Faith & Practice
Wilmington Friends School
Quakerism is an integral part of our classrooms
and is seen in the way that faculty cares for each student and provides different approaches for different needs. Looking for “that of God� in each person guides students in their friendships, activities, and everyday life. And when students are surrounded with people who have diverse ideas and unique spirits, a sense of community becomes a central part of our core values. Through bonding experiences, activities, and service outings, students prepare for life.
Quakerism The Religious Society of Friends, commonly called “Friends” or “Quakers,” began in England around 1650. Most people credit George Fox as the “founder” of Quakerism. As a young man, George Fox felt unfulfilled by the church of England and searched for answers to his spiritual questions. In the end, Fox realized that all the answers to his questions were within himself; he just needed to sit quietly and listen. Quakers have been doing just that ever since. Sitting together in silence, “waiting expectantly,” is the core of the Quaker worship service, called Meeting for Worship. Most Friends believe that by waiting in such a manner a person becomes able to receive direct communication with God or the Spirit, thus precluding the need for clergy or any sacraments. Quakers believe that no one is closer to God than anyone else – we are all on this journey together, helping each other to find that of God in ourselves and others. Quakers do not have a creed or a set of rules to follow. Instead, Quakers have testimonies that we live by. Friends today generally recognize Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship as the most important testimonies of our time. We often use the first letter of each one to help us remember them all – SPICES. “The testimonies are not a set of rules to be memorized. They are a reflection of how we live when led by Spirit. They are what Quakers mean when we say, ‘Let your life Speak,’ or ‘A doer not a sayer be.’ Actions do indeed speak louder than words: they are testament to our beliefs, a reflection of who we really are. When we listen to God, and are led by Spirit, we know how to love, what to do, who to be.” (Let Your Life Speak: a Faith and Play story) Quakers believe that there is “that of God” in every person. With this understanding, Friends schools recognize that moments present themselves in settings such as Meeting for Worship, conversations with colleagues, or deliberations among groups when an insight or deeper understanding may be reached. Quakers believe that these insights are windows through which the Inner Light may shine as “the way opens.” Among Friends, some would see these leadings as coming from a divine spirit; others might see them as coming from a depth of personal understanding.
Quaker Decision Making The Quaker approach to communal decision weights each and every community member’s voice equally, and no decision is made without opportunity for input by all. This is not an expedient means for determining a course of action. Listening deeply to one another and working to understand various, even opposing, viewpoints is often tedious work. Yet once a “sense of the meeting” is reached, once all members are comfortable in moving forward, members of the community do so confidently knowing that all concerns, dissenting voices, and the potentially disaffected minority in a voting system have been heard and their thoughts have been incorporated into the final decision. The decision-making process is then a truly collaborative and inclusive experience. For Friends, it is imperative to remain open to truths that are not readily apparent, truths that may only be revealed by a single voice. The Quaker decision-making process assures that just one person can “stand in the way” of a course of action if they feel moved to do so. This is the voice of truth and righteousness that is often drowned out by “group think,” popularity, the majority, and sometimes even laws. This is the voice of Moses, of Jesus, of Susan B. Anthony, of Mahatma Gandhi, of Rosa Parks, of Martin Luther King, Jr., of Malala Yousafzai, and of Mother Teresa. It is also the voice of a sixth-grade student in Middle School Business Meeting and the voice of a first-year teacher in faculty meeting. In Quaker decision-making, remaining open to new understanding, often referred to as “continuing revelation,” and valuing the truths each voice has to reveal to us assures that, once made, decisions are wisely informed and shared by all. Meeting for Business is held monthly in both middle and upper school and provides an opportunity for student voice and to practice Quaker decision-making with issues that are relevant to the school community. The Business Meeting is a unique and powerful opportunity for students themselves to develop agenda for and “clerk” or guide the student body through a collective, consensus-based decision-making process.
“Simplicity is playing and liking nature and being simple. a hug is simple. nature is simple. The end.� ~ WFS First Grader
“I like having a shared space to talk about life and listen to others.” ~ WFS Middle Schooler
Meeting for Worship is attended weekly by all students, from preschool-
ers to seniors. Students meet as a whole division (lower, middle, or upper school), by grade level, in advisory groups, or in mixed-grade-level groups. In lower school, teachers often read a story connected to the testimonies in preparation for Meeting. Middle school students practice centering and calming themselves in order to sit still and listen, sometimes using play dough, coloring, or labyrinths to keep the wandering part of their minds engaged. In Meeting for Worship for Singing, middle or upper school students may choose to sing in a worshipful way – allowing for silence between songs. In upper school, the students on the Quaker Life committee and those who have participated in a nationwide Quaker Youth Leadership Conference are responsible for guiding the Meeting. Upper school students also develop queries and thoughtful and creative approaches for small groups. Alumni frequently remark that they highly value the positive role of simple reflective silence during their days at Friends.
Meeting for Worship Meeting for Worship is at the heart of Quaker Faith and Practice. Each week we gather together to sit in silence, seeking the Divine Presence within ourselves. While there are no set words or ceremonies in unprogrammed meetings such as ours, we may offer a story, short video, or queries to consider from time to time. We try to come to Meeting for Worship “with heart and mind prepared.” If we feel moved to share a message with the group, we rise and speak. Often people offer experiences, perspectives, or prayers. Even if no one shares a message during meeting for worship, the silence can be healing, nourishing, and creative. People new to silent worship may find some of the following suggestions helpful: •
Come into Meeting quietly. Remember that we are coming together with the intention to seek the Divine/God/Spirit together.
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Strive to clear your mind of all thoughts; if thoughts arise, just let them flow.
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When moved, please stand to share your message; allow for a time of reflection between messages.
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At the close of Meeting, greet your neighbors and shake hands.
“...Another thing that distinguishes Friends from most other schools is that we take time to reflect and think. We spend 45 minutes each Thursday thinking about ourselves, our lives, the lives of others. This 45-minute period of quiet time helps one relax and re-center.” ~ WFS Upper Schooler
Quakerism in the Classroom Quaker beliefs and testimonies are an integral part of the Friends School experience and permeate how activities are structured and implemented. Many of our teachers begin class with a moment of silence to help center and focus our students for learning. We see students practice our testimonies, the SPICES, both in and outside of the classroom – such as during sporting events, where they demonstrate empathy through acceptance and inclusion of all students. Quaker practice in the lower school is an intentional, developmentally appropriate exploration of our testimonies. While students consider all of the SPICES throughout the year, each grade level focuses on a concept or testimony to provide an authentic experience with these Quaker practices, exploring them in different parts of the curriculum, relating to them with their personal experiences, and applying them within their community. Students in kindergarten through fourth grade focus on one testimony each year. Preschoolers learn about the concept of the “Light,” the idea that there is that of God in everyone, and fifth graders explore the Quaker phrase, “Letting our lives speak.” In middle school, concepts covered in academic courses are approached through the lens of the Quaker testimonies. Stewardship and environmental responsibility are often a focus in the science classroom. English teachers choose reading selections that reflect the testimonies, while visual arts classes take Quaker beliefs and put them into action through classroom projects. Multiculturalism and equality are a natural fit in performing arts and world language classes, and community is built and celebrated in musical ensembles and on stage in the 8th grade musical. The WFS Advisory program, introduced to students and families in middle school, provides a setting where students can discuss ethical and moral issues, ponder social concerns, build group trust, and learn conflict resolution skills. While students have fun in a small social group, teachers are able to reinforce our Quaker values. Each grade level delves more deeply into two specific testimonies, including exploratory activities in advisory groups.
Quakerism in the Classroom (continued) In upper school, the testimonies remain integral. With increasingly complicated demands on adolescents’ time and attention, maintaining simplicity is particularly challenging, and the program strives to support students in their challenge of maintaining balance. Through meeting the expectations of honesty in academic work, students demonstrate integrity via sincere, yet still moral, self-expression. By recognizing the value of others’ contributions, both local and global, students acknowledge the importance of the equal standing of all community members. The responsibility of stewardship for the learning environment, both physical and interpersonal, is a part of daily practice and special projects alike. To graduate, every upper schooler must take the “Quakerism & Thee” course which brings the student’s personal philosophy of religion and practice into a critical relationship with the Quaker philosophy and practice, and all ninth graders take the “Global Peace & Justice” course. Throughout all of the grades, diverse opportunities in visual and performing arts, athletics, and fitness are key to the curriculum and are grounded in the guiding element of the testimonies through teamwork and supportive leadership opportunities.
“Wilmington Friends is not different because of the fact that it is a Quaker school. It is different because of the way it adopts Quakerism in the school.” ~ WFS Upper Schooler
“I think I see Quakerism in the small things people do. For example, when someone spills their pencil case, other students always help clean it up.� ~ WFS Middle Schooler
Service Learning In the lower school, each classroom organizes service projects throughout the year, often with links to the curriculum (e.g. raising money for a wildlife protection agency during a study of Asia that included environmental issues and the habitats of endangered species). The entire lower school joins together for at least two division-wide projects each year: a bake sale at Homecoming to raise funds for a designated charity, and a December collection of hats, gloves, mittens, and scarves for our neighbors in need. Middle schoolers organize, staff, and participate in the “Spring into Service 5K” and, as their “entry fee,” contribute items such as non-perishable foods for a charity that the students choose each year. In seventh grade, each student completes an individual (or partner) off-campus stewardship project, which the students plan with parent and teacher approval. Eighth graders travel by advisory group (10-12 students and a teacher) for a morning of service at the same local agency, building a long-term community partnership for the school and providing a shared experience for the students. Reflection on service is an emphasis, through class presentations, discussions, and written work. Upper school students complete at least 50 hours of service with a single organization, with the goal of moving beyond “counting hours” to maximizing the impact of service learning. Students receive an agency evaluation, complete a self-evaluation, and make a presentation designed to pass the service experience on to others. In a number of cases—notably through a QUEST Center partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Delaware and language department international service-learning trips—student service projects grow out of the school program.
Service learning is a foundation of Quaker education, linking the classroom to the world and building our students’ sense of responsibility as members of communities, large and small. Friends students of all ages engage in service, from kindergartners collecting can tabs for the Ronald McDonald House to upper school students working with children in the Dominican Republic. Service opportunities give students the time to recharge and focus energy on the goals of “seeking truth� and serving others.
The WFS Community Quaker values are expressed through all-school service projects, connections among different grade levels, partnerships with Wilmington Monthly Meeting, community celebrations, and the Quaker Center for Understanding, Engagement, and Stewardship (QUEST). With service learning as an organizing structure, QUEST focuses on issues of diversity, social justice, cross-cultural and international understanding, and environmental sustainability. QUEST activities focus on student development of global thinking skills, active engagement with issues, and confidence as stewards and leaders. QUEST programs include the Lunch & Learn series, QUEST Term service/leadership trips, and the Big Ideas lecture. Through our Home & School Association, the WFS parent community also embraces our mission.The group organizes multiple service projects, supports multicultural events, hosts meaningful presentations, and, as their mission states, “seeks to provide support to Wilmington Friends School by fostering a sense of community among parents, faculty, and administration.�
Timeline 1748 – Monthly Meeting House becomes Friends School; oldest school in state of Delaware; 11th oldest school in the nation 1812 – Funds established for financial support of students who could not otherwise attend 1878 – Boys’ and Girls’ schools united 1884 – Establishment of the Whittier Literary Society, one of the country’s oldest newspapers, named for Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier 1891 – Kindergarten opens; first in the state 1928 – Home and School Association formed 1937 – Opening of new Friends School on Alapocas grounds 1947 – Host the first AFS students in the program’s history 1951 – School racially integrated, setting it apart from other schools in the area 1964 – First Senior Study program and Advanced Placement courses introduced 1970s – Peace, Justice and Social Change course designed. Student government based on Quaker Meeting for Business 1972 – New Lower School building dedicated 1977 – Minority Concerns Committee established 1982 – Community Service requirement for graduation 1998 – 250th anniversary of the school; Snyder Athletic Center built 2002 – International Baccalaureate program accredited 2007 – School Year Abroad program implemented 2010 – Quaker Center for Understanding, Engagement, & Stewardship (QUEST) established, including the QUEST Term service/leadership experience 2012 – 1:1 Laptop / Apple Distinguished Program 2012 – Joined Malone Family Foundation Scholar Program and Online Consortium – gained scholarship resources & enhanced curriculum 2014 – Rebuilt Theater and Neff Gymnasium, Atrium and Java Nook added 2016 – Completion of the Global Learning Center, Ira T. Ellis, Jr. ’52 Design Lab, and Mellor Field
Glossary Some of the terms that follow are in common usage, but Friends have given them a particular meaning. Others are essentially limited to Quaker usage. Breaking Meeting: The act of bringing a meeting for worship to a close by shaking hands. Usually, an individual has been designated to initiate this process. Centering: The initial stage of worship when Friends clear their minds and settle down to achieve a spiritual focus. Clerk: The person responsible for the administration of a Friends’ committee. This includes preparation, leadership, and follow up of meetings for business. Community Testimony: Quakers are instilled with a strong sense of community and the knowledge that we are stronger together. Individual abilities and differences add to the value of the whole. When someone is in need, the whole community bands together to help that person. Service (both within and outside of school) is integral and benefits all involved. Conscientious Objection: A principled refusal to participate in certain social or political practices; commonly applied to the refusal to undertake military service or pay war taxes. Continuing Revelation: A central Quaker belief is that revelation, guided by the Inner Light, is an ongoing process. Elder: The verb “to elder” is used for the exercise of spiritual leadership either to support and encourage community members or to question or discourage an individual whose behavior is deemed inappropriate. Equality Testimony: Friends hold that all people are equal in the eyes of God and have equal access to the “Inner Light.” This profound sense of equality leads Friends to treat each person with respect, looking for “that of God” in everyone. Facing Benches: Benches facing the meeting, traditionally occupied by invited community members. Friend: With a capital “F”, Friend often refers to a member/attender of a Quaker meeting. Hold in the Light: To desire that divine guidance and healing will be present to an individual who is in distress or faces a difficult situation; also, to give prayerful consideration to an idea. Inner Light / Inward Light / The Light Within: Terms which represent for Friends the direct, unmediated experience of the Divine. Some other equivalent terms often found in Quaker writings are the Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, the Divine Principle, the Seed, the Guide, the Christ Within, the Inward Teacher, and that of God in every person.
Integrity Testimony: One of the basic practical principles or testimonies of Friends. It involves both a wholeness and harmony of the various aspects of one’s life and truthfulness in whatever one says and does. Let Your Life Speak: When what you believe on the inside and how you act on the outside are one and the same. Living one’s life with integrity in all one does. Lift Up: To emphasize or make explicit a particular point or concern. Meeting for Worship: A gathering of individuals in quiet waiting upon the enlightening and empowering presence of the Divine; the central focus of the corporate life of the Religious Society of Friends. One may feel led to share a message when moved by the Spirit. Meeting for Worship for Business: A meeting for worship during which the corporate business of the meeting is conducted—often referred to as meeting for business. Minute: The record of a corporate decision reached during a meeting for worship for business. More broadly, the account of a single transaction in the written record of a meeting for business or other body. Pacifist: A person who renounces war and any use of violence and seeks to resolve conflicts peacefully. Peace Testimony: The corporate commitment of Friends to pacifism and actively working towards nonviolent resolutions to conflict. Quaker: According to one story, originally a derogatory term applied to Friends because their excitement of spirit when led to speak in a meeting for worship was sometimes expressed in a shaking or quaking motion. Now this term is simply an alternative designation for a member of the Religious Society of Friends. Quaker Clap: A way of quietly showing affirmation for a spoken testimony, usually shown by putting one’s hands above one’s head and shaking or waving them. Queries: A set of questions, based on Friends’ practices and testimonies, which are considered by Meetings and individuals as a way of both guiding and examining individual and corporate lives and actions. As such, they are a means of self examination. Queries to be considered regularly are included in Faith and Practice; others may be formulated by a committee or Meeting that seeks to clarify for itself an issue it needs to address. Religious Society of Friends: The recognized official name of the religious organization often referred to as Quakers.
Sense of the Meeting: An expression of the unity of a Meeting for Worship for business on some issue or concern. Simplicity Testimony: One of the traditional Quaker testimonies that is closely associated with integrity, equality, and stewardship. Essentially, to limit the material circumstances of one’s life in a way that allows/enables one to follow divine leadings. SPICES: an acronym for the Quaker testimonies generally thought of as the most important in the Quaker community – Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Stewardship. Standing Aside: An action taken by an individual who has genuine reservations about a particular decision, but who also recognizes that the decision is clearly supported by the weight of the Meeting. The action of standing aside allows the Meeting to reach unity. Stewardship Testimony: An element of integrity. Good stewardship directs Friends’ investment of time and money in sustainable and renewable resources and in work that supports Quaker values and beliefs. Testimony: A guiding principle of conduct that bears witness to the presence of God in the world and in our lives. Though there is no official list of such testimonies, Friends have traditionally identified peace, equality, simplicity, stewardship, community, and integrity as their SPICES. That Friend Speaks my Mind: A phrase used when someone expresses an opinion or an idea similar to what you believe or that you were going to share. Threshing Session: A gathering of Friends to consider in depth a controversial issue but in a way that is free from the necessity of reaching a decision. Truth: Friends are constantly seeking truth which many consider as the revealed will of God or as experienced in communion with the Inner Light. Unity: The spiritual oneness and harmony whose realization is a primary objective of a Meeting for Worship or a meeting for business. Worship Sharing: A modern group practice in which participants share personal and spiritual experiences, thoughts, and feelings, often in response to a prearranged theme or questions and in a manner that acknowledges the presence of God.
So why do we say that “Quaker matters”? Because at Friends... •
Each student is known and valued as an individual; caring teachers lead a responsive program.
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Students learn to challenge themselves to their absolute best with a sense of responsibility to others.
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The intellectual/academic foundation is defined by questioning, discovery, and relevance.
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Character education, mindfulness, stewardship, and social justice are part of our founding mission.
Wilmington Friends School 101 School Road Wilmington, Delaware 19803 302.576.2900 info@wilmingtonfriends.org www.wilmingtonfriends.org
Quaker matters. Come see why.
