Report on FGC Gathering 2008 - Part 2

NOTE: This is a continuation of my previous post.

Interest group on Convergent Friends

Robin and Chris M and I helped organize and co-lead an interest group on Wednesday, around the question Where Is The Convergent Conversation Now?

About 35 Friends were there, and I got the sense that a few of them were either fairly new to the conversation or weren't very connected much at all to the Quaker blogosphere. And a handful of participants are themselves active bloggers.

Chris was a wonderful support to Robin and me when we met to finalize our plans. He took notes while Robin and I threshed, brainstormed, and ultimately settled on what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. (Thanks, Chris!)

The process we came up with was this:

1. Chris would hold us in prayer and ground us as Robin and I facilitated the group.

2. Robin and I would introduce ourselves and share a bit of our story, especially around how we got involved in the Convergent conversation.

3. We would pass out index cards to each person and ask them to write a single question they had for us, after listening to our opening remarks.

4. Out of a worshipful frame, the participants would read their questions, one at a time, and then Robin and I--and anyone else who was moved to--would answer a question for which they felt some resonance or prompting.

5. We would close with worship.

I would say the process worked well overall. One Friend in particular commented on how much he liked the use of the index cards as a way to draw out questions without obligating the facilitators or participants to have to answer all of them.

(Personally, I was pleased to have thought to have cautioned Friends that the interest group was fair "blogger fodder" for any of us who had blogs--with the caveat that if there was something tender or sticky that came up, the expectation was that there'd be some extra care taken in how we might address that online...)

Here are some of the questions that were raised. If you attended the session and you see a question here that I've misquoted or have wrongly paraphrased, please let me know!

Are there commonalities among universalist, nontheist, and Christian Friends?

How can Friends engage in the Convergent conversation if they don't blog?

Will the conversation become More?

How can monthly meetings, quarterly meetings, and yearly meetings become more involved in the conversation?

Are there any formal structures for Convergent Friends?

Is "convergence" seen as reforming, renewing, or revolutionary?

In your stories, you used words like "renewal" and "reclaiming" [of traditions]. Does that mean you think the Religious Society of Friends is degenerating?

Does "convergence" require unity within a monthly meeting?

What does the concept of living in the Kingdom of God mean, if none of us have actually lived in a kingdom?

What do you think the conversation will look like 50 years from now?

Are "inclusive Friends" the same as Convergent Friends?

I found myself speaking most directly to two threads that emerged from these questions, namely:

1. How can individuals and meetings that aren't involved in blogging get engaged in the Convergent conversation?

And

2. Is our faith tradition degenerating?

In response to the first thread, I described how some Friends were printing copies of specific blog posts and using those to focus a discussion during adult education programs.

I also pointed out that Robin and I (mostly Robin) had put together a handout which included a few printed articles, such as an article from Friends Journal and an article from Quaker Life.

Somehow I also touched on Friends who travel and make visits to meetings--not necessarily those who travel in the ministry, but that in order to understand the cross-schism and inter-branch conversation that is going on, we need to meet and interact with Friends from outside of our own monthly and yearly meetings.

I loved some of the other ideas that sprang forth around this topic:

Attending sessions of Friends World Committee on Consultation (FWCC);

Exploring Quaker Quest* together;

Setting up an interest group within monthly, quarterly, and/or yearly meetings around the question, "What do you know about Convergent Friends?" and

Carving out time to share not just our spiritual journeys with one another, but also and perhaps more pointedly to share our transformative experiences with one another, too.

In response to the second thread, about whether our faith is in fact degenerating, I found myself speaking more passionately than I had expected, about practices and traditions that some Liberal Friends have moved away from.

I don't recall what exactly I lifted up at the time, but during the course of the interest group, I had compiled my own list of where I fear we are drifting afar and what I believe Convergent Friends are reclaiming and re-affirming:

The use of corporate, spiritual discernment;

Testing of leadings;

Mutual accountability;

Place of Scripture;

Worship as the faith's central experience; and

God's place at the center of our faith, rather than individuals' preferences.

In addition, I made a note to myself later that we can view the renewal either as a response to the concern about "fixing" something that is "broken" within the Religious Society of Friends, or we can view the renewal as a commitment to strengthening the core of our religious tradition.

Maybe it's a bit of both, and in the past I have struggled with how to respond to Friends who have worried that I am acting and speaking as if some monthly and yearly meetings are broken. Maybe I need to start saying, Yes, I think some things among Friends are in fact broken, as far as I see it...

The most poignant moment of the evening for me, though, was when a Friend addressed the question about none of us having real-life experience of living in a kingdom. An older Friend quietly spoke about his experience of having been in and come out of a spirhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifitual desert:

"I have never lived in an earthly kingdom," he said, "but I HAVE lived and I DO live in a spiritual kingdom now."

Faith and Play

One afternoon, I went to a session on a new approach to First Day School and religious education, called Faith and Play.

FGC's Religious Education Committee is investing human and financial resources to develop a Quaker curriculum that draws on the methods used in Godly Play.

In addition, the worship group I attend is considering using Godly Play as a basis for religious education for the six youngest people among us, who range from about 2-11 years old. So I was interested in the topic for a couple of different reasons.

While Godly Play focuses on stories from Scripture and "wondering together" about the stories, Faith and Play focuses on stories and experiences from Quakerism.

FGC staff person Michael Gibson, the coordinator of the Religious Education program, presented us with two stories in this fashion. The first was based on the parable of the mustard seed; the second was based on George Fox's initial opening, when he realized that the answers to his deep, weighty questions were not found in steeplehouses and books, but were found when he listened inwardly for the Inward Teacher.

In both cases, simple props made of wood, paper, and brightly colored felt were used, and the stories and subsequent "wonderings" were shared out of a sense of worship.

In fact, the whole experience felt to me like a Meeting for Worship with attention to Story.

There is much technique involved in Godly Play and in Faith and Play. The storyteller focuses all of his or her attention on the props being used, avoiding eye contact with who is in the room. The pace by which the story is told is very deliberate and slow. Words are used at a minimum, so there is much silence--and observation and curiosity--as the story unfolds through manipulating felt figures and other props.

When it is time to consider the story and whatever lessons it may hold, the storyteller begins by making statements that start with, "I wonder...," which in turn invites the listeners to wonder too, and to offer possible answers. Correction or interpretation is never offered; only more wonderings.

After some time of "wondering together," the storyteller directs the listeners to art supplies. This is a time of individual "work," a way to express visually something that the story has stirred, and again is carried out in a form of worship.

Some observations and wonderings of my own

I found the experience of listening to the story and doing the work afterward very engaging. (There's a video of a sample story on the Godly Play website, toward the very bottom of this page.)

But I also came away with some questions.

At what point does the group of listeners--of Quaker listeners--engage in corporate expression of what they observed? The "work" was so individualized, and it was in stark contrast to the sense of being drawn, as a corporate body, into the story and the storytelling itself.

What happens with members of a culture where collective threshing and reworking of a story is valued over personal reflection and individual consideration?

Is there something inherently racist about the Montessori method of education on which Godly Play--and Faith and Play--is based? From what little I know, the creators of these three forms are all of European descent.

If Quakerism is historically based on the stripping away of outward empty forms and distractions, how do we help the youngest ones understand that answers don't lie in felt props and artful self-expression, but in being still and waiting expectantly on the Inward Teacher?

Despite my own reservations, and given my overall positive experience during the session, I recognize that Faith and Play could in fact be a useful tool for religious education among Friends. Not to mention that there is a training at Pendle Hill for those who are interested in learning more. There isn't an online announcement yet about it, but if you are interested, contact Michael Gibson at FGC, 215-561-1700, or email michaelg AT fgcquaker DOT org.

Blessings,
Liz

P.S. Some other posts about the 2008 FGC Gathering can be found here. I'll have to add related links at a later date, when I have more time and more computer access!

*FGC now has materials for North American Friends interested in Quaker Quest.

Report on FGC Gathering 2008 - Part 1

This year's summer Gathering was, for me, unremarkable.

That's in the sense of having nothing or little to say.

There was nothing terrific that happened for me, http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifand neither was there anything horrible that happened.

I didn't stay in a workshop; I didn't have a structured morning routine (because I didn't stay in a workshop!); and I had committee responsibilities for Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC), which also reduced my free time.

Nevertheless, there were a few highlights--or not-so-low-lights--that I can report on.

One-on-one with Jan Hoffman

Back in November 2007, I met Friend Jan Hoffman at a Traveling Ministries Program consultation organized by FGC.

While there, Jan and I had a few brief moments during which she affirmed in me a gift of eldership. We also spoke about how I might gain support for some writing I have been putting off. Shortly after we each returned home, we lost touch and I mostly put aside our conversations.

So when Jan passed me in a corridor last week, stopped me to say hello, and asked me how the writing was going, I froze: I hadn't anticpated her remembering anything about me, since I hadn't heard from her after November.

We ended up putting aside time during the week for the two of us to get together, and we met for about an hour one morning.

After settling into a bit of silence, we spoke with one another about our respective care-and-accountability committees, and the importance of having our monthly meetings hear reports from these committees, or from Ministry & Counsel, about the movement of the Spirit.

I also mentioned to Jan that already that week, a number of Friends had been encouraging me to offer again what is fondly known as "the Shadow workshop," which I had offered at three Gatherings in the late 1990s. Formally, was titled "Bringing Our Shadow into the Light" and was a transformative experience for many who participated in it.

It was a workshop I also loved doing, simply because I got to witness the growth and transformation of the participants, which in turn both grew me and humbled me.

I explained to Jan that I also was considering proposing the more recent workshop on Quaker identity that I had developed and offered in 2005.

The workshop on the shadow is something that the community seems to be wanting to draw out from me; the workshop on Quaker identity reflects the concern that I have been carrying, about conveying our faith and looking at what sustains us as Friends.

Jan and I held together the question of whether I was to propose a workshop for 2009--fewer than 60 workshops are likely to be offered next year, given the projected enrollment--and if so, what might it be?

I found myself wondering what a workshop entitled The Good Raised Up might entail, so I'll have to let that possibility speak to me as well...

Volleyball

It's been about eight years since I last played volleyball during Gathering. The group I used to play with was tight-knit and pretty decent, as far as a non-competitive pick-up game goes. We would play for two hours straight and then head to dinner together.

One of the regulars was Doug. He's tall, with a big head of hair and a smile that spreads across his face. Doug is the type of person who pulls out the best in people, simply by his presence and a kind word inserted at just the right moment.

After I stopped playing volleyball, I would see Doug about every other Gathering, and he would ask me if I would make it to volleyball.

But I was getting older and was putting more energy into nurturing my relationship with my partner. Me and my kneepads weren't gonna make it to the volleyball court.

And then a couple of years ago, I started to work out and get into better shape. I still didn't think of volleyball, though.

Until this year.

There were two lovely sand volleyball courts that I passed everyday, either between lunch and Meeting for Worship or between dinner and the evening plenary. Sometimes, there'd be one of those great pick-up games going on...

And there was Doug.

Each time he passed me in the early part of the week, he'd ask me, "Are you coming to volleyball?"

By the fourth day, Doug had worn me down. It was also the first sunny, fairly dry day of the Gathering, and I folded: "Okay... Yes, I'll come play volleyball."

Doug grinned; I cringed. What had I just gotten myself into? I wondered.

I had the best time!

I was amazed how readily my body remembered how to judge the ball's trajectory and speed in relation to my own ability to move from side to side or even to drop to my knees for a dig.

I also marveled at how words like "Mine!" and "I go!" and "Help me!" broke forth from me like a song from the mouth of a Sacred Harp singer.

I was tempted to play a second day, but I ended up conserving my energy, since I still had a trip to North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative) to make!

Other news

I'm intending to write a second post that will cover the interest group on Convergent Friends and a few other items, including a session I attended about a new way to approach First Day School, called Faith and Play, based on Godly Play. Stay tuned!

Blessings,
Liz

UPDATE: I have completed my subsequent post. Some other posts about the 2008 Gathering can be found here.

Upcoming interest group at Gathering

In 2006 and 2007, at FGC's summer Gathering, Robin M and I were among co-leaders for an interest group* about Convergent Friends. In 2008, she and I will again co-lead a similar interest group, on Wednesday night, July 2:

Where Is the Convergent Conversation Now?

Convergent Friends are talking about renewal and a Quakerism that bridges our schisms. Where and how is this conversation happening? Who else is having this conversation? Do you want to be a part of it? Bring your questions and let's share in the answers.

UPDATE: To read about how the interest group went, click here.

Help wanted

As Robin mentions on her own post about the interest group, she and I are looking for Friends who have been somewhat engaged in the conversation, are planning to attend the Gathering, and are interested in helping us out this year in some small fashion--perhaps to serve on a mini-panel, perhaps to facilitate a small group, perhaps just to greet people or hold the space--and us--in worship.

Let us know through the comments or through email [lizopp AT gmail DOT com] if you feel a nudge to help in some way.

Getting ready; staying alert

If you get the sense that we're flying by the seat of our pants, you're partially right--though I would prefer to frame it as "We're waiting for the Spirit to guide us... and to speak up a bit!"

The past two years as co-leaders, we've taken time during the first day or two of Gathering to ground ourselves and finalize our plans. In addition, we intend to stay alert to the movement of the Spirit when Friends do gather that particular evening: Maybe someone will raise a topic that others are eager to consider, or maybe someone will ask us as co-leaders a tangential question that others want to hear a response to.

Maybe, as what happened that first year, we will simply fall into a deep and gathered worship.

In any case, any and all of you are invited to join us if you are on campus on July 2. Robin is the contact person if you aren't planning to attend the Gathering but could stop by for the evening. She's got info on her own post about how best to reach her--presumably before she heads to the Gathering!

In addition to the interest group, I personally hope that another, less formal meet-up will be organized, too--maybe over dinner or after one of the evening plenaries. (By the way, fellow blogger Peterson Toscano is one of the plenary speakers.)

If anyone is interested in organizing such an opportunity for fellowship, do post something either in the comments here or on Robin's blog so that there's less of a chance of duplicating efforts.

Staying informed at Gathering

Last but not least: Just how do Friends find out about any informal meet-ups, the location of the interest group, etc. etc.?

There are several places to look:

1. The daily bulletin. During the Gathering, a bulletin is put out each day and is usually available at breakfast in the dining hall(s). Look in those pages for any announcement about a meet-up or discussion about Convergent Friends.

2. A handout that lists all interest groups. Usually, the list of interest groups and their respective locations are printed on a separate handout that Friends receive when they arrive and sign in on campus. Just remember: You might need to look under "W" if the list is alphabetized by the title of the group ("Where Is the Convergent Conversation Now?"), as opposed to "C" for "Convergent."

3. The message board. The message board is a low-tech but major communication tool at Gathering! It's made up of a series of large bulletin boards, usually set up in some central location, where Friends can post personal messages to each other.

I suppose it's entirely possible that someone could, under the "C" section of the board, put up a piece of paper with large letters that read "Convergent Friends," followed by whatever details are needed to help get folks there (e.g. date, time, location).

I always make the message board a key place to visit at least once a day--and usually more often than that.

Anyway, I hope that Robin and I will see some of you at the Gathering, whether it's during the interest group or elsewhere.

Blessings,http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Liz

*Martin Kelley was part of it in 2006, as was Laura Melly in 2007.

RELATED LINKS:

My posts about reflections on past FGC Gatherings

Jeanne has plans to offer an interest group at Gathering too, on Quakers and social class.