Change, the subject: Craig Barnett attends the Future of British Quakerism conference

‘What we are experiencing is not death, but transformation.’

I have just returned from the Future of British Quakerism conference, organised by Britain Yearly Meeting and Woodbrooke. There was, understandably, a lot of talk about ageing, decline, and even impending ‘catastrophic collapse’. For many people, Quakerism in Britain appears to be dying, either gradually or imminently.

I am convinced that we do have a future, mainly because there are so many committed young Friends all over the country who will still be around in thirty or forty years, and have no intention of giving up their Quaker practice and identity. But the shape of Quakerism in the future will be very different to the one we have inherited.

What we are experiencing is not death, but transformation. As one Friend ministered at the conference, we are in a time of transition. Some forms are ending, and others beginning, or waiting to begin. This is a place of weakness and unknowing. It can be hard to endure the uncertainty of transition, but there are already some signs of the emerging shape of British Quakerism in the future.

It seems inevitable that in twenty years there will be far fewer Quaker Meetings with their own Meeting houses; probably only in large cities and a few prosperous towns. But there will also be a greater diversity of other kinds of Quaker community. These may include many kinds of small groups meeting at different times and intervals, in community spaces, rented rooms and outdoors.

There is likely to be an even larger number of people whose most regular engagement with other Quakers is online, perhaps supplemented by retreats, camps or other in-person events. There will almost certainly be a broad range of Quaker activist groups and networks focussed on particular concerns such as the climate emergency, migration and peace. Alongside this, I anticipate a greater diversity of forms of Quaker practice, belonging and spirituality, with most Friends having a much looser connection to Area Meetings and Britain Yearly Meeting as a whole.

In other words it looks much more like a movement than one monolithic organisation.

In some ways this picture resembles the current landscape of western Buddhism, which is mostly practised by a thriving ecosystem of small groups in a range of rented spaces, with just a few Buddhist-owned buildings and residential centres, plus various camps and festivals. It is worth noting that this works. Against a trend of falling religious affiliation in UK society, Buddhism is continuing to grow. It has arguably also had a far greater impact on the surrounding culture than Quakers have achieved in recent decades.

Of course we can’t know anything for certain about the future of Quakerism in Britain. The point of trying to discern where we are heading is so that we can invest our energy, time and resources in what is emerging, rather than spending all our efforts on managing decline. For the possible future shape of Quakerism described here, that might involve three main priorities:

Providing a consistent way for newcomers to learn Quaker practice and spirituality

At the moment, incredibly, we don’t do this at all. If we want new (and not so new) Quakers to be able to access the potential of the Quaker way, we need to offer them a pathway to understanding our core practices. The pernicious myth that newcomers will pick it all up ‘by osmosis’ has contributed to the current state of many of our Meetings, where few, if any, people feel confident about their Quaker practice, or able to express it to others.

An organisation may be able to limp along despite this, as long as it can persuade enough people to keep the institutional wheels turning, but a movement relies on a shared understanding of what it has to offer.

Over the years, we have developed excellent resources for this purpose, like Becoming Friends. But we have inexplicably allowed these to lapse into disuse – most Meetings are not offering any regular learning at all.

Supporting the ministry of young people.

The great majority of Local Meetings currently completely exclude children, and consequently their parents and carers as well. Our Quaker youth development workers offer year-round Quaker activities and community-building for children, young people and families. But there are currently only four areas of the country with youth development workers, on short-term funding provided by a handful of Area Meetings. Young adult Quakers are completely absent from most local Quaker communities, which are arranged exclusively to suit the needs and interests of retired people.

‘It looks much more like a movement than one monolithic organisation.’

A movement needs to nurture the participation and ministry of young people. We need children and families to find a sense of belonging in the Quaker community. We also urgently need the gifts and perspectives of young adult Friends. This means supporting young people to discern their gifts and leadings, and redirecting resources towards training, mentoring and empowering younger Friends.

Actively inviting people to explore the Quaker way

A thriving Quaker movement depends on inviting people to find out what the Quaker way has to offer them. It’s very difficult to come to a party that you haven’t been invited to.

An invitation is nothing to do with pressuring people or trying to convince them of anything. Friends who think that saying ‘we don’t proselytize’ justifies keeping the Quaker way to themselves have been allowed to squash spiritual generosity for too long. This has to stop. Instead, we should be extending a continuous and generous invitation to everyone who is looking for what the Quaker way has to offer – deep spiritual encounter, an inclusive and accepting community, and mutual support in working together for a better world.

 The group Discovering Quakers has recently started to do this, with a campaign of online advertising that has attracted thousands of new enquirers and potential Friends. They have now started to introduce enquirers to Local Meetings that have signed up to welcome them.

 The future of British Quakerism is not a story of decline, but of transformation. Transformation involves giving up some things that we have worked hard to maintain and have rightly cherished. There is a real need to grieve for what has served us in the past, including beloved historic buildings and institutions. One Friend at the conference compared the elaborate committee structures of Quakers in Britain to the elegant ruins of historic monasteries such as Rievaulx Abbey. But she reminded us that the point of these structures is the life that was expressed through them. When the Spirit is leading us somewhere new, we do not serve it by clinging on to old structures, but by discerning and nurturing the new forms that enable the Spirit to move in and through us today.

Where do you see the Spirit leading us as a Quaker community in the future? How can we nurture the new forms of Quakerism that are emerging? 

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Comments

Time to rename ourselves ? Our religious society is in clear decline, with ageing members and meeting houses sold. Yet there is a great and growing unmet hunger in many people for spirituality.
Is now the time to rename ourselves as the Religious and Spiritual Society of Friends? We could provide a home for all seekers striving for simplicity, nonviolence and the practice of silence, whatever their religion or lack of it.

From Ray Dawkins, Member, West Kent Area Meeting

By RayD on 2nd November 2024 - 9:49

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Thanks for this, Craig. I agree with your three prescriptions, particularly the need to offer learning about Quakers to newcomers. Our local meeting has used Becoming Friends well, and it works. I’m delighted that Woodbrooke are revisiting and revitalising the materials. I’m told ‘resources will be available before Yearly Meeting 2025’.
Securing the Future of British Quakerism will take more than one conference. It was regrettable that the experience of local meetings wasn’t heard from the platform - we had three excellent but well-established voices, while we need to hear new ones, particularly those of younger Friends. We need to learn from the experience of those meetings that are thriving; and we need to be able to throw off those things that tie us down.
Alastair Cameron
Portobello & Musselburgh LM

By Alastair Cameron on 4th November 2024 - 9:36

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