A couple people have mentioned that a lot of the money needed to keep our Quaker organizations afloat is coming from elderly quakers, and not so much from young adults. Some ask, "How can we get our young adults to give money?"
Looking at the behavior of today's Quakers, another question comes to my mind. How can we create Quaker communities our young adults, and everyone else, will care deeply about? For a lot of people, the experience of being with Quakers today does not inspire intense devotion, powerful spiritually enriching experiences, etc. If it did, I would not be able to go to a meeting with over 100 members and hear that it was a good day when 29 people show up for meeting for worship (not all of them members). Is there anything we can do to make meeting for worship better for ourselves? Is there anything YOU can do to make Quaker meeting for worship a deeper spiritual experience for yourself and others? A good number of Quakers do feel compelled to spend upwards of 5 hours per week participating in our communities in one way or another. If we can get more people to have this greater connection to Quakers, the money problems will sort themselves out.
One Quaker mentioned to me that one successful way to fund-raise is to treat the "thank-you" as the most important thing.
What is it that young adults offer us that we are thankful for?
What is it about Quaker communities that we're thankful for?
Can we present those things that we're thankful for in a way that helps other people seek & find them?
A Friend once shared a message that went more or less like this: Our job is to build a community so vital and filled with joy and spirit... that when we ask people to give money, they, being good, skeptical Quakers, will think "why should i?" And then they'll think to themselves that the answer is obvious, and that answer will be in the benefits and support and deep spirituality that our community offers.
This last is a message that, to me, felt truly spirit-led. I have felt something of a call to see that this message gets the follow-through that is due to it.
This is not just the work of the person who spoke those words, but the work of everyone who wants the vitality and beauty of the Quaker faith to thrive.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Ministry and Obligation
Ministry :The act of ministering; ministration; service. "With tender ministry."
Ministration : relief: assistance in time of difficulty; "the contributions provided some relief for the victims"
When a person sees a situation that is in need of some improvement, and feels she or he might be the person most able to help, maybe he or she should feel an obligation. I'd say this applies to ministry in Meeting for Worship, other sorts of ministry, and things that are usually not thought of as ministry.
From an old Quaker book about how to live as a Quaker*: (language changed slightly to make it clearer)
"Each local Meeting should appoint a group of its members to serve as a 'Meeting on Worship and Ministry' whose function is to give continuing thought to the religious life of the meeting and its individual members and attenders.... They should encourage others to be ready when the call comes to speak or pray during worship, as a minister.
"... There is a responsibility to give sympathetic encouragement to those who show promising gifts, and to give loving guidance to those whose ministry is not helpful. There's also a responsibility to open the way for those who are timid and young in the ministry.
"... From its earliest days, the community of Quakers has emphasized the importance to the human Community of a living ministry, freely given in the service of God and man..."
"... it is urged that all Friends, whether recorded ministers or not, continually feel their responsibility for the meeting for worship."
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Communities of Quakers in Philadelphia
There has been some discussion about the young adult Quakers in Philadelphia and what's going well, and what's not going well.
One thing that's going well is that the young adult community here is a place where we can focus on the fun side of being with a Quaker community. We enjoy each other's company, we meet folks with similar interests and values, and of course we conduct the all-important teaming up of our forces to eat good food.
Whatever we want, it's up to us to put in the work to make a spiritual community that works for us, fulfills us, or gives us joy. Or as one friend put it: some assembly required... kind of like furniture you get from IKEA.
In Quaker communities, each of us needs to pitch in, if we're going to put together a community that takes care of all of us. Each person should think about what she can do to help the group care for all of its people. Each person also ought to think about what she wants to get out of participating in the community, what kind of nurture or help or friendship or sharing of fun, or whatever, she wants to get from it. Whaddaya like? Whaddaya want more of? Probably good questions to ask in any community.
One thing that's going well is that the young adult community here is a place where we can focus on the fun side of being with a Quaker community. We enjoy each other's company, we meet folks with similar interests and values, and of course we conduct the all-important teaming up of our forces to eat good food.
Whatever we want, it's up to us to put in the work to make a spiritual community that works for us, fulfills us, or gives us joy. Or as one friend put it: some assembly required... kind of like furniture you get from IKEA.
In Quaker communities, each of us needs to pitch in, if we're going to put together a community that takes care of all of us. Each person should think about what she can do to help the group care for all of its people. Each person also ought to think about what she wants to get out of participating in the community, what kind of nurture or help or friendship or sharing of fun, or whatever, she wants to get from it. Whaddaya like? Whaddaya want more of? Probably good questions to ask in any community.
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