Earlier this fall, Sallie Jones and Leslie Leonard from Birmingham Meeting (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) agreed to be interviewed about how their meeting’s program, Exploring Quakerism for Newcomers, uses the Faith & Play story “Friends Meeting for Business.”
In this wonderful conversation, they share wisdom about how their approach to a series of topics moves beyond welcome to bring attenders into community and experiential learning about Quakerism. The connection between outreach and religious education is clear — we cannot welcome people to meeting and stop there; their engagement in a new community requires us to share about our faith and practice as Friends. Sallie later reflected on this aspect of the newcomers welcome program:
“The interview was a good opportunity for Leslie and me to reflect on our series we call Exploring Quakerism for Newcomers. We realized we forgot to say the series is only for newcomers. While experienced Friends would like to attend, the “explorers,” as we call them, are most comfortable in their own group; they are all in a similar state of newness to Quaker meeting and enjoy getting acquainted with one another in the small gathering.”
The program uses a variety of mediums: Faith and Practice, worship sharing, QuakerSpeak videos — and Faith & Play! Friends noted that the conversation about meeting for business begins with meeting for worship — the container for our community discernment. Leslie reflected that a strength of the story is that it is immediately set in the context of meeting for worship (the story materials are the same as for the “Prayer and Meeting for Worship” story). She continued, “And the emphasis on listening — which is so important.” This includes the idea that the clerk has been listening — not just during the business meeting, but in the community all through the month.
“I always thought when I was telling it to the children how wonderful this would be, and in some ways more applicable to the adults in our meeting. Not just the newcomers . . . The story is just so beautifully written. So much care and thought has been given to each word that’s been chosen. That’s the way it is, I think, for all Faith & Play stories . . .”
Sharing the story in the newcomers program also serves to share with parents (and other adults) what the children of the meeting are experiencing in their program — the wondering, the experiential approach to the learning, and a way to be in community with each other.
Much of this conversation about newcomers, meeting for worship, and business meeting in the manner of Friends emphasized the importance of community — caring for one another and “staying together.”
Thank you, Leslie and Sallie, for sharing your experiences, wisdom, and joy in the ministry of welcome!
[Note: The section of the video focused on using the “Friends Meeting for Business” story is from minutes 8:48-15:55 — and, we recommend watching the whole conversation!]