Morning Meeting: Out of Silence Comes Commitment

Morning meeting is an integral part of The Life Experience School. Each day begins and ends with students and staff gathering in silence to experience and share inner peace.

Value is placed on the Quaker tradition of meeting in silence and witnessing one's beliefs. What occurs in the hearts and minds of the participants during silence is brought to bear in our commitment to translate awareness into action. Daily, the students, teachers and steady stream of attendees join in a gentle tradition of hand washing, followed by 5 to 15 minutes of silence and the recitation of the names of peacemakers whose names line the sides of the large pine table.

Following the litany of peacemakers whose lives we examine to identify archetypes that lie within, the faculty and students turn their attention to current syncronicity in our lives and ethical dilemmas that may need some clarity. The meeting ends with commendations to those present for actions taken on behalf of others. By being of service to one another, our students bring about more loving and meaningful lives for themselves and for others.

The Schoolhouse has been described as a three dimensional text wherein students, faculty, and the ever increasing number of visitors from near and far, gather to experience its many meanings and messages. As you walk through the building, erected and dedicated as a public library in 1914, one is touched by the artistic messages of peace and justice everywhere you turn.

Bronze statues of Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Samantha Smith, Oscar Romero and others who have left their mark as peacemakers, surround the meeting table in the center room. Photographs, posters, pieces of artwork, tapestries, quilts, and the colorful flags of all nations of the world inspire the student body and faculty to commit themselves to peacemaking. The schoolhouse imbues those who enter with a heightened appreciation for peacemaking as a way of life.