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How to Organize a Quiet DayPlease read "How to Begin" in the "How to Start a Prayer Group" SectionThe first point is to know why you are organizing a quiet day. In our busy, frantic, modem lives there is often no time to stop and be quiet for more than a few minutes together. Prayers are said quickly (if at all) before we rush out to the office, and at night before we fall into bed too tired to think. A quiet day is an effort to give people a little window of scheduled time to pray, to be still, and to listen to God. (1) When To Have A Quiet Day Time of Year: Often quiet days are held at a season of special devotion (like Lent or Advent) when people feel that they ought to be praying more than usual. Lenten quiet days may be held anytime from Ash Wednesday onward, but it is smart to avoid Holy Week when there are usually a lot of other services that people will feel they want to attend. Advent quiet days are also better held right at the beginning of Advent because people (especially women) get busier and busier as Christmas approaches. Day Of The Week: The choice of a weekday or a Saturday will depend on whom you want to attract to the quiet day. Full-time homemakers and retired people are often free on a weekday in a way that they may not be on a weekend. A Saturday quiet day, on the other hand, may help those who most need such a quiet space. Another possibility is to plan a quiet afternoon on a Sunday after church. You may also want to consider having the quiet day on a day of special devotion like Ash Wednesday, St. Patrick's Day, or the Feast of the Annunciation. This can to give it a special focus. (2) Where To Have A Quiet Day A parish church is often a good setting for a quiet day. If the quiet day is being arranged for people who come from outside the parish (as in a diocesan quiet day) and you have a choice about the church you are using, check out the following points before making a decision on location: a) Is the church easily accessible for those coming from elsewhere?
( ) good road (or highway) access?
b) Will the church be quiet?
( ) does the church have an open door policy? If so, can it be closed for the duration of the quiet day?
(3) who will lead the quiet day? A quiet day may be led by a priest, a member of a religious community, or a lay person. The necessary consideration is that the person should be someone who is prayerful, and who already has experience in teaching about prayer, scripture, and Christian living. It is important that a quiet day conductor (or retreat leader) should be personally comfortable with the silence, so that he or she can help others receive some benefit from the quiet time. (4) How can lunch be arranged? The easiest (and usually the best) arrangement is for people to bring a bag lunch with them. This saves a lot of worry about how many to cater for and means that some people can turn up (or not turn up) at the last minute without causing any inconvenience. Even if a host parish offers to provide a casserole and salad luncheon, it is usually better not to do this because inevitably some women will feel that they need to work on the luncheon when they would rather be at the quiet day. Also there is usually a lot of noise, chatter and confusion in the area of the kitchen while the luncheon is being prepared, served and cleared up - and this does not help to maintain a quiet atmosphere! However, a small committee of volunteers should be set up to provide coffee, tea and juice during the day, and at lunch. Also it is helpful to have a tray of extra sandwiches for the forgetful, as well as some apples or other fruit, and cookies. (5) How long should a quiet day be? A quiet day can be as long or as short as the committee arranging it wants. You can have a quiet morning, a quiet afternoon or a quiet day. You can begin in the morning anytime from 8 am till 10 am, and you can finish anytime between 2 and 6 p.m. At the end of this section are some sample schedules for quiet days, mornings and afternoons. (6) Can we sing at a quiet day? Quiet days are meant to be free of talking, but singing praises to God is always right. The church organist is not likely to be available for the whole quiet day, but might possibly be free for the opening or closing Eucharist. It doesn't hurt to ask. You may also want to ask what fee would be expected for this service. A good solution to the problem is finding someone else who would like to attend the quiet day, and who also plays the organ or piano well enough to accompany the singing. In this case, you will need to confirm with the host parish that your substitute organist will be allowed to use the organ or church piano. A third alternative is to find someone who plays the guitar and sing music appropriate for that instrument. (Keep in mind however that a quiet day is not a good time to teach new and unfamiliar songs. It would be better to have no music at all if most of the quiet day participants do not know the songs) Finally, if there are a sufficient number of participants, you can sing some well-known hymns a cappella - without accompaniment. There are bound to be some good choir members in attendance, and you may even find a volunteer organist for next year (7) How do we let people know about the quiet day? If this is just a parish quiet day, letting people know about it is easy because you can use the normal parish communication channels like the parish newsletter, Sunday bulletin, etc. A regional or diocesan quiet day will demand a little more effort. Notices should be prepared and sent to the diocesan newspaper, and to the parishes involved for insertion in their bulletins. You can also draw up a small poster (8 ½" x 11") that can be photocopied and sent with the bulletin insert to parishes (use an 8 ½ x11 envelope to avoid unnecessary folding.) For a diocesan quiet day it would also be a good idea to contact other organizations with a special interest in spiritual matters. (8) Who will pay for the quiet day? Although a quiet day can be arranged very cheaply with volunteer help, there are still going to be some expenses. Unless they are donated, these may include refreshments (coffee, tea and snacks), the rental of the church and its facilities (to help cover set-up and cleaning costs), and printing and postage for publicity. You will also have to pay travel expenses and offer an honorarium to the quiet day conductor. (The honorarium could be anywhere from $20 to $150, depending on the number of talks, the length of the day, the experience of the speaker, and whether he/she has an established fee for speaking.) There are three ways to pay for the costs of the day. a) Charge a small fee. Twenty people paying $5 each will give you a working budget of $100, which should be ample for a parish retreat where publicity costs are negligible. If you expect 100 people, the income will be $500, which will again be sufficient for most of your needs. if you can, get to know the leaders of other prayer-oriented organizations in your diocese (like Daughters of the King, Mother's Union, Cursillo, Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Faith Alive, ERM, ARM and any religious communities in your diocese.) We are not in competition with any of these groups. Rather, Anglican Fellowship of Prayer is often able to act as a catalyst to bring different groups together to hold something like a Diocesan Prayer Conference. The AFP motto is Prayer Unites and it really does! (The closer we come to Jesus, the closer we come to each other.) b) If you are trying to have a diocesan quiet day for the first time or if you anticipate particularly heavy expenses for the leader's travel or honorarium, you could inquire if there is any possibility of your applying for a diocesan grant. (Ask your parish priest for advice on this one, he/she may suggest that you try the diocesan program officer.) c) Take up an offering to cover expenses. This requires a little more faith than charging a fee, but if your expenses are small, it's a nice way to do it. You may be surprised at how generous people can be! However, if you are charging a fee, it is usually preferable not to take an offering as well unless you do it for an announced and specific purpose like a missions offering, or as a gift to the host parish (as a way of meeting your obligation there.) (9) What does a Quiet Day Committee do? a) The Convenor is responsible for calling the committee together, setting an initial planning meeting, and arranging for any other meetings. He/she will arrange for use of a church facility when this has been decided on (or delegate the responsibility), and will invite the quiet day speaker. The speaker should be asked to confirm a proposed schedule (or to provide one) and this should then be copied and given out to participants on the quiet day. b) The recording secretary will keep the minutes of all meetings, and notes about any interim decisions that are taken. c) The corresponding secretary will primarily be involved with public relations - sending out notices to churches, groups, newsletters and newspapers. He/she (or the convenor) will also write thank you letters after the quiet day to the speaker, the rector of the host parish and any others who have contributed to the day. d) The treasurer will keep track of expenses and income, and will write checks for all expenses, including the speaker's travel and honorarium. e) The hospitality convenor will arrange for all refreshments served during the day. Also, if there are a large number of participants who do not know the church layout, it would be helpful to post signs outside the church and inside the hall to direct people to the hall entrance, washrooms, etc. Or it may be easier to provide a photocopied map for each participant. f) The sacristan is responsible for setting up the altar for the Eucharist, and arranging flowers (if any). Usually an altar guild member of the host parish is willing to undertake this responsibility g) The book-table convenor is not strictly necessary but can exercise a helpful ministry by providing good books for spiritual reading. (A number of good books for this are available from the AFP) Quiet Day Schedule (Sample 1)
9:00 am Coffee, registration, orientation (if in an unfamiliar place)
Quiet Day Schedule (Sample 2)
9.30 am Coffee, registration, orientation
Some people like to finish with a time of corporate sharing. This really depends on whether it is an already existing group that is having the quiet day. Many people do not like to share deep religious feelings with strangers and will simply slip away early if sharing is part of the quiet day. Coffee, tea and light refreshments are always welcome at the end of a quiet day! A Home Quiet Day Although most of these guidelines are intended for a larger group, you may wish to consider having a quiet day in a home. Guidelines for this may be found in a separate pamphlet A Home Quiet Day available from the AFP. |
