The Future of British Quakerism

EarthQuaker Issue 99

We both attended the Future of British Quakerism conference along with 250 others in person and online. The programme mostly consisted of talks followed by questions to the speakers. 

Shena Deuchers opened the conference with data from the recent British Quaker Survey: the Society of Friends is shrinking and ageing rapidly. Ben Pink Dandelion and Paul Parker spoke in different ways about what should be done to stem the decline. For Ben, it was a focus on the spiritual core of Quakerism, and acceptance that spirituality comes in many forms. For Paul, it was more about being welcoming, letting go of attitudes and practices that pose barriers to new attenders, simplifying our structures and relieving the burden of expectations to fill roles and committees. The conference was focused on what Quakerism needs if it is to survive, rather than asking how we can thrive or what the world or God needs from Quakers.

Paul Hodgkin, a Living Witness trustee, suggested a session during the Saturday afternoon free time focused on the Earth crisis. About 20 Friends attended. We heard personal perspectives from everyone, and Paul shared the Margaret Wheatley two loop model (see his article in this issue of EarthQuaker): are we focused on coping with decline or creating something new? We talked in small groups about the Earth crisis through the lens of the Quaker testimonies and what witness we might be called to.

Laurie’s reflections

Many Friends may feel now that our Quaker projects - working for peace, truth and sustainability - have failed, and that our priority should be to sustain the spirituality, conviviality and care in our local meetings. The most significant conversation at the conference for me was with a Friend who said that it’s too late, humans will be extinct within a few decades and the sooner the better; the Earth will be better off without us. I wonder how much this sense of impotence, futility and shame underlies the decline in Quaker numbers. What would it really mean for Quakerism to nourish the seeds of something that might emerge from collapse. Wasn’t this part of what early Friends were doing with visions of Gospel Order and the Holy Kingdom?

Catherine’s reflections

In this conference, I felt the distance between the central bodies and those working on the fringes (like Quaker Support for Climate Action). To reference Ben Pink Dandelion, I wonder if some Quaker climate activists are getting Left Ahead – they feel the urgency to Do Something, and frustration that the Yearly Meeting is (solid but) slow to action.

Paul Parker talked about how Quakers exist in the space between a structured organization (stable, but slow) and a movement (a product of its time, but it flares and fades and is replaced by the next movement). We are always balancing between these two; lately we have been sliding too far in the direction of an organisation… how do we find our way back towards movement?

I left the conference with a realisation that I need to do more to live my Witness. Personally, that simply means proactively talking about being a Quaker more openly in everyday conversations; for my local meeting, I’m wondering how we can energise ourselves to action in our community beyond our Sunday Meetings for Worship.

 

Catherine Tylke & Laurie Michaelis