Newtown Meeting to Feature Children’s Christmas Program

Children’s Queries about Christmas set for 9:45 a.m. on Sunday, December 19, at the historic Friends Meetinghouse, 219 Court Street, Newtown or on Zoom. People who are vaccinated and wear masks may attend in person.  Others may attend via Zoom.  Meeting for Worship in the manner of Friends will follow at 11 a.m. 

In a reversal of the usual procedure in Newtown Quaker Meeting where adults read Queries written by other adults to the entire Meeting, the children are writing their own Queries about Christmas to present to the Quaker Meeting.  

The children will present 3-4 Queries about Christmas for the members of the Meeting to meditate on and discuss in small groups in a form of Worship Sharing. 

Quakers use the term “Queries” to refer to questions on various topics read aloud to stimulate reflection and meditation during worship in expectant silence. 

The practice of using Queries reflects Quakers unique theology.  Quakers do not have a creed or doctrine but depend rather on each person’s relationship with the Divine and that of others in the Meeting in seeking truth.  

For 350 years the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) has been based on three radical theological assumptions: 1) that all people are equal in the eyes of God and have the light within, the Christ within; 2) that continuing revelation is possible, of understanding more about God and our life on this earth than we now know; and 3) that the perfectibility of man is possible, the promise that people can become better, improve their behavior, their attitudes and their thoughts regarding other people and the world around us.

Newtown Quaker Meeting is currently meeting in a hybrid mode, so those in the Meetinghouse for the children’s Christmas Program will cluster in small groups with those nearby, and breakout groups will be created for those on Zoom. 

Following the discussion, music will be provided by Debbie Watts and her orchestral group of cellos and violins.  

Debbie Watts is Director of Music at the Hun School in Princeton, a resident of Newtown and member of Newtown Quaker Meeting.

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