Eva Koch scholars announced
Four Eva Koch scholars have been announced by Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre
The Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham has announced the 2016 Eva Koch scholars.
This year’s recipients of the scholarships are Jane Pearn, Joycelin Dawes, Anne de Gruchy and Rhiannon Grant.
Jane Pearn, of Kelso Meeting, will explore the current Quaker understanding of ‘concern’. She will try to identify what is spiritually distinctive about a concern, in Quaker terms, that sets it apart from an idea, interest or enthusiasm. She will look into what a Meeting does when asked to test a concern, what ‘acting under concern’ feels like and consider its implications.
Joycelin Dawes, of Winchmore Meeting, will focus on discernment. She will examine it through a literature review, applying her findings to the Quaker Business Method, spiritual friendship and following the promptings of love and truth in our own lives. Joycelin will explore Quaker discernment using a framework of ‘sensing the emerging future’ from outside the Quaker tradition and hopes to identify key aspects of Quaker discernment and to encourage a fresh discourse and sharing of Quaker experience.
Anne de Gruchy, of Nottingham Meeting, will look at simplicity and ask what it means, how Friends put it into practice and what barriers they face in doing so. Outcomes of her project will include a variety of materials including blog posts, articles and workshops that can be run by Local Meetings.
The final scholar, Rhiannon Grant, of Watford Meeting, will look at ‘Afterwords’ and other practices designed to provide a space outside Meeting for Worship in which people can share things, which are nearly, but not quite, ministry. She will investigate the development and effects of this practice and ask what it changes about the community, the worship and vocal ministry.
The Eva Koch scholarship runs over a six-week period each year. It aims to give recipients an opportunity for a short period of reflection, research and writing.
