Photo: Courtesy of the Book of Discipline Revision Committee.
Now we are six: Mary Woodward on the Book of Discipline Revision Committee
‘Above all, uphold us prayerfully.’
Six years ago this month, a group of twenty-four Friends from all over mainland Britain, whose ages ranged from seventeen to well over seventy, were appointed to serve on the new Book of Discipline Revision Committee (BDRC). Together with our co-clerks and secretary, we gathered in Friends House in May 2019 to begin working together.
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) had exhorted us to be prayerful, joyful, creative and bold. We were very clear that our task did not involve attacking numerous copies of Quaker faith & practice with metaphorical scissors and glue. We were to start with a blank page and discern what was needed in a new book of discipline to enable Friends to navigate the complexities of twenty-first century life.
Over the next six years, we worked, prayed, laughed and sometimes tore our hair out together. We developed an understanding of how to write this book, so unlike any that published authors on our committee have written in the past.
Working in small groups we amassed a large number of draft texts on a wide range of topics, ‘banking’ them in a virtual filing cabinet when we felt they were ‘good enough for now’.
Before, during, and after lockdown we visited Meetings and Quaker groups, in person and online, to tell them about our work, and to invite Friends to contribute to it. Many have shared their thoughts, comments, and suggestions via our submission tool (https://forms.quaker.org.uk/qfp-idea) and the creative project ‘Open to New Light’ on padlet (www.padlet.com/bdrc/opentonewlight). During these visits we shared two draft texts (in both printed and audio versions) and invited Friends to send us their responses to them. Above all, we have been supported in our work on your behalf by your prayers; we couldn’t do this work without them.
Now we are moving into unknown territory. We get to open that filing cabinet, look at all the work we have produced, and figure out how to make it into The New Book. Some of the pieces written several years ago may need revising in the light of our later experience. There will be overlaps, duplications, omissions in the material. Some pieces are still being written, others await the results of BYM discernment.
How are we going to link all this work into a coherent whole? In what order or groupings do we want topics to appear? Non-text material can illustrate a point more clearly than words – what do we want to include? Where can we find it? What do we want the completed text to look like (meaning fonts, headings, groupings of text, spaces)? How can we ensure that it’s easy to navigate? We have discerned that a ‘tree’ structure seems to work best for the book, but how will we communicate this vision to others; how will we ensure that the structure serves the text, not the other way round?
Throughout our work, we have been considering how to make our book as accessible to as many people as possible. Yes, there will be a physical book, but we also want to provide an audio version. We live in a visual age, so we need to ensure that the online version will be compatible with Friends’ phones.
‘Other members of the committee are far more able, with vast experience of the world of publishing. What I have to offer comes from following the nudges that I am given.’
Our projected timeline confirms that we are on track to offer the first full draft of the new book to Yearly Meeting in 2027. Friends will use the following three years to consider and react to this draft. The completed book will, we hope, be brought to Yearly Meeting 2030 for Friends’ final approval.
When I first realised that our next steps would involve reading all the material that we’ve banked, together with all the pieces that are still being worked on, I was terrified. Other committee members spoke of their excitement at the prospect, but I couldn’t get beyond ‘I don’t have a clue how to do this’. The joy of working with this committee, however, is that its members are loving, caring, and supportive – and no one person is responsible for producing the whole publication on their own. We each have our strengths and weaknesses, and we are only asked to do what we can, as best we can – and to trust that we are guided in our work by God (or whatever you want to call it).
My personal experience since I came to Quakers over twenty years ago is that I am guided, I am supported, and I am given what I need (not what I want). So I didn’t get a get-out clause. I did get loving reminders that all I have to do is what I can – not what I can’t. I know that other members of the committee are far more able, with vast experience of the world of publishing. What I have to offer comes from following the nudges that I am given – such as offering to write this piece. If I follow the nudges faithfully, that is enough.
So.
Let the next stage of our adventure begin…
How Friends can contribute
First, we are grateful to those Friends who have offered contributions through the submissions tools I mentioned in the article. Please continue to send us both text and non-textual material that can help us in our work.
Secondly, spend time engaging with the Advices & queries from our current Quaker faith & practice, using the questions our clerks offered as part of their report to Meeting for Sufferings in December 2024 (see page 33 of www.quaker.org.uk/documents/mfs-2024-12-agenda-papers-package).
But above all, uphold us prayerfully. We simply can’t do this without the support of all Friends in Britain Yearly Meeting.
Comments
One practical thought: I tried the current online version, but there didn’t seem to be an index. You might want to make sure that the new online version does provide an index. Text searching now may be very fast, but with a large amount of text will find far too many references. An index offers a better option in many cases.
By ValerieC on 13th February 2025 - 10:45
Hello Valerie,
Thank you for your feedback! There is a weekly article listing available for every edition that’s posted online. If you click on ‘Publications’ and scroll down, you’ll see the listing for the current issue of the magazine. Past issues’ listings can be found in a drop down menu either to the right of the article listing (if you’re using a desktop computer) or at the bottom (on a mobile or tablet). Subscribers are sent an email each week with a link to that week’s article listing.
In Friendship,
Elinor Smallman
By Elinor Smallman, Production manager at The Friend on 14th February 2025 - 11:19
When I read Valerie’s comment, I assumed she was referring to the new book of discipline, not to ‘the friend’, but perhaps I misunderstood. But yes please, I hope the book of discipline will have an index - and page numbers!
By Lucy P on 16th February 2025 - 8:52
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