East Garston Meeting welcomes visit from Shefford Primary School

The pupils from Shefford and Chaddleworth Federated Primary Schools finally managed to walk their pilgrimage over to East Garston on Thursday 19 October 2023, despite a bit of rain. Along the way they visited Manor Farm and Maidencourt Farm and learnt about  livestock and the River Lambourn River.

Once in East Garston, they visited Priscilla’s Kitchen and sang to their customers just as the rain started. It got quite heavy so they soon scooted over the road to us in their coats and their wellies, with several carrying their ‘pilgrim sticks’. Luckily we have a tiled floor so we didn’t worry about a bit of mud in the meeting house.

We managed to pack in the 45 pupils on chairs and benches while the teachers stood at the sides. Chris Whichelo started by reading aloud a children’s story about Mary Fell and her advocacy for women being allowed to speak publically about religion which had not been allowed up to that point in the 17th century.

And then we discussed Quaker values of equality, truth, simplicity, peace and sustainability before holding a three minute meeting. The children were good at sitting in silence and afterwards Penny invited them to shared what they were thinking about. Many hands went up and the children were keen to share their thougths about the sound of the rain, the plants and wildlife they had passed, how they felt connected to everyone and also the Israel-Gaza war. They then sang a song and enjoyed squash and biscuits.

Head teacher Mrs Stephenson thanked Chris and Penny, “it was a great opportunity for all of us to understand a bit more about Quakers have a Quaker Meeting experience.”