Stone carver at work. Photo: Steven Lilley / flickr CC.
Consider the Rock
Stuart Masters welcomes a pamphlet that ‘begins where people are’
Terry Hobday has written a short but challenging pamphlet, which both tells a personal story and poses a number of important questions about the way Quakers in Britain view their worship practice and conduct their outreach work: Consider the Rock: Some reflections on the founding and development of an experimental Quaker Meeting.
The title of the pamphlet indicates that one of Terry’s overriding concerns is that Friends should continue to value and draw on their rich Quaker heritage: ‘Look to the rock from which you are hewn’ (Isaiah 51:1)
Terry’s story begins with an encounter with contemporary Quaker diversity while studying at Earlham School of Religion in the USA. In particular, she felt a call to draw on the insights and practices of Pastoral Friends. This concern was brought to life in her local community in Shropshire when she found herself supporting a group of ‘enquirers’ who were drawn mainly from other churches in the area.
Terry found that by experimenting with semi-programmed forms of worship that included singing and readings, as well as expectant waiting, she was able to ‘begin where people are and not where we think they should be’. She discovered that this enabled newcomers to become grounded in key aspects of the Quaker way more quickly, and more deeply, and to make the transition from active busyness to quiet stillness in an incremental or evolutionary way.
Although other Friends in the area initially viewed her experimental Meeting with suspicion and, occasionally, hostility, in time it was welcomed as a full member of the Area Meeting. It seems to me that, in terms of worship and outreach, Terry Hobday’s pamphlet poses three critical questions.
First, can we find a place for creativity and innovation in our worship practices while remaining committed to the centrality of unprogrammed expectant waiting?
Second, should we consider adopting a more flexible approach to outreach initiatives so that we better meet people where they are?
Third, how can we ensure that Quaker communities and the individuals that make them up are able to draw on our rich heritage, both historically and in its diverse expression, in the world today?
Terry Hobday’s story demonstrates the potential benefits of taking a ‘convergent’ approach to our faith tradition – one that recognises and values the wide diversity of its expression. Like Ben Pink Dandelion, she cautions us about the dangers of becoming incorporated into the dominant culture of our day when she asserts that ‘it is important not to present Quakerism in its cultural clothing but in its spiritual ones’. She also encourages us to be less apologetic and more assertive in communicating the Quaker message to the world. She quotes a president of Selly Oak Colleges who said: ‘You Quakers need to learn to preach what you practice.’
None of this means that we should be disrespectful or dismissive of other faiths or traditions, but it does mean that we should be more confident in explaining what we understand to be the good news of the Quaker way and more willing to actively engage with people from a wide range of backgrounds, circumstances and places. This will require us to meet them where they are rather than where we think they should be.
Stuart is a senior programme leader at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre.
Consider the Rock: Some reflections on the founding and development of an experimental Quaker Meeting by Terry Hobday, ISBN: 9781320182171.
