day?

• Can we encourage a feeling of choice? A “yes, let’s go!” feeling, at least for the teachers and classes who need it?

* CURRENT PLAN: children do NOT bring work done in class to the meeting room.
a drop-off point in the Library?

* How can we help preserve the centered atmosphere developed in the classroom as we move toward and into the meeting room?

• How can we minimize a kid-jam outside the door, with the attendant jostling and distractions?
  • PROPOSAL: Teachers can ask for extra adults to accompany the class to the meetingroom doors.

* What about kids who are not ready for “Worship Together”?

• Do we staff a room for kids who are not ready?
• What if much of the class has got a “thing” going, and the teacher expects they would be a disruption in the meeting room?
  DEFAULT: It’s not the teacher’s responsibility after the kids are inside the meetingroom. Then, it’s up to M&C.

* How can we encourage opportunities for adults to talk to kids about “what just happened in worship”?

Issues by individual Classrooms

Preschool

Are Preschoolers included in WT?

Kindergarden – First Grade

Second, Third & Fourth Grades

Fifth & Sixth Grades

Middle School

High School

Not included?
Optional? Might come at least once a quarter?
Should feel invited.

The WT-3 version outdated on Aug. 30

1. IN THE MEETING ROOM, APPROX. 11:45-12:15

M & C will take responsibility for what happens with the children when they arrive at the meeting room door. They have agreed on a draft plan and are writing it up. They will try it the first week and then revise it, as necessary. Tom Stoffregen is the M&C contact person on this.

We will post the M&C plan here, when we get it.

* Where will the youth sit, in the meeting room?

• Some kids will want to sit with their parents.
  • When a family knows ahead of time that the children will want to join the parents, where should the parents sit?
  • How should they reserve a seat for the child, if they think it will be needed?
• Most FDS Classes will enter the meeting room as groups. Shall we reserve group seating?

Comments from Teachers:

• In Texas, children came in at the end. The teachers come with special chairs.
  And in Durango –a smaller meeting– children sat with another adult that wasn’t a parent.
• I like the idea of kids staying with the teachers.
• I don’t like what I’ve seen in other meetings, when kids crawl around in a designated area.

* How will youth enter the meeting room?

• What weeks will we see children?
  • Do we assume every class will be present every week?

Current Plan: The Ministry & Counsel member who will be closing meeting will open the doors at the right time, and welcome the children in.

• Older classes first?
  A semi-formal procession?
  An order that has a logic for the kids, and that they recognize how to play their part in?

One teacher writes:
I hope the time period for entering meeting is not frozen at 11:45 when the doors open and masses pour in like clockwork.
May we leave it more gradual and at the discretion of teachers so that students are slipping in little by little with timing at the discretion of teachers?”

* What is considered “appropriate behavior” for kids during meeting for worship?

• What guidance do we give kids about standing and sharing in worship?

Comments from Teachers:

• We gave kids paper and pencils and what they wrote was beautiful.

• It isn’t about silence but respect for a sacred space. Even it a kid hasn’t yet grown into an ability for silent worship, they can learn respectful behavior. I want them to have a positive experience of meaning.

* What if a child feels she needs to leave worship, to go to the bathroom or for another reason?

• Will we have a list of “situations” like this, with suggested responses, to give interested parties?

* Will announcements after worship be made as they are now?

• One class a month might introduce the class members to the meeting.

* What if a child is disruptive, or a group of children?

• Who’s responsibility is this?
  The M&C member who is closing meeting?

* What if a teacher can tell that a child is upset by something during worship?

• An expression of grief or other strong emotion by an adult worshiper?
• a generic sharing by an adult that the teacher knows is likely to touch a sensitive spot for a particular child?

* How, after the handshake, can we encourage children and youth who have done well, sitting in worship?

One teacher writes:
Kids who sat through meeting got a certificate In the “Black Hat Society.”

———————————-

* How will FDS and M&C encourage feedback about the new WT?

CURRENT PLAN:
There will be a table during the Fellowship time each week, and people will be encouraged to take their ideas there. Email and phone calls will also be encouraged.

* What if you, an adult, are bothered?

• Are there any guidelines for judging
  • “this is my problem, a challenge to my spiritual growth” vs.
  • “this is a problem our community needs to address” ?

2. ISSUES IN THE TIMES BEFORE & AFTER “WT”

(In roughly the order they will occur on a Sunday:)

* Will there be a handout for parents outlining how this is expected to work?

• Will a handout offer suggestions about what to say to kids (of different ages) about what to look for, and how to behave?

* How do teachers handle pre-class preparation?

PROPOSAL: We start by having child-care available from 10:30 to 10:50 where teachers can drop their kids while they prepare for class.

* When do teachers need to be in their classrooms, ready to receive students?
PROPOSAL: Teachers are ready for students at 10:45, with a “hard start” to structured activities at 10:55 and the expectation that parents will have dropped their kids and gone by then.

* How do we handle the likely “drop-off drift”?
As we know all too well, families tend to run late.
Setting a tone, “you won’t want to be late for this,” is good.

• What other things can we do so that latecomers disrupt our efforts as little as possible?
  Latecomers go to “childcare” rather than their FDS classrooms?

* How many ways are there, that a new start-time can be publicized?

• Large sign in the entry way,
  prominent notice on the website,
  as well as newsletters, announcement sheets, changes to the FDS brochure, etc.

* What sort of positive preparation for entering worship do teachers give the kids?

• Can teachers and others make suggestions about what might teachers say, generally, about meeting for worship?
• What would it be good for teachers to say in the moments before the class gets up to go to the meeting room?

* How much discretion can we give to individual classes, especially the teachers, about whether they come to Meeting for Worship on a given day?

• Can we encourage a feeling of choice? A “yes, let’s go!” feeling, at least for the teachers and classes who need it?

* CURRENT PLAN: children do NOT bring work done in class to the meeting room if it is bulky or potentially messy.

* How can we help preserve the centered atmosphere developed in the classroom as we move toward and into the meeting room?

• How can we minimize a kid-jam outside the door, with the attendant jostling and distractions?
  • PROPOSAL: Teachers can ask for extra adults to accompany the class to the meetingroom doors.

* What about kids who are not ready for “Worship Together”?

• Do we staff a room for kids who are not ready?
• What if most of the class has got a “thing” going,
  and the teacher expects they would be a disruption in the meeting room?

* How can we encourage opportunities for adults to talk to kids about “what just happened in worship”?

Issues by individual Classrooms

Preschool

Are Preschoolers included in WT?

Kindergarden – First Grade

Second, Third & Fourth Grades

Fifth & Sixth Grades

Middle School

High School

Not included? Optional? Might come occasionally? Should feel invited.

The WT-3 version outdated on August 28

1. IN THE MEETING ROOM, APPROX. 11:45-12:15

* Where will the youth sit, in the meeting room?

• Some kids will want to sit with their parents.
  • When a family knows ahead of time that the children will want to join the parents, where should the parents sit?
  • How should they reserve a seat for the child, if they think it will be needed?
    Paper plates on seats where a child is expected?

• Most FDS Classes will enter the meeting room as groups. How shall we reserve group seating?

* How will youth enter the meeting room?

• What weeks will we see children?
  • Do we assume every class will be present every week?
  • What about children who are “not ready to enter silent worship” on a particular day, at 11:45?
• Issues around HOW children enter
  • Who determines that “the coast is clear,” that no one is currently speaking out of the silence?
    • How long might children be asked to wait, while a speaker finishes?
  • Older classes first?
    A semi-formal procession?
    An order that has a logic for the kids, and that they recognize how to play their part in?

* What if a child feels she needs to leave worship, to go to the bathroom or for another reason?

• Will we have a list of “situations” like this, with suggested responses, to give teachers (& parents)?

* Will announcements after worship be made as they are now?

* What if a child is disruptive, or a group of children?

• Who’s responsibility is this? (When kids come in at 11, they are under the care of their parents.)
• In “Worshiping Together” would the responsible adult be the teacher the child came in with?
  The M&C member who is closing meeting?

———————————-

* How will FDS and M&C encourage feedback about the new WT?

• Will feedback from youth and parents be actively solicited by teachers?
• How do teachers get feedback to FDS Committee or M&C?
• How will adults who are not teachers or parents make suggestions or register concerns?

* What if you, an adult, are bothered?

• Are there any guidelines for judging
  • “this is my problem, a challenge to my spiritual growth” vs.
  • “this is a problem our community needs to address” ?

2. ISSUES IN THE TIMES BEFORE & AFTER “WT”

(In roughly the order they will occur on a Sunday:)

* Will there be a handout for parents outlining how this is expected to work?

• Will it offer suggestions about what to say to kids (of different ages) about what to look for, and how to behave?
• Not just a bunch of “don’ts.”

* How do teachers handle pre-class preparation?

• Some teachers have been using 11:00 to 11:15 as preparation time. What will they do?
  • Can there be a place for these teachers’ children, before 11,
    allowing the teachers who are also parents a chance to prepare for their class?

* When do teachers need to be in their classrooms, ready to receive students?

* What sort of positive preparation for entering worship do teachers give the kids?

• Not just a bunch of “don’ts.”
• What might teachers say, generally, about meeting for worship?
• What would it be good for teachers to say in the moments before the class gets up to go to the meeting room?

* Does a child bring work done in class to the meeting room?

* How can we help preserve the centered atmosphere developed in the classroom as we move toward and into the meeting room?

• How can we minimize a kid-jam outside the door, with the attendant jostling and distractions?

* What about kids who are not ready for “Worship Together”?

• Do we staff a room for kids who are not ready?
• What if most of the class has got a “thing” going,
  and the teacher expects they would be a disruption in the meeting room?

* What if a teacher can tell that a child is upset by something during worship?

• An expression of grief or other strong emotion by an adult worshiper?
• a generic sharing by an adult that the teacher knows is likely to touch a sensitive spot for a particular child?

* How can we encourage opportunities for adults to talk to kids about “what just happened in worship”?

* How, after the handshake, can we encourage children and youth who have done well, sitting in worship?

• WT-1: Current updates to Worshiping Together process
• WT-2: Introduction to the “Worshiping Together” process
• WT-3: What we expect the next few Sundays to look like, before further tweaking.
  
• WT-3-OLD: “WT-3″ will always reflect the current thinking. To keep WT-3 as uncomplicated as possible we will remove ideas that have been discussed and set aside. Friends who want to see what WT-3 looked like BEFORE the current version can go to WT-3-OLD.
  
• WT-4: Preparations we as a community may need to make to achieve the goal of a rewarding inter-generational worship experience. THIS IS now THE MAIN PAGE FOR YOUR BEST THOUGHTS
• WT-5: Open issues, concerns, exceptions, things to be mindful of. As we approach general agreement about “how are we going to do this,” I imagine this will be a place to record and keep track of “paths not (currently) taken.” If we agree on a course of action over the objections of some, let those objections be recorded here, with proposed alternatives, if possible. Then if things develop the way the objectors feared they would, we have a record in community memory, and perhaps some suggestions about alternative ways to proceed. This will be a place to stockpile dissenting opinions, and outstanding issues that we will do well to remember as we encounter the realities of the process as it unfolds. I will also use this area to archive all comments made, after they have been incorporated into the body of the work.
  
• WT-6: Jokes about what is happening, or might happen.

Updated on Sept 26

Every Sunday through October we will have a “WT Discussion Table” during Fellowship time

Here’s the Sunday schedule through the end of the year, with commentary:

* September 26

Our first attempt was a great success!

“All the children & teachers in the room with everybody else, awesome!”

* October 3 – Family Meeting

(No Worshiping Together” in the meetingroom)

*** Oct. 10, Oct. 17 & Oct. 24: Three WT Sundays in a row

* Lesson from 9/26: The kids made themselves name tags. We need to develop a system for keeping them where they can be found.

The guideline for all teachers is

• Bring your students to the doors of the meetingroom at 11:45. However,
• All teachers have some discretion, for instance
  • Teachers of younger students might want to wait a bit later, until some of the congestion in the hall has cleared, and so that their students are expected to sit quietly for a shorter time.
  • A teacher may choose not to take the class to the meetingroom, keeping students in the classroom until Noon.

ADVICE TO TEACHERS: While we respect and encourage the autonomy of your class, we are also concerned about the living wholeness of the entire worshiping body, students and adults, sitting in worship together.
Therefore, while you may feel your class is “not ready,” it may still be important to bring them into worship at 11:45 or 11:50. When the class enters the meetingroom it will affect both the class and the body already sitting in worship. We need that. The class may be quieted; the adults energized. Or something else. It is the living wholeness of the worshiping community we are looking for here. The whole point, eventually, is to get everyone in the room together, where Spirit can work on us all at once, as a whole. So we encourage both your efforts to have your students’ experience be as good as possible and also a letting go, on your part. There is mystery here, and our striving and our relaxing are two arms with which it embraces us.

OUTSTANDING ISSUES, to be considered in light of October’s experience:

• Will Advancement Committee door tenders make efforts during the initial 10:55-11:00 seating to ensure that there are a large number of fairly-accessible seats near the doors?
• Do we want to arrange the chairs so that the aisles leading in from the main doors are broader?
• Might a class decide to enter the worship earlier than 11:45?

* Oct. 31 – Inter-generational Worship
* November 7 – Family Day

Two weeks in a row, no Worshiping Together” in the meetingroom.

* Nov.14

Another sequence of three WT Sundays.
Having skipped the two previous Sundays will require a little recovery.

* Nov. 21

* Nov. 28

* Dec. 5 – Family Day

* Dec. 12

A WT Sunday. Classrooms are likely to be focused on preparations for their presentations next week.

* Dec. 19

FDS classes make their holiday presentations. These songs and skits are presented in the meetingroom starting about half way into the worship hour.

* Dec. 26

A WT Sunday

* How much discretion can we give to individual classes, especially the teachers, about whether they come to Meeting for Worship on a given day?

* SCHEDULED EVALUATION:

We should have a time limit (one year?) for giving it a good-faith effort.
With a commitment to do an evaluation at the end of that period.

Out-dated on Sept 16

“Getting-Ready” Timeline
Sketched in so far.

In September

Every Sunday, during Fellowship time: a “WT Planning Discussion Table”

9/11, Saturday, 9AM-Noon:

• FDS Teacher Orientation
  (Yes, that’s at the same time as MWB)

9/12, first Sunday after Labor Day:

• Adult Ed program, on experiences in other meetings.
• Draft “edit-or-implement” Plan available

9/19, Sunday:

• First day of FDS classes (Families meet with teachers in the Fellowship Room at 11AM)
  No children attend adult worship this day. Kids come into meetingroom at Noon, as in the past.

9/26, Sunday:

• Try draft plan or consult on remaining issues

* What additional meetings or consultations do we want to have in advance, and when?
A special meeting for FDS teachers (in addition to the 9/11 teacher orientation)?

How do we decide on what Sunday this starts?

* An FDSC member writes: I’d suggest the kids not go into adult worship in the beginning weeks.

• Teachers set the scene for what is to come. Maybe do an in-classroom “practice” at 11:45.

• On a Sunday that may only have been determined a week ahead of time at least one or two of the older classes come in.

* At M&C it was suggested:
During the weeks of preparation for WT, adults from 11:00 worship might come to each of the FDS classes and “invite” them, and explain why (that particular adult) was excited to have the class coming into worship near the end, instead of at the beginning.

* How long will children be in worship?
The assumption has been 15 minutes, just like before. Do we want to revisit this assumption?

PROPOSAL: Each class decides on the week they are “ready to start going to the meetingroom.” The teacher would present the idea and the class would discuss it, perhaps for more than a week. The class would know that, if they wanted to go in, they would need to be outside the doors at 11:45, when they would be invited in.

One parent asks:
“When our children read these messages on the topic of children in worship at TCFM, will they feel loved? In other words, will we as a community remember to write as those who are blessed with children (“children” equals “ones who are becoming young adult Quakers of tomorrow”) in our shared life together?

• WT-1: Current updates to Worshiping Together process
• WT-2: Introduction to the “Worshiping Together” process
• WT-3: What we expect the next few Sundays to look like, before further tweaking.
  
• WT-3-OLD: “WT-3″ will always reflect the current thinking. To keep WT-3 as uncomplicated as possible we will remove ideas that have been discussed and set aside. Friends who want to see what WT-3 looked like BEFORE the current version can go to WT-3-OLD.
  
• WT-4: Preparations we as a community may need to make to achieve the goal of a rewarding inter-generational worship experience. THIS IS now THE MAIN PAGE FOR YOUR BEST THOUGHTS
• WT-5: Open issues, concerns, exceptions, things to be mindful of. As we approach general agreement about “how are we going to do this,” I imagine this will be a place to record and keep track of “paths not (currently) taken.” If we agree on a course of action over the objections of some, let those objections be recorded here, with proposed alternatives, if possible. Then if things develop the way the objectors feared they would, we have a record in community memory, and perhaps some suggestions about alternative ways to proceed. This will be a place to stockpile dissenting opinions, and outstanding issues that we will do well to remember as we encounter the realities of the process as it unfolds. I will also use this area to archive all comments made, after they have been incorporated into the body of the work.
  
• WT-6: Jokes about what is happening, or might happen.

* How can we help preserve the centered atmosphere developed in the classroom as we move toward and into the meeting room?

• How can we minimize a kid-jam outside the door, with the attendant jostling and distractions?
  • PROPOSAL: Teachers can ask for extra adults to accompany the class to the meetingroom doors.

* What about kids who are not ready for “Worship Together”?

• Do we staff a room for kids who are not ready?
• What if a significant part of the class has got a “thing” going, and the teacher expects they would be a disruption in the meeting room?
  DEFAULT: It’s not the teacher’s responsibility after the kids are inside the meetingroom. Then, it’s up to M&C.

* Don’t we want to have classes of children coming in as groups and sitting together?

Both to minimize the disruption associated with a bunch of kids selecting among scattered seats
and also the pedagogy of “we talked about this in class, as a group, and now, as a group, we are observing it.”

One FDS Committee member wrote:

It is probably quite important for the kids to enter the meeting and to sit with their classmates, instead of going over to their parents. This is less disruptive. But more importantly, it communicates to the children they they are unique, valued individuals with identities of their own (and not just as appendages of their parents). Hopefully the seating arrangement can communicate to kids that they, not just their parents, have a place in the meeting community. This could communicate to them a kind of respect that the larger meeting has for them, which could feel empowering and encouraging of their developing spirituality. … The parent with who I spoke was interested and very receptive in particular to the idea that kids would sit with their class instead of going to be with their parents, because it might give the kids the empowering sense of having their OWN place at meeting, and not just being at meeting because their parents were there.

* How do we handle the likely “drop-off drift”? As we know all too well, families tend to run late.
Setting a tone, “you won’t want to be late for this,” is good.

* How do teachers handle their pre-class preparation, before 11AM?

PROPOSAL: We start by having child-care available from 10:30 to 10:45 where teachers can drop their kids while they prepare for class. This ends with group singing, which starts at 10:45.

* What if you, an adult, are bothered? Feel free to bring up issues at the WT table during Fellowship, or with someone on FDS or M&C with whom you feel comfortable.

* What is considered “appropriate behavior” for kids during meeting for worship?

• What guidance do we give kids about standing and sharing in worship?

Comments from Teachers:

• We gave kids paper and pencils and what they wrote was beautiful.

• It isn’t about silence but respect for a sacred space.
  Even it a kid hasn’t yet grown into an ability for silent worship, they can learn respectful behavior.
  I want them to have a positive experience of meaning.

* What is considered “appropriate behavior” for kids during meeting for worship?
OUTSTANDING ISSUE:
What guidance do we give kids about standing and sharing in worship?

* M&C intends that announcements after worship will be compressed.

* What if a child is disruptive, or a group of children?
CURRENT PLAN:
If the child has chosen to sit with her family, the family members are responsible.
For children not sitting with their parents, the M&C member who is closing meeting is responsible, along with other M&C members present.

* How can we encourage opportunities for adults to talk to kids about “what just happened in worship”?

* What if  a child is upset by something during worship, an expression of grief or other strong emotion by an adult worshiper?

• DEFAULTS: The child will find help from a trusted source. An adult who has some context with the child may approach him or her.

* How, after the handshake, can we encourage children and youth who have done well, sitting in worship?

One teacher writes:
Kids who sat through meeting got a certificate In the “Black Hat Society.”

Recent Unaddressed Comments:

* I think Fifth Sunday worship would work better if it were semi-programmed. And if all present were invited to contribute, it would be a way for adults and kids to know bits of each others’ spiritual lives.

* One class a month might introduce the class members to the meeting.

*Do we assume every class will be present in the meetingroom every week?

I hope the time period for entering meeting is not frozen at 11:45 when the doors open and masses pour in like clockwork. May we leave it more gradual and at the discretion of teachers so that students are slipping in little by little with timing at the discretion of teachers?”

* I think everyone who has thought about children and youth entering worship for the last quarter hour has recognized that this raises the bar of community worship in several different ways. One is that when the kids were there for the start of worship, adults could deal with any sense of irritation by saying “It’s just part of the settling in process; they’ll be gone soon.”

Old comments,

considered and assimilated into the plan (or not)
Arranged by date, newest on top:

Comments from Teachers, late August:

• In Texas, children came in at the end. The teachers come with special chairs.
  And in Durango –a smaller meeting– children sat with another adult that wasn’t a parent.
• I like the idea of kids staying with the teachers.
• I don’t like what I’ve seen in other meetings, when kids crawl around in a designated area.

• WT-1: Current updates to Worshiping Together process
• WT-2: Introduction to the “Worshiping Together” process
• WT-3: What we expect the next few Sundays to look like, before further tweaking.
  
• WT-3-OLD: “WT-3″ will always reflect the current thinking. To keep WT-3 as uncomplicated as possible we will remove ideas that have been discussed and set aside. Friends who want to see what WT-3 looked like BEFORE the current version can go to WT-3-OLD.
  
• WT-4: Preparations we as a community may need to make to achieve the goal of a rewarding inter-generational worship experience. THIS IS now THE MAIN PAGE FOR YOUR BEST THOUGHTS
• WT-5: Open issues, concerns, exceptions, things to be mindful of. As we approach general agreement about “how are we going to do this,” I imagine this will be a place to record and keep track of “paths not (currently) taken.” If we agree on a course of action over the objections of some, let those objections be recorded here, with proposed alternatives, if possible. Then if things develop the way the objectors feared they would, we have a record in community memory, and perhaps some suggestions about alternative ways to proceed. This will be a place to stockpile dissenting opinions, and outstanding issues that we will do well to remember as we encounter the realities of the process as it unfolds. I will also use this area to archive all comments made, after they have been incorporated into the body of the work.
  
• WT-6: Jokes about what is happening, or might happen.

• Perhaps the adults will actually focus better in worship before the children arrive because they feel the need to put on a good show for the kids.

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• :

• Caption reads:
  With a sigh, or a squeak, or a grunt, or a groan…
  The Spirit inspireth every one.

• :

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• :

• WT-1: Current updates to Worshiping Together process
• WT-2: Introduction to the “Worshiping Together” process
• WT-3: What we expect the next few Sundays to look like, before further tweaking.
  
• WT-3-OLD: “WT-3″ will always reflect the current thinking. To keep WT-3 as uncomplicated as possible we will remove ideas that have been discussed and set aside. Friends who want to see what WT-3 looked like BEFORE the current version can go to WT-3-OLD.
  
• WT-4: Preparations we as a community may need to make to achieve the goal of a rewarding inter-generational worship experience. THIS IS now THE MAIN PAGE FOR YOUR BEST THOUGHTS
• WT-5: Open issues, concerns, exceptions, things to be mindful of. As we approach general agreement about “how are we going to do this,” I imagine this will be a place to record and keep track of “paths not (currently) taken.” If we agree on a course of action over the objections of some, let those objections be recorded here, with proposed alternatives, if possible. Then if things develop the way the objectors feared they would, we have a record in community memory, and perhaps some suggestions about alternative ways to proceed. This will be a place to stockpile dissenting opinions, and outstanding issues that we will do well to remember as we encounter the realities of the process as it unfolds. I will also use this area to archive all comments made, after they have been incorporated into the body of the work.
  
• WT-6: Jokes about what is happening, or might happen.

Many of you have heard me be enthusiastic about Mary Conrow Coelho’s book,
Awakening Universe, Emerging Personhood: The Power of Contemplation in an Evolving Universe (which I will abbreviate as AUEP)

For many months I have said I will be leading a reading group on it, because I see in Mary’s version of  “The New Universe Story“  the possibility of sane, spirit-filled, conversation among all the peoples of the world.

Now I find myself in the embarrassing position of having a new enthusiasm that is pulling my attention away from Mary’s work, even though I continue to think her work is profoundly important.

My new enthusiasm is involvement in the Transition Town movement, getting our local communities ready for the transition from today’s petroleum-based industrial civilization to a slower world, one more in harmony with the natural rhythms of Gaia.

“But wait!!” one faction of my inner committee says, “You can’t start bringing the Transition movement to your local community until you’ve shared how important Mary Coelho’s work is!“
It’s a crisis of loyalties on my inner committee.
So here’s the compromise we’ve worked out:

I am setting aside my original ideas of leisurely discussions of the book, going over it one chapter at a time.
The urgency I feel about making optimistic plans for the coming world means I will compress what AUEP means to me into four one-hour sessions,
and I will highlight Mary’s vision as the best description we have of our underlying reality, an understanding of reality that will be crucial, in the tumultuous times ahead.

I will offer this as a workshop/seminar in July and August, second and fourth Sundays, 9:45 to 10:45, at the Twin Cities Friends Meetinghouse.

Each session will be open to anyone on a drop-in basis, although my presentations will be geared as much as possible to people who have come to the previous sessions.

July 11

Overview of seminar
Overview of peak-oil/climate change/Transition Town movement, and the need for spiritual underpinnings.
Intro to Mary Coelho’s Awakening Universe Emerging Personhood (AUEP)

July 25

The first two major sections of AUEP, through page 128.

August 8

Sections III & IV of AUEP

August 22

Section V of AUEP
Summary and Next Steps for moving into a new society, a new relationship to each other and the Earth.

• I need to remind myself these will be only one-hour sessions
• I can’t possibly do justice to the material in this time-frame, but I need to get started with a synthesis of Transition Town and AUEP.
• I imagine each hour will begin with a 30-minute presentation followed by discussion. Hopefully further discussion can happen online.
• On alternate Sundays in the same time slot we will have Experiment With Light, practice sessions. I see Experiment With Light not only as traditional Quaker practice, but also as a practical application of Mary Coelho’s thought.

For people who already know what Experiment With Light is, and who are still looking for opportunities to practice, we plan to host practice sessions on the Sundays of July 4 & 18, and August 1 & 15.

All are welcome. You may come to any one session without participation in any of the others.

However, we assume you have some background (see above).

We will gather at 9:45. Please do not arrive after the Meditation prompts begin, promptly at 10:00. We will be using the 20-minute program which many people already know.

Friends are encouraged to bring writing materials, and at the end of the meditation there will be time for journaling or sketching.

We will close with a few minutes of optional sharing about our experiences, ending right at 10:45, with plenty of time to get to 11AM Worship.