'People living at a distance or with transport difficulties were able to join when they couldn’t before, and think of the fuel and travelling time saved.' Photo: by Andreas Haslinger on Unsplash
General Meeting for Scotland: Jane Mitchell reports
‘I have been rejuvenated by attending online Meetings.’
There were over ninety participating devices, and some of them were shared by two Friends, so our special meeting to discuss blended worship had a very large attendance. There is an obvious logical difficulty in using a Zoom meeting to decide whether to promote further usage of online Meetings, but it would be unusual to get a hundred Scottish Friends together in person – they were representing a wide range of interests.
Quaker faith & practice 26.18 was read, on truth and finding ‘new ways of expressing it’. A new feature for me was that the Meeting had subtitling, which mostly worked very well but with the occasional misreading.
Several Friends spoke enthusiastically about their experiences with blended Meetings. People living at a distance or with transport difficulties were able to join when they couldn’t before, and think of the fuel and travelling time saved.
We split into six breakout rooms, each with a designated facilitator, and reported back. This gave everyone an opportunity to air their views.
Against: Some of us found worship online unsatisfactory, and preferred just worshipping at home at an agreed time. Technical help may be required, and some have inadequate broadband. Also, how could we be available to enquirers?
Several issues were raised. What is needed in the central location depends very much on its size and shape. High-quality sound and picture are needed for a large space. And thought is needed about where people in the main room sit, so that they can be seen by remote participants. For clerking/hosting in a large Meeting, assistants are needed. Perhaps they might consult each other via a breakout room or the chat facility. Care is needed to ensure that remote users are noticed equally with those present in person; it may be harder to detect a need for pastoral care. Sessions must not be too long – more frequent shorter meetings might be appropriate. Those who are online in their everyday work may not wish to do it again at the weekend. Thought is needed about how to allow people to interact socially before or after a Meeting. Being divorced from a location changes how the Quaker community is perceived.
The Meeting decided to initiate a consultation with Friends on inclusion/exclusion in face-to-face and online Meetings. They suggested that the Area Meetings should survey what facilities for blended Meetings are available.
Finally, I want to say a little about my own limited experience. As a person used to very small Meetings for Worship in a widely-scattered Local Meeting, I have been rejuvenated by attending online Meetings with three neighbouring Meetings. We have some visitors from elsewhere and we have two newcomers who have returned several times. The total number attending has been around ten to fifteen and I have experienced a much better sense of community, with Friends from five islands and parts of the mainland, than before. But I have no experience of blended Meetings yet.
