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Video clip of participant's reflection on Membership

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Video clip of participant's reflection on Membership

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wMBTtxk33I

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(From Catherine James)

"I think there are 2 things. We are [Welsh word], body and soul. And... the spiritual inhabits the body. We are limited by the fact that we're not all spirit. The human construct is not going to be perfect. And you cannot expect us to be perfect in our constructs and the way we work.

I think we need a little humility in our expectations. Regarding the concern with trustees, I don't have that concern because it is stated quite clearly that whatever the law says, as far as Quakers are concerned, it's the meeting for worship which is in charge, it is not trustees.

Quakers don't really bother all that much with the law. The trustees get on with doing some of the practical work, but the spiritual leading comes from the area meeting, not from the trustees.  Well, I think that's very important, because it is. It is quite other than what the world thinks."

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New, emerging and non-traditional Quaker communities/connection to wider Q community - how might they be supported and nurtured

Ways of connection and belonging - what new patterns of belonging are emerging for Quakers and what might new models of belonging and membership look like

Pastoral care and spiritual nurture in non-geographic groups - how can we support non-geographic and less formal Quaker groups and communities in being safe, nurturing and resilient

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Additional Material - Sufferings paper on Membership

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Additional Material - Sufferings paper on Membership

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Could it be a spiral - that we go around several times and then move in a different direction?

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(From Diana Morrison-Smith)

I’d like to know, could somebody explain what exactly the problem is? Because I’ve been a Quaker for decades and decades and I’ve never been able to tell who are “members” and who are not. Because all the way through - right from when I first joined and most people were members and gradually its got so now most people are attenders – we’ve just got on with being Quakers as far as I know. Explain to me please, what is the.....why is it so important you should become members?

Why have “members “ when we say we all belong anyway? Yes, there is organising to do so things happen, but we’ve all got on with it and I must say that attenders do as much of the work as anybody as far as I can see.

Is it that we have to have “members” so we can fit in with an imposed structure of governance – accounting for the money – or whatever? In which case, what has that got to do with being Quaker? Please tell me what is the problem. Exactly.

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Video clip of the work of Quaker Life Central Committee

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Video clip of the work of Quaker Life Central Committee

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Harry and Max from Quaker Life Central Committee - YouTube

To find out more about this work - a copy of the next report or to arrange a further conversation with Max and Harry please contact Alistair Fuller, Quaker Life Team Leader alistairf@quaker.org.uk

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Harry and Max from Quaker Life Central Committee

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Outline for Session Plan on Membership and Belonging

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Outline for Session Plan on Membership and Belonging

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Feel free to use this basic session plan, adapting it as needed

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The Mushroom Gatherers - YouTube

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A blessing "For Absence"

May you know that absence is alive with hidden presence,
that nothing is ever lost or forgotten.
May the absences in your life grow full of eternal echo.
May you sense around you the secret Elsewhere,
where the presences that have left you dwell.
May you be generous in your embrace of loss.
May the sore well of grief turn into a seamless flow of presence.

May your compassion reach out to the ones we never hear from.
May you have the courage to speak for the excluded ones.
May you become the gracious and passionate subject of your own life.
May you not disrespect your mystery through brittle words or false belonging.
May you be embraced by God in whom dawn and twilight are one.
May your longing inhabit its dreams within the Great Belonging.
`

from To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O’Donohue

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1. I WORSHIP WITH QUAKERS REGULARLY

a) Sunday worshipper - regular attendance at meeting for worship is an important part of my life. If worship (or children's meeting) wasn't available on Sunday mornings, that would disrupt the pattern of my week.

b) In person worshipper - regular attendance at meeting for worship is an important part of my life, but Sunday morning isn't an ideal time for me, and I'd prefer an evening/lunchtime/breakfast/Saturday meeting if possible

c) Zoom worshipper - regular attendance at meeting for worship is an important part of my life. I usually connect via zoom to an online or blended meeting, though may also attend in person sometimes.

2. QUAKERISM IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE, BUT MY MAIN CONNECTION IS NOT THROUGH MEETING FOR WORSHIP

a) Residential gatherer - regular attendance at Quaker residential events is an important part of my life. These may be annual camps, residential YM, children & young people's events, YFGM, QVA workcamps, courses or retreats at Quaker residential centres etc.

b) Student - my main connection to Quakerism is through study courses (e.g. Woodbrooke online, LM Bible study or a PhD) or reading Quaker books or periodicals

c) Paid Role holder - my main connection to Quakerism is through paid work (e.g. as a Warden or Sunday School teacher)

d) Role holder - my main connection to Quakerism is through an unpaid role (e.g. on a central committee, or as a volunteer with children & young people)

3. I FEEL A CONNECTION TO QUAKERISM, BUT IT'S NOT A CENTRAL PART OF MY LIFE

a) Activism - my main connection to Quakerism is through voluntary participation in charitable work or protests with or organised by Quakers

b) On the list - I am on an Area Meeting list of members & attenders, but have not joined worship or other activities for several years

c) Friends & Family - my main connection to Quakerism is through a family member who is, or has been in one of the above categories

d) Occasional Engager - I'm not in any of the above categories, but sometimes like to participate in meeting for worship or other Quaker activities, in person or online

e) Neighbour - I live near a Quaker Meeting House and visit regularly to participate in non-Quaker activities or make use of the garden/piano/library etc.

f) Newcomer - I can't place myself in another category yet because I've only just started exploring Quakerism

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Deborah's article in The Friend - full text

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Deborah's article in The Friend - full text

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Video Clip of Membership stories - Helen

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Video Clip of Membership stories - Helen

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Helen's experience of membership - YouTube

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"Body Language": Deborah Rowlands article on the Yearly Meeting's consultation on membership

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"Body Language": Deborah Rowlands article on the Yearly Meeting's consultation on membership

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‘Looking at membership in isolation risks throwing the baby out with the bath water.’

‘Our processes are founded on principles that go to the heart of our spirituality.’

As many readers will know, Meeting for Sufferings is engaged in a consultation about membership. Working through Area Meetings, the consultation asks some questions that seem simple, but they go to the heart of our sense of belonging: Why do we have membership? What is it for? Is it still necessary? If yes, what form(s) could it take?

[Log in to read rest of article online if you have a subscription to The Friend]

https://thefriend.org/article/body-language-deborah-rowlands-on-the-yearly-meetings-consultation-on-membership

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From Emily Provance (an American Friend who travels in the ministry)

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Additional material (not used during the session)

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Additional material (not used during the session)

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Belonging: The Community or the Institution (12/37) | Turning, Turning (wordpress.com)

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Additional material (mentioned during the session) - Henri Tajfel

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Additional material (mentioned during the session) - Henri Tajfel

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https://simplypsychology.org/social-identity-theory.html

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Social Identity Theory: Definition, History, Examples, & Facts

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Henri Tajfel’s greatest contribution to psychology was social identity theory. Social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s). Tajfel (1979) proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family,

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Zoe's experience of membership Zoe's experience of membership - YouTube

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Zoe's experience of membership Zoe's experience of membership

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Moya's experience of membership - YouTube