Reflections on the ‘Red Book’: Conducting our Quaker business
How Quaker business is conducted
The right conduct of our meetings for church affairs depends upon all coming to them in an active, seeking spirit, not with minds already made up on a particular course of action… But open minds are not empty minds, nor uncritically receptive: the service of the meeting calls for knowledge of facts, often painstakingly acquired, and the ability to estimate their relevance and importance. This demands that we shall be ready to listen to others carefully… trying always to discern the truth in what they have to offer.’
Quaker faith & practice 3.05
Successful spirit-led organisations seem to have three factors in common: they all have a clear purpose that everyone understands and supports; shared values, which are a criterion for joining the organisation; and the decision-making process always includes a point of ‘not knowing’ and the opportunity for everyone to contribute.
This enables decisions to be weighed against the purpose and values of the organisation, and helps everyone get behind them.
According to Quaker faith & practice, our processes in Britain Yearly Meeting seem to fit this mould well. We have a clear purpose: seeking to follow ‘the promptings of love and truth in [our] hearts’ individually and collectively. We also have carefully designed structures in which we can all play our part, and decisions are based on letting go of our personal will and waiting for the leadings of the Spirit together in worship.
Gil George, an American Friend, contrasts Quaker decision-making (at its best) with hierarchy, in that it brings people together rather than dividing them in many ways. How we do things is more important than what we actually decide.
However, experience suggests that in practice it doesn’t always work like this. Do we always prepare well enough for Business Meetings? Do we sometimes rush through too much business in our Meetings without letting the Meeting settle regularly? Are we always open to new Light and willing to allow the Spirit to guide us rather than a persuasive speaker? Do our committees take time to build the kind of spiritual fellowship that allows difficult questions to be addressed and deep discernment to take place? Sometimes the way we present matters and use jargon makes it hard for newcomers to understand, let alone play their proper part.
It is good practice for a meeting to have a clear view of the tasks that need to be accomplished on its behalf… so that both the meeting and the Friend appointed understand the commitment.
Quaker faith & practice 3.23
To work well together in our Quaker organisations we need to have the right information and we need to know what our part to play is. Just as in a building, the materials for each part of the structure (bricks, beams, pipes) needs to have the right qualities for its particular role (strength, flexibility, weight), so we need to understand what the role of each Quaker appointment or committee is, what qualities are needed and where it fits in the whole.
It is a responsibility of a Christian community to enable its members to discover what their gifts are and to develop and exercise them to the glory of God.
Quaker faith & practice 3.22
The general advice on nominations in Quaker faith & practice paragraphs 3.22 to 3.25 is excellent. Regular reference to it can be really helpful to remind nominations committees of the considerations that need to be borne in mind. Not only do they need to find Friends to run the various parts of the Society, but also to try to help Friends grow through service.
Having clear job descriptions that set out the role and demands of the work, and also the skills and experience sought, are particularly helpful for nominations committees which are trying to be bold and inclusive or when seeking advice about Friends who are not known personally to the committee.
All too often, though, we are vague or inconsistent about what we are asking people to do. This can lead to many different kinds of problems further down the line. It is well worth investing the time in being clear at the outset. This is only fair on those taking on the task.
Be bold; welcome the chance to give opportunities to younger Friends and to those more recently arrived, and encourage those who underestimate their own potential for service.
Quaker faith & practice 3.25
There is sometimes a tension between finding people with the necessary experience and time to fill particular roles and using the nominations process to draw in newer or younger Friends, to help them grow through the role. We need to allow for the fact that some committee members will not be able to do as much as others, and that inexperienced Friends may have a steep learning curve. This may be an argument to make some committees larger than might otherwise be needed, or for sharing the work in other ways.
From time to time nominations committees may need to go back to their parent body (for example, the Area Meeting) to clarify what needs doing, or if they cannot find anyone to do a job. This can open up a useful consideration of overall priorities; our time may indeed be a greater constraint than money. If we can’t find Friends to do a particular role, perhaps it should not be done? Alternatively, the Meeting might decide that something else should cease or be simplified instead.
Across the Society we hear of difficulties in filling key roles such as clerks, treasurers and trustees. We usually find a way around this, but it’s often at the expense of some over-burdened Friends. Are we failing in our duty to one another?
Looking at the wider picture, the number of Quakers has fallen by nearly a quarter in the last twenty years, but the numbers of Local and Area Meetings have only fallen by about four per cent. So, a greater proportion of members must now be treasurers or clerks, and on top of that we have introduced a new tier of Area Meeting trustees.
In contrast, we have reduced the size of Meeting for Sufferings and some central committees. These have a key role in connecting local Friends with our central work and with each other, in building understanding of Quaker processes and structures. Are we making right use of the carefully balanced machinery set out in Quaker faith & practice? Are we spending enough time and effort to make decisions in right ordering, or are secular values of speed and efficiency undermining our religious practice and sometimes preventing us from coming into unity?
Perhaps we should think further about some of these matters. As a community, are we trying to do too much, or spending our time appropriately? For example, we could substantially reduce the number of Area Meetings or combine some of their functions if we wanted. We could also try to be more ready to lay down groups or projects that have run out of steam, and let go of burdensome properties.
Perhaps from time to time we should pause from new initiatives, and instead prioritise reflection, learning, and spiritual nourishment? We might find it difficult to come off our busy treadmill, but we might emerge clearer about how Love and Truth are leading us.
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