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JOINING - FORM AND SUBSTANCE
THE FUTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (QUAKERS) IN BRITAIN
a contribution by Stuart Donnan
THE FUTURE OF THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (QUAKERS) IN BRITAIN
a contribution by Stuart Donnan
SECTION 6
BRIEF CONCLUSIONS
BRIEF CONCLUSIONS
The
primary emphasis of this discussion has been that our Society needs to
reach out. But the conclusions will consider first the Quaker way so
that we will be clear about what we are inviting people to join and why.
More on "The Quaker way"
It is possible that the Society will not survive beyond another 20 years or so. Fervent supporters of the Society such as Harvey Gillman accept with equanimity that if our institution dies out in one form, the principles for which we stand will be resurrected in another. And many members will gladly work with or join other organisations - existing or yet to be formed - which share some of those principles.
But if there is to be survival, by necessity associated with outreach and invitations to join the Quaker way, it needs to be supported by clear descriptions of what that way is.
In his essay of 1859 John Stephenson Rowntree alludes to a well-known verse in the book of the prophet Micah in the Hebrew scriptures. What is required is: "to live justly, to value commitment, and to walk humbly with your God." The present essay has proposed that comprehensible and communicable content can be given to all three parts of this prophetic text - for theists and non-theists and church members and members of other faiths and people of our country and others - by seeing that our spiritual way is in accord with the way of Jesus; not a Jesus of theology but (in the words of a religious humanist Quaker) a man of his own age with an authentic voice who somehow contrives to speak to ours. This is not a step towards dogma or a creed; it is a step in line with Quaker traditions down the centuries and around the world, and in accord with the documents of British Quakers in 2009. This can, it is proposed, be incorporated in an inclusive manner in a shortened and agreed summary of our faith and practice, and that practice - both within the Society and outside - must reflect it.
More on "Join us!"
Evidence as well as argument for the need to reach out - to invite people to join us - has never been so strong. We must overcome understandable diffidence and mistaken concern that our inclusive way will be perceived as dogma. But we need to able to explain what it is that we are inviting people to join, and why. If all or even part of the section immediately above is accepted then we have a message, and a group of testimonies, with which we can confidently approach people of any faith or none.
These two must happen together
The Religious Society of Friends in Britain in 2009 is active in developing outreach. And there is manifest weariness about yet more discussions about the Quaker 'identity'. The new approach of this essay is to submit that urgent thought and work must given to both at the same time and in a co-ordinated manner, with a willingness for fundamental changes in both form and substance along the lines suggested here, if the Society is not to fade into extinction as an entity. The testimonies - and a Quaker way of life and thought - will not be extinguished, but the Society might no longer be the vehicle for their expression unless both form and substance are changed.
Back to topMore on "The Quaker way"
It is possible that the Society will not survive beyond another 20 years or so. Fervent supporters of the Society such as Harvey Gillman accept with equanimity that if our institution dies out in one form, the principles for which we stand will be resurrected in another. And many members will gladly work with or join other organisations - existing or yet to be formed - which share some of those principles.
But if there is to be survival, by necessity associated with outreach and invitations to join the Quaker way, it needs to be supported by clear descriptions of what that way is.
In his essay of 1859 John Stephenson Rowntree alludes to a well-known verse in the book of the prophet Micah in the Hebrew scriptures. What is required is: "to live justly, to value commitment, and to walk humbly with your God." The present essay has proposed that comprehensible and communicable content can be given to all three parts of this prophetic text - for theists and non-theists and church members and members of other faiths and people of our country and others - by seeing that our spiritual way is in accord with the way of Jesus; not a Jesus of theology but (in the words of a religious humanist Quaker) a man of his own age with an authentic voice who somehow contrives to speak to ours. This is not a step towards dogma or a creed; it is a step in line with Quaker traditions down the centuries and around the world, and in accord with the documents of British Quakers in 2009. This can, it is proposed, be incorporated in an inclusive manner in a shortened and agreed summary of our faith and practice, and that practice - both within the Society and outside - must reflect it.
More on "Join us!"
Evidence as well as argument for the need to reach out - to invite people to join us - has never been so strong. We must overcome understandable diffidence and mistaken concern that our inclusive way will be perceived as dogma. But we need to able to explain what it is that we are inviting people to join, and why. If all or even part of the section immediately above is accepted then we have a message, and a group of testimonies, with which we can confidently approach people of any faith or none.
These two must happen together
The Religious Society of Friends in Britain in 2009 is active in developing outreach. And there is manifest weariness about yet more discussions about the Quaker 'identity'. The new approach of this essay is to submit that urgent thought and work must given to both at the same time and in a co-ordinated manner, with a willingness for fundamental changes in both form and substance along the lines suggested here, if the Society is not to fade into extinction as an entity. The testimonies - and a Quaker way of life and thought - will not be extinguished, but the Society might no longer be the vehicle for their expression unless both form and substance are changed.