Getting into the swing of it: National Quaker Week
Tom Harris led the team that supported meetings during National Quaker Week this year. He looks back at what meetings got up to, and reviews plans for the future.
Quaker meetings across the country took part in Quaker Week 2008 in October, raising awareness of Quaker meetings and the Quaker way by doing lots of wonderful outreach activities.
Over 360 packs of support materials were taken, and the Quaker Week team are impressed by the number of local events run (details of over 100 were sent to us to put on the website, and we have since heard of many more which ran too).
We’re also pleased with the success of the new enquirers’ website www.quaker.org.uk/different which has had over 4,000 unique visitors since 1 September.
Local meetings ran a range of events both large and small. Several meetings timed the start of their Quaker Quest cycle to fit in with Quaker Week; exciting work was done with students at university and college freshers’ events; Merseyside Quakers ran “Thought for the Day” on Radio Merseyside; Wandsworth Meeting organised piano recitals; Poole Friends had a market stall; Penzance Meeting organised a display in the local public library and Lymington had a range of events including a Quaker pub quiz! These events, and many many others, reached spiritual seekers in all parts of Great Britain.
As with last year’s events, we asked for feedback. Once again, it has been generally positive. In particular, you wanted Quaker Week again in 2009.
We have also listened to those of you who asked for more notice, in order that you could book space a year or more ahead. Quaker Life Central Committee have just set dates for the next two years (see 'Dates for your diaries'). Materials and support will be available, as always, from Quaker Life and Quaker Communications.
Still, there is one thing we want to make clear: there is absolutely no compulsion for meetings to take part in Quaker Week.
This is an opportunity, not a demand for service, and we hope to provide support only for those meetings which want it.
Your meeting should feel quite free to skip Quaker Week if you wish.
We would also stress that the dates are a guide, and not a straitjacket. Several meetings this year said that they could do nothing for Quaker Week as they were busy for heritage open days, or local festivals later in October. Quaker Week is about supporting outreach – the dates are flexible! As advice 28 says, “Attend to what love requires of you, which may not be great busyness.”
So, what have we learned from Quaker Week 2008?
- First, we have been reminded once again that it has been about inreach as much as outreach and that shared spiritual activity can help a meeting grow together and its members to know each other better in the things that are eternal.
- Second, we get the impression that meetings are getting in to the swing of Quaker Week. Enthusiasm for an event next year is much increased from the first time around in 2007 and many meetings seemed to find planning easier having done it once already.
- Third, we’ve learned a lot more about what kind of support meetings value, especially in terms of outreach materials. You gave us particularly varied feedback about the “Thou shalt” poster! Enquirers, not established Friends, were the main audience for that, and we were very pleased with how enquirers responded to it.
- Nevertheless, we recognise that an effective poster is also one that Quakers are happy to use, and we will keep this year’s experience in mind for next year’s campaign.
Overall, we are very pleased with how Quaker Week has gone, and we know that enthusiasm is shared in many meetings across the country. The week is a true shared effort, between each of us who takes part, and we look forward to further success in 2009 and 2010.
Contact
Tom Harris
tomh@quaker.org.uk
020 7663 1016
