Letters - 18 February 2011
From declining child numbers to the testimonies
Declining child numbers
I am glad that Daphne Hill has written on her concern about diminishing numbers of children associated with Meeting (11 February).
Children being part of Meeting is a great joy, but we need to ensure we nurture them and their parents when they come to Meeting. I have been surprised at the number of Meetings where there is no regular Children’s Meeting. I attended Meeting for the first time some thirty-seven years ago. The first of our four children was with us and Children’s Meeting was a vibrant part of the Meeting. If it had not been so, we might not have stayed! In the years since, our children were part of Children’s Meeting at each of the three Meetings we have been part of. We talk much about outreach, but for those young families who tentatively come along to Meeting and find they must care for their own children, this is hardly a welcome!
I have now been part of the Children’s Meeting team at our Meeting for most of the last twenty-five years. (Our children have been adults for years!) In addition, I am a volunteer with Circles of Support and Accountability locally. CRB checks are essential to safeguard our children. My experience is that Friends are not confident in the task of caring for children, so few come forward. In addition, some Meetings still don’t offer the facility of Children’s Meeting, in spite of our wish to encourage newcomers.
Do we want to be inclusive, celebrating diversity? Or, would we rather be quiet, without the liveliness of having children, with their parents, amongst us?
Richard Bush
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