A welcome at Woodbrooke

Sandra Berry writes about ministry and hospitality

We know that many people have been influenced by their connections with Woodbrooke over the years, and we are deeply grateful that Woodbrooke is held in such high regard. We want to begin by reassuring Friends that Quakerism runs through our organisation as strongly as it has ever done and particularly that Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre continues to be our formal name.

As many of you know, Woodbrooke was founded in 1903 and was the vision of George Cadbury and John Wilhelm Rowntree who saw a need amongst Friends for a ‘permanent settlement’, with a mission to ‘foster a vital Friends’ ministry’. It was started as a one year experiment and we would like to share with you some results of another experiment we started at Woodbrooke just last year.

Those of you who have stayed here will know that the door to the Woodbrooke library is very visible and people pass the door many times a day. Anyone who is staying residentially can use it. When people come on a course we ask them if they used the library during their stay. A year ago about ten per cent of people responded that they had. So, we thought about that door and wondered what would happen if we experimented with leaving it open.

I am delighted to tell you that since we opened the door, the library use has increased from ten per cent to sixty-five per cent. We have always said everyone was welcome to use the library, but the simple act of opening the door made people feel we meant it and that they could go through it and explore the treasures of the library.

‘The place lives and breathes simple Quaker welcome’

Making sure people really do feel welcome is one of the main reasons we have decided to use the simple name of Woodbrooke. We have heard from Quakers and non-Quakers alike that our formal name, Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, can have the same effect as that closed library door. Non-Quakers are under the impression that Woodbrooke is just for Quakers and some Friends find the word ‘study’ gives a message that Woodbrooke is only for serious academic study. We don’t want our door to appear closed – we want to ensure that everyone feels welcome to experience all that Woodbrooke has to offer the world. We want Woodbrooke to feel inclusive and not exclusive. We want everyone to know that when we say ‘all are welcome’ to enjoy our Quaker learning, our beautiful meeting rooms and gardens, and our ministry of hospitality, that we really mean it.

One hundred and fourteen years ago Woodbrooke’s mission was to ‘foster a vital Friends ministry’, and although our methods may have changed, encouraging and enabling ministry is at the core of our experiential, nurturing and potentially transformative Quaker approach to learning today, whether that ministry is faith, witness, love or service.

A lot of our learning is delivered at Woodbrooke, with around 150 short courses each year as well as longer-term programmes too, but much of our Quaker learning happens elsewhere. We run about forty events around Britain and further afield with our Woodbrooke on-the-road travelling teaching service, and we have a growing online learning programme too.

We were overjoyed that the online FutureLearn course ‘Radical Spirituality: the Early History of the Quakers’ that we ran last year attracted over 8,500 participants from all over the world. This is why we felt it was time to change and simplify our logo from one that focused on Woodbrooke as a place to one which helps to make our learning, our work and our witness more open to Quakers and the wider community. Those of you who use social media can see how strikingly simple the new logo is in a sea of complex imagery and words on applications such as Facebook and Twitter.

Woodbrooke’s creation came about through the philanthropy of our founders and we still benefit today from the generosity of Quaker trusts. We are also hugely grateful for all the support that individual Friends and Area and Local Meetings give us in donations, which total around £40,000 each year. So, you might assume that Woodbrooke is in pretty good shape financially. The reality is that our major challenge is that it costs us considerably more to develop and deliver our learning than we receive in fees. The overall learning income only covers about sixty per cent of the cost, so we subsidise all the Quaker learning we offer and grants from trusts and your donations make up a big part of that subsidy.

So, if we have donations to help us you might ask why we need to run commercial activities such as conferencing and accommodation. The simple answer is that a Grade II listed building, added to and altered over 100 years, set in ten acres of gardens and grounds, takes a considerable amount of time and money to keep it comfortable, welcoming and in good working order. The commercial activity helps with those costs, and to give you an idea of scale of the challenge we face we would typically spend around £40,000 a year maintaining our garden and grounds. Essential things like a fire alarm system replacement cost us £55,000 two years ago, and this year we will spend around £45,000 creating a new ground floor partially accessible bedroom.

‘I have stayed B&B at Woodbrooke and just keep going back there. Found it by accident but love the Quaker simplicity and friendliness.’

Although driven by financial necessity, our commercial activity also brings opportunities for Quaker outreach. Thousands of people pass through Woodbrooke each year. For many this might be their first connection with Quakers. So, what happens if we are just calling ourselves Woodbrooke and don’t use Quaker in our name? Might non-Quakers never know they stayed in a Quaker place? That is very unlikely Friends, as our Quaker light is never hidden under a bowl.

At Woodbrooke we hold Meeting for Worship six days of the week and epilogue every evening, both of which are open to everyone. We place a copy of Advices & queries in every bedroom and every meeting room also has copies of Quaker faith & practice. We have Quaker silence at mealtimes regardless of who is using the building, and there is a constant Quaker presence at Woodbrooke with our volunteer ‘Friends in residence’ who uphold the worship, and help provide our ministry of hospitality. Our library experiment has brought opportunities too, with more non-Quaker guests exploring our books and periodicals.

Woodbrooke is experimenting – just as it has since its very beginning 114 years ago. We want to be accessible and inclusive by ensuring that all are welcome, which is what any Quaker organisation might strive for. Friends, we are throwing our doors open wide to welcome everyone to experience our Quaker approach to learning and our ministry of hospitality. We don’t just say the words ‘WELCOME FRIEND’ on our doormat – we really mean it.

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