They also serve: Harry Albright on non-Quaker staff

‘I feel a sense of joy when I hear about what they are achieving.’

Most of my adult life has involved some form of Quaker service. I have held unpaid roles and paid ones at local, national and international levels.

To me, service is an important aspect of faith. It takes us out of ourselves, and puts the focus on the needs of others and the community. This is especially important for us as a ‘do-it-yourself’ church; we could not function without it.

Quakers in Britain do not have paid clergy, but from the beginning Friends have been given money to work for the community: ‘Friends have on occasion been released from financial considerations and in some cases their families have been cared for whilst they carried out the service required of them’ (Quaker faith & practice 13.02). Nowadays, this involves employing people to work on our behalf – jobs that involve more time and expertise than we could reasonably expect people to give as volunteers.

The paid roles I have held – editor of the Friend, and with Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) – have given me insights into what it means to serve from both an employee and employer’s perspective. At the Friend and FWCC, and now as co-clerk of Quaker Life Central Committee (QLCC), I have encountered many people who have served Friends well without themselves being Quakers. Indeed, I have played a part in hiring some of them. At the Friend, my deputy-editor was an Anglican. Sophie understood, and was knowledgeable about, the Quaker faith; she was happy to work in a Quaker context, and to participate in Quaker worship. The gifts she brought as an editor, reporter and designer were what the magazine needed, even though she wasn’t a Friend. And the insights she brought as a member of another faith community were very helpful to me, causing me to sometimes question my own assumptions. I believe it helped me to serve readers better.

Now, as co-clerk of QLCC, I take part in the oversight of work that is done centrally on our behalf – some of it by people of other faiths and none. At each Meeting, we get a detailed report of this work. Our staff are hard workers, and I always feel a sense of joy when I read and hear about what they are achieving, whatever their backgrounds. QLCC ensures that Quaker values and methods are integral to everything that is done in our name. Staff who aren’t Friends are able to learn about Quakerism, but are also encouraged to bring their own visions and passions to the work.

Of course there are some roles that need to be filled by Friends. I can’t imagine the recording clerk or the general secretary of FWCC not being in membership. But for most roles, we should concentrate on the gifts and experience that people bring, whatever their background. It helps us to create a more diverse organisation. Being open to new Light, whatever its source, should apply to our corporate work as well as our personal faith.

Harry is co-clerk of Quaker Life Central Committee.

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