by Jan Reed
Austin, Texas USA
At University United Methodist Church in Austin, for the last nine years, I have been teaching Centering Prayer at Vacation Church Camp for children, ages 4 – 11. Although the idea may sound extremely daunting, I have developed an approach and curriculum that has been very effective. Here is my approach:
- Make a Sacred Space – My space is usually a children’s Sunday school classroom, so I start with a rug in the center and an “altar” in the center of the rug. The “altar” is a small table, about 1.5 feet tall, covered with a cloth. In the center is a white pillar candle (Christ candle) with four small votive candles surrounding it. There should be a chair for the teacher and a place for the singing bowl next to the chair. (If you don’t have a singing bowl, you can always use the Centering Prayer app.). The room should be moderately dark when you turn the lights off. If necessary, you may want to cover some windows with paper, as well as other distractions, like shelves with books or toys.
- Create Ritual – Children respond very well to ritual and a sense of sacredness. It really sets the stage for silence. So, when the children arrive, they take their shoes off in the hallway and line up at the door. They must be silent before they can enter the room. I begin playing Gregorian chants on my iPad and they may enter when they are quiet and hear the music. The lights are off and the candles are lit on the altar. I have the children enter single-file and go all the way around the rug until everyone is encircling the altar, then they sit. Once they are seated, I stop the music and begin the lesson. They leave the room in a similar fashion.
- Lessons — I use these two books for these lessons, reading a short passage each day: Journey to the Heart: Centering Prayer for Children by Frank X. Jelenek and Moody Cow Meditates by Kerry Lee MacLean. I start with the first book which explains what Centering Prayer is and what the guidelines are. On the first day, we select a sacred word. Each 15-minute session includes a short reading from one of the books and some discussion.
- Graphics & Interaction – I use a variety of pictures that illustrate some aspect of the principals of Centering Prayer (including images for sacred words) and we discuss. We practice listening to the singing bowl and raising our hands when we can’t hear the sound anymore, looking at a mindfulness jar before and after our sit to see the difference, etc. I also demonstrate myself pretending to do Centering Prayer with my eyes closed and saying my thoughts out loud, saying my sacred word when I catch myself engaging in thoughts.
- The Sit – I start with 30 seconds for 4-5 year olds, and one minute for older children. Each day, they vote on whether or not they’d like to increase their time.
- Departing – At the end of the class, each child gets a candle and they light their candle off the Christ candle that I hold, taking the light of God out into the world. We begin this with the lights off and chants playing, walking in silence. When they get to the door, they blow out their candles and drop them in a basket.
Of course, this will not turn children into little monks, but it will teach them that God is always with them and they can meet God in the silence, where they can let go of any negative emotions and transition to a calm place, allowing them to think more clearly about the daily dilemmas they may encounter.
