In the mix: Duncan Wallace on hybrid Meetings

‘I implore Friends to understand these events through the lens of our testimonies.’

Quaker Meetings have held together our movement for over 400 years. During that time we have stood up against states, conscientiously objecting with such power and authority that we have helped turn history.

On the inside of Quakerism, like any organisation, we have a system of Meetings that gives us this strength to act with conviction, knowing that how we are acting has been tested and discerned collectively. Thus we have Meetings for Business, which are also held in an atmosphere of worship, often referred to as the Quaker business method. Such business Meetings were going on for centuries before remote technology, and many successful Quaker businesses must have used such methods – Cadburys, Rowntrees, Lloyds TSB, Clarks shoes and Carr’s biscuits are all known for business success.

Friends also use Meetings for Threshing and Meetings for Clearness. These can help us resolve disputes and look humbly into the difficult areas of our work and lives. In Quaker faith & practice we write about the systems and the processes that help us do our work in the tradition that we have learned works well. Our business Meeting practices, as people of faith, are surely world-class in decision-making. They are essential to us.

Across our history we have found that there are some core testimonies that find their way into all our Meetings. We use them as a guide, and should do so on a modern challenge around our gatherings: good practice in hybrid Meetings (also known as blended Meetings). I implore Friends to understand these Meetings through the lens of some of our testimonies: Equality (or Equity), Sustainability and Simplicity.

We run hybrid Meetings in order to help include those that don’t wish to, or cannot, be at the physical Meeting room. It might be our responsibility to travel to be at the Meeting. But the right ordering of our lives might also require us not to travel, and to join remotely. Equity is the principle of inclusion, as experienced by being an equal participant, whichever way one participates. The responsibility of the Meeting organisers is to plan for that inclusion.

There are some important examples of this in our Quaker Meetings where we make complex business decisions. One such example is our Area Meetings. We share our decision making in this way so that we can organise powerful actions, such as the protesting I referred to earlier. We also share our decision making so that we can finance our work, appoint volunteers, and share community news.

For example, where I live in south-east Scotland, the rural area of Dumfries and Galloway, and the urban area of Edinburgh, sit in one geographically-large Area Meeting. Some of the travel times across the area can be hours each way, and we don’t always have great transport options. We also don’t always have great physical health – some of our members are elderly, disabled, or care for other members of their household.  Of course we want to include them. Hybrid Meetings make this possible.

The Canterbury Minute, in which Britain Yearly Meeting committed to doing everything in our power to save the planet, is a shocking document. Hybrid Meetings are a response: they mean less travel for everyone. They also mean the strategic use of travel for business. So while we may sometimes need to be physically face-to-face, to build community and proper human relations, we can all now travel less.

Quakers have always been people who have felt spiritually connected to nature. In fact, we find ourselves very much involved in movements like Extinction Rebellion and Friends of the Earth. Now, we are in an age where we can truly be local yet think and act global.

The sustainability of the business process is also about creating a sustainable culture. In the early days of banking, banks run by Quakers were known for their stability because they discerned every loan they made and every piece of borrowing they accepted. This meant the banking was slow, but honourable. John Woolman wrote about these principles of business practice – about using discernment in the way that you do your transactions.

It might seem bizarre to link hybrid Meetings to simplicity, because most of us have not yet experienced hybrid Meetings running as smoothly as old face-to-face ones – not yet. But actually, Meetings should be about one simple thing: connection.

Connection is the main reason to call a Meeting.  Humans connecting is why we should, and do, have them. Through them we get a diversity of thought. Hybrid Meetings are best done in the spirit of the simplicity of connection. In order for that to happen, we need Meetings that are designed to work well, by which I mean accessible and inclusive. They need to consider the wellbeing of staff, the creation and clarity of the agenda, and the checking of who is on-board with decisions.  These are really important principles. If you are meeting to shout at people or get your point across, then I gently suggest that you have mistaken what the Meeting is about. Other humans deserve full respect. We need to constantly ask ourselves one simple question: how does this connect people? Whether it’s camera angles or audio equipment, it’s just about helping us connect. If you are not meeting to connect, then do not meet.

As a centuries-old movement we have often challenged British society to progress. Surely, in comparison, this simple practice of setting up and running hybrid Meetings is not too difficult? I believe they are a call to action for all Quakers who want to be ‘patterns and examples’.

We need to meet in hybrid spaces that create: inclusion and equity of esteem; sustainability of practice; sustainability of the planet; and, most importantly, simplicity. Let’s get used to it – together.

Duncan is from Edinburgh Central Meeting. His PlacesWork organisation is hosting the Quakers & Business Group Conference on 11 and 12 November, where hybrid Meeting training will be offered. See www.qandb.org/events.

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