Quaker Life Network

What is the Network?

The Quaker Life Network is a continuing initiative from Quaker Life, bringing together Friends willing to help strengthen and sustain Friends and Meetings across the Yearly Meeting. Members of the Network nourish the Quaker community by exchanging ideas and good practice, providing support for each other and helping Quaker Life’s work of supporting Friends and Meetings around Britain.

Quaker Life Network news!

Quaker Life Network news was published in August 2011. It is going to be an occasional publication to give all Friends a flavour of what the Network does and how it works. This newsletter has tried to reflect the variety of work that the Quaker Life Network has been able to get involved with. A hard copy has been sent to each Local Meeting.

To view a copy online please visit, Quaker Life Network News.pdf[3.56MB].

What is asked of members?

Members might:

• Speak at an event
• Facilitate groups of Friends as they explore their concerns
• Help to Meetings in difficulty
• Evaluate areas of Quaker Life's work
• Promote and support Outreach activity
• Support work with Children and Young People
• Facilitate ‘Explorations’
• Proofread proposed publications 

None of us are capable (or interested!) in all of these activities, but network members as a group have a range of skills, talents and enthusiasm, that enables us to nurture local meetings and Friends.

Can I join the Network?

Yes!  The Quaker Life Network is open to all who wish to share ideas, good practice and experience. We need Friends with enthusiasm, skills and experience; but also Friends who are willing to receive training to undertake particular roles, undergo review when appropriate and who feel able to say “no” when the time is not right. There is no minimum time requirement.

We recognise that some Friends may have weekdays and weekends they are able to commit to Quaker work, whilst others can offer the occasional evening or are unable to travel. We also know that levels of commitment will change depending on what else is going on in life. The Network is flexible; there is no set level of engagement and we welcome people with all levels of availability.

Joining the Network does not necessarily mean that you will be asked to contribute to any particular Quaker Life work. This depends on the needs of Meetings, workload of the Network and your availability and skills offered.

Network members are likely to grow through their service, as indeed Friends do through every role they undertake.

Quaker Life is very interested to hear from Friends who have an interest in one or more of the following:

• Children and young people
• Diversity and inclusion
• Employment issues
• Outreach
• Pastoral care

We anticipate that some of our volunteers will already have been involved in national level work, but hope that others may also come forward. The important qualities needed in network members are:

• Good spiritual grounding
• Flexibility to undertake time-limited or ongoing projects
• Communication skills
• Ability to work with a wide range of people 

What support will I get?

Training and support will be offered in a variety of ways.
All Friends who undertake particular roles will be supported by other members of the Quaker Life Network and Quaker Life Staff.

An online forum (offsite link) has been created, and all members of the Quaker Life Network are encouraged to be part of it.  You can now find us on facebook (offsite link).

All Network members receive newsletters and emails letting them know of some of the projects that the Network has undertaken, and providing information about forthcoming opportunities for service.
Many tasks will be carried out in pairs working together, particularly tasks such as delivering training to meetings.  Some issues, particularly around pastoral care and employment, are highly sensitive and confidential.

For people recruited to help develop children and young people’s work in Meetings, there will be additional selection, induction and training, including criminal records checks.

To find out more please fill in the expression of interest form.

Network member quotes

Barbara Cairns working on the Junior Yearly Meeting review 2011: I found this exercise very inspiring - there was so much enthusiasm shown in the forms, which were mostly completed very fully with very interesting and thoughtful comments. It was clearly a most successful event.

Contact Quaker Life Network

Oliver Waterhouse (Quaker Life Network Development Officer)
Friends House
173 - 177 Euston Road
London NW1 2BJ

Phone: 020 7663 1007
Email: qlnetwork@quaker.org.uk