Quaker Week

sam — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 16:04:35 +0000

Quaker Week sam Wed, 04/10/2017 - 16:04

I've been busy this summer, and not had a chance to return to this blog for a while, but there's a timely reason to return to it now.

Apart from the link to my other blog, I've not written on this blog about my Quaker faith. It's a hard thing to write about for a general audience, and it's easier to interest a Quaker audience about Quaker things. Indeed, I think I'm far more likely to get requests for speaking or writing on Quaker topics from fellow Quakers than I am from non-Quakers – though I am perfectly open to either.

However, we are now half-way through Quaker Week. This is an annual period, around this time each year, designated by Britain Yearly Meeting (the national body for Quakers in Britain) as a time for celebrating all things Quaker, and focussing some effort on what we call “outreach”. This is not evangelism; while all are welcome, and we certainly like the idea of growing the Quaker community, we do not proselytise (at least, the sort of Quaker you get in Britain doesn't). Rather, it is a matter of raising our profile, letting people know who we are, what we do, and why we do it – or indeed letting them know that we exist! The number of times most of us will have been told “I thought you died out in the 19^th century”, or indeed “that's like the Amish”, might surprise those who do know about Quakers; the significantly greater amount of the time that people ask about oats probably wouldn't.

So, in Quaker Week, we put ourselves out there. There's activities happening at Meeting Houses – and other venues – around the country (a map and list of Quaker Week activities is available on the Quakers in Britain website). Exhibitions, talks, drop-in sessions, all sorts of things are happening. My Local Meeting is holding drop-ins; every weekday afternoon of Quaker Week, and Friday evening, there are Friends in the Meeting House ready to welcome visitors, offer refreshments (including cake, all free), displays and leaflets about what Quakers do, in terms of religious practice and social action, and even a book sale. I staffed it for a few hours on Monday, and we had three people drop in. That might sound pathetic, but I count it reasonably good going. This isn't something we've massively publicised, because there isn't the money to spend on adverts, and I doubt very much that Friends would be comfortable trying to get volunteers to hand out flyers in town. We have posters or flyers in a few choice locations, and in front of the Meeting House. A lot of people walk past our Meeting House, but mostly on their way to or from the train station – not a situation when many people will see a sign and say “ooh, I should have a look at that”. So, three in the first three hours isn't bad at all.

You may be wondering what we're trying to achieve by this. It's a very reasonable question. As I already said, we do not proselytise, though we would not mind seeing our numbers grow. We do not seek to draw people in and persuade or convert them – or indeed convince them, as convincement is the traditional term for a person coming to find themselves at home on the Quaker way. If anything, the way this helps us to grow numbers is that it gives people the opportunity to discover that Quaker teachings and practices are right for them. We don't try to tell people that their approach to spirituality is wrong; most of us don't think that any path is wrong, per se. We just let them know about our path, and if people come to feel drawn by it and find their way to feeling at home in our meetings, then that is all to the good, for both our Religious Society and, hopefully, for them.

Our primary goal, however, is just to inform and educate. The possibility of more people being Quakers might result from this, but it is worth doing regardless of that factor. We have a rich spiritual tradition, but also a rich history, and a rich role in social action. When we tell people about the Quaker approach to peace and non-violence, it is not to say how wonderful that approach is, but to get them to think about how wonderful peace might be. When we talk about our involvement in support for refugees and asylum seekers, or campaigning for the living wage – two areas in which my Local Meeting is particularly active – we do not mean to trumpet ourselves, but the ideas of social justice represented in those areas of work. Yes, those who already support those goals may find that this draws their interest towards Quakers, and that is all to the good, but it is not for that reason that we talk about them. We talk about them because we want people to know who we are and what we do, because it makes everything we do more effective.

It helps cut down on mistakes (or jokes) about the Amish, or the oats, as well.

So, if you're curious about these things, take whatever opportunity you have to find out more. I'm always up for answering questions, and Britain Yearly Meeting has a lot of resources online. Even after Quaker Week, there will be people willing to help you find out more. Don't worry that you're being drawn in to some elaborate attempt to draw you in to our faith community. If you want to be part of that, you can be, but we'll think no less of you if you don't.

Announcing my Quaker blog, Openings

sam — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 12:10:13 +0000

Announcing my Quaker blog, Openings sam Thu, 27/07/2017 - 12:10

Just a quick post to let people know that I've started a new blog for most of my Quaker writing. Much of it is very spiritual in tone, or written for a largely Quaker audience, so it doesn't really fit in here. You'll probably end up seeing me writing about my faith here occasionally, written for a wider audience, but for now the Quaker writing is all over on Openings.

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Quaker Week

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Announcing my Quaker blog, Openings

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