Tell us what you think will help Quakers thrive in the next five years
In Autumn 2025, we're asking Quakers across Britain to tell us what you think the priorities should be for supporting Quaker communities to thrive in the next five years (2026 to 2030).
Our two big questions are:
- Which topics or areas do you think need most attention now?
- What kind of support would be most useful to help communities thrive?
How you can tell us what you think – the consultation
We are running a series of opportunities to share your views. These are:
- A survey which can be filled in by anyone involved with Quakers in Britain. This will be available online in October 2025. There will also be some other ways of responding to it if online does not work for you.
- “Radical Hearts, Open Minds" days. There will be seven events around the country, and online, from September to November. People can come and think together about the topics, and the kind of support which they think is important and useful. More information will be available soon.
- Focus Group sessions with specific Quaker communities and Quaker Recognised Bodies. Quakers in Britain staff will be in touch directly with those groups to arrange these. If you think your group should be included, please get in touch with supportmeetings@quaker.org.uk.
- DIY consultation events. We will be providing session plans to enable Quaker communities to explore the themes themselves, and feed back to the main consultation. These will be available in September.
Information about each opportunity will be shared through Quake! and other communication channels.
What is this consultation for?
It is time to revise the strategy for supporting Quaker communities.
This consultation will help to develop a strategy for 2026 to 2030, called:
Approaches for the future: Faith, inclusion and growth – the integrated strategy for supporting Quaker communities.
The strategy will be rooted in the vision of Our Faith in the Future. It will link to the strategic priorities of Britain Yearly Meeting trustees and Woodbrooke trustees. Other partners will link in ways that are appropriate for their organisation or group.
Approaches for the future: Faith, inclusion and growth is about the support which is offered to help Quakers make that vision a reality.
Support is available in several ways – see the Support section below.
What sort of things will the strategy cover?
Quaker communities get support to help them thrive from a variety of sources. However, Quakers in Britain – the national organisation – has a role to help Friends have what they need to be thriving communities. The main sections of the strategy are likely to be:
- What difference can we make together in five years? The strategy will include outcomes and impact, with monitoring and evaluation. This will help to show how resources are being used. It will also help to change direction to do the most effective things.
- What should any support focus on for the next five years? Our key areas will be the 6 sections of “Our faith in the future", but what should be our priorities now?
- How should the support be delivered? The key methods – support from development workers; learning delivered by Woodbrooke; resources, networks, events and activities will stay the same. But do you think that support could be more pro-active? Instead of development workers responding to what local communities ask for, would it also be useful to develop some experiments? For instance, in worship, community and outreach, to explore what might work well, and then share learning.
- Who will offer the support? At present, Quakers in Britain and Woodbrooke. The intention is that “Approaches to the future – Faith, inclusion and growth" will include other partners, such as Quaker Recognised Bodies. Working towards the same outcomes, hopefully we can make a noticeable difference together.
Why do we need a strategy?
Does “strategy" sound a bit boring? Do you think people spend ages writing a strategy, then it never gets looked at until it's time to review it?
Quakers in Britain and Woodbrooke have found having a strategy useful. It helps us to prioritise which work is important. It makes sure that our work covers all necessary areas, or topics. It has helped us to work together more closely. This has made the work of each organisation more effective.
We are excited to review it. We know that we need to point our limited resources in the places where they can be most useful. We want to work closely with Quaker communities to provide the most effective support.
What will happen next?
The consultation activities will happen in the Autumn, mainly from September to November.
The information gathered in the consultation will be analysed during December, and the first draft of the new strategy will be prepared.
The strategy will be tested and agreed early in 2026 with Quaker Life Central Committee, Woodbrooke and other stakeholders.
Jargon busting
If you don't quite know what is meant by some of the words and phrases we are using, this might help!
Quaker communities – any group of Quakers who get together to do things connected to being Quaker. This includes our usual local meetings, area meetings, and regional groups. It can also include less formal groups, such as online worshipping communities, young adult groups and Quaker Recognised Bodies. It also includes Quaker communities which are short term, or don't happen often, such as different Quaker camps, young people's events, activist and protest groups. In terms of support, these groups would usually need to include worship, community building, and some sort of Quaker way of organising to receive support from Quaker Life and other partners.
Our faith in the future is a word picture of the kind of communities we want to be – now, and in the future. It helps all of us to think what are the key aspects of being Quakers, in our communities, and in our lives. It was developed and agreed by Meeting for Sufferings in 2015.
Integrated Strategy – Quaker Life and Woodbrooke Learning & Research agreed a shared strategy in 2019. The involvement of both groups is the "integrated" bit. The hope is that the new strategy, Approaches for the Future, will include more partners, such as other departments in Britain Yearly Meeting, and Quaker Recognised Bodies whose activities help Quaker communities to thrive.
Quakers in Britain is the name for the whole Quaker church in Britain. It can also describe the centrally managed work which is done on behalf of the church by staff and central committees and governance bodies. It is the registered working name of the charity in Britain. Sometimes the term "Britain Yearly Meeting" (BYM) is used to describe the same thing – although this can also refer to the annual event where Quakers come together to worship, celebrate and discern.
Quaker Life – Quaker Life is the team in the centrally managed work of Quakers in Britain with the main responsibility for supporting Quaker communities to thrive. There are 34 paid staff in this team, mainly Development Workers. These staff are based across Britain, working with Quaker communities on all the things they need to do to function well and legally. Rachel Matthews, Approaches and Evaluation Manager in Quaker Life, is the project lead for the development of "Approaches for the Future - Faith, inclusion and growth". Rachel is organising and running the consultation.
Quaker Life Central Committee – The work of Quaker Life is discerned and supported by Quaker Life Central Committee (QLCC), which is a group of nominated Friends from across Britain. QLCC are responsible for discerning the adoption of a strategy for the work of the Quaker Life department.
Woodbrooke Learning and Research – Woodbrooke provides learning and research across the world for all things Quaker. In Britain, they work closely with Quaker Life to provide learning for role-holders in Quaker communities, as well as opportunities for everyone to deepen their faith, understanding and experience in Quakers.
Support for your Quaker Community – what is currently available?
Development workers are available across Britain to all Quaker communities. They can work on all aspects of Our faith in the future, helping communities to grow and change. They are part of Quaker Life, part of the centrally managed work of Quakers in Britain. They are paid staff.
The Faith in Action Team supports Quakers and Quaker communities in grassroots witness and activism. The Faith in Action team are part of Quaker Peace and Social Witness (QPSW). QPSW is a department within the centrally managed work of Quakers in Britain. QPSW supports Quakers to take action and works on their behalf to build sustained peace and social justice.
Other central support is available through other departments at Quakers in Britain, including Communications and Fundraising, the Library and Archives, and the Governance team.
Learning opportunities are provided by Woodbrooke Learning and Research. These are available online, and in person. Woodbrooke put on learning events and activities. Your own Quaker community can also arrange for them to work directly with you.
Role holder networks are available for most of the key roles which are needed to keep a Quaker community running. These networks include online sessions, in person events, and e-mail groups. There are national networks. Some development workers also run regional networks.
Resources are available for Quaker communities. Quakers in Britain provide a range of leaflets, handbooks, advice sheets, session plans, books and publications to support Quaker communities. Other organisations also provide helpful resources.
Events and activities can be organised to help Quaker communities to thrive
Quaker Recognised Bodies are groups of Quakers with a shared interest in a particular topic or concern. They offer a range of different opportunities, including worship, fellowship, faith in action, spiritual nurture, outreach and community connection.