Posted: October 3, 2024   •   Posted in: Community

Valuing our wider Quaker community

Norfolk & Waveney Quaker Area Meetings

These happen five times a year in different Quaker Meeting Houses across our area. Every time I ask myself if I can really be bothered to go all that way, to X or Y for a ‘Business Meeting’ (or a Meeting for Worship for Church Affairs in Quaker parlance).

And every time I come home feeling enriched.

This year the September meeting was held at the North Walsham Meeting House.  As I sat in the lovely old building looking round at everyone else, it struck me that I have grown old with these people, and how greatly I value them, and how much in different ways they have enhanced my life.  Over the years I’ve served on committees with many, shared meals and activities, and of course taken part in Worship with them.

‘I hope so’

After we had dealt with the Church Affairs there were discussions. One topic was ‘Why do Quakers say ‘ I hope so’ when asked to agree a Minute?’

To explain this, you need to know that at Quaker Business Meetings, the Clerk writes the Minute after each agenda item is concluded i.e. minutes of the Meeting are taken contemporaneously. A minute is offered to the meeting by the Clerk and if necessary it may then be modified. When there are no further amendments to be made the Meeting is asked once again ‘Is the minute is acceptable’? If so, the answer is ‘ I hope so’.

Why?

In our discussion we concluded that as there is very little certainty in Quaker thinking, we can but hope that our discernment on the agenda item was spirit-led (however you choose to define ‘ spirit’).  Hence, ‘I hope so’ rather than, for example, ‘I agree’. This seems to me a good response to the question and is a tradition to be embraced.  The idea left me pondering as always but thinking it’s a valuable Quaker insight into how we conduct our Meetings for Worship for Church Affairs.

It’s always worth the journey.

Caroline P (Beccles Quaker Meeting)