Welcome Families!
Children & Youth Program
Birmingham Friends Meeting warmly welcomes families and seeks to support children, youth, and parents in finding a home in our community of faith. Our programs for children and youth offer preparation for worship and for living lives consistent with the principles of Quaker faith. Topics include Friends’ history, practices and testimonies, the life and teachings of Jesus and other religious traditions. We use stories and other activities to inspire wonder, thought and reflection. Our beautiful property is often the setting for our work and play. Multi-generational activities and celebrations, service projects and helping with meeting functions enhance a sense of belonging to our meeting. We seek to create a community in which young people feel safe, welcomed, valued and loved.
Children & Youth Celebrate the Holidays
Holidays are also a time for celebration and joy by our young members. At Halloween, children and youth decorate pumpkins for our annual Pennies for Pumpkins, which benefits UNICEF. Each Christmas, the younger children join in a “Friendly Beasts” pageant celebrating the nativity. On Easter, every size young Friend loves either to hide or to hunt eggs behind the meetinghouse!
Youth Committee
The Youth Committee grew out of a desire by middle and high school Friends for a meeting for business of their own. Their activities have included raising money for charitable causes, discussing matters of concern such as the draft, reading scripture at the annual holiday Carol Sing and sending cookies to college students.
Childcare
The Meeting provides childcare for children under two years of age during meeting for worship. Parents are welcome to bring young children into worship, along with the older children, for the first 30 minutes or to take them directly to childcare. Parents should be assured that gentle sounds from young children are welcomed by the worshiping group
Youth Service Projects
Pennies for Pumpkins – Our children and youth decorate pumpkins to raise money for UNICEF.
The Giving Tree – Each Christmas, the Youth Committee coordinates holiday giving to the families receiving services provided by Friends Association for the Care and Protection of Children.
The Mine Detector Program- The Children and Youth raise funds through a variety of projects to support the purchase of land mine detectors.