Quakers launch ‘listening space’
‘What stood out for me was the value of being heard.'
Friends from Central England joined the first Quaker Listening Space last month, hosted by the Quaker group Restoring Relations.
The resource is an opportunity for people to come together in a facilitated space to share experiences and thoughts to better appreciate and understand a situation or topic. Alistair Heslop, one of the organisers, told the Friend that the idea for the space grew from two needs identified by Quaker Meetings. ‘The first one we heard during our Restoring Relations restorative dialogue work where we support Meetings experiencing damaging conflict. Participants said that they lack a space where they could simply say what was on their mind and be heard, without the need to make decisions or find solutions. They felt that this would have helped when disagreements arose – perhaps a sort of pressure relief valve.
‘The second need was related to helping Friends reconnect with one another, and with their Meeting, after the pandemic. This was the topic of our first in-person Listening Space and enabled those involved to share their experience of the pandemic and its impact on them.’
Titled ‘Are you being heard?’, the first online Listening Space took place on 25 March and lasted three hours. Places are restricted to ten participants so that everyone has an opportunity to be heard. As that session was oversubscribed, the group is running a second on 3 June, with details on the Restoring Relations website.
One Friend, called Nancy, said about the first session: ‘What stood out for me was the value of being heard. And the quotes were really helpful.’ Another Quaker, called Fabien, described how the group ‘sparkled with diversity’, while another, Jackie, said the session left her feeling ‘very nourished’.
Alistair Heslop said the group also runs two in-person Listening Spaces for Area Meetings. ‘The in-person events are generally larger, with up to twenty people participating. As they are whole-day events, everyone still has an opportunity to be heard. We are offering to run Listening Spaces for Meetings interested in experiencing a Listening Space and consider if it’s a practice they might adopt.’
He added: ‘All events have been well received and a number of participants are moving on to train as facilitators.’
Caroline Gibbs and Louise Scrivens, of Solihull Meeting, are also members of the Restoring Relations facilitation team.
