The following is an excellent article by Eden Grace. It gives a wonderful overview of Quaker business practice and what is at the heart of how we do business.
An Introduction to Quaker Business
Practice
subcommittee meeting of the Special Commission
on
Orthodox Participation in the World Council of Churches
Damascus,
Syria
March 2000
This paper is also published on the WCC web site as:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/who/damascuspost-03-e.html
This paper is intended as an introduction to how Quakers make decisions, and
why we do it that way. The hope is that this perspective might be helpful to the
Special Commission as it asks these questions of the WCC’s own process. In
offering this introduction, I speak, as is the custom among Friends, from my own
experience of the Divine truth as I have received it and without any authority
to speak officially for the Religious Society of Friends. My experience is as an
American Friend, and I offer here a reflection on the practice used by American
and European Friends. Friends all over the world have discovered the ways that
Quaker practice speaks to their condition. I hope that my contribution can be
supplemented in the future by contributions from non-western Quakers, and that a
richer picture might thus emerge which could be of even greater use to the World
Council of Churches.
The first comment to make about Quaker business practice is that it is of
central importance to Friends. It is rooted in our deepest theological
affirmations, and is one of our highest spiritual experiences. To ask a Quaker
to describe the Meeting for Business is to ask for a testimony of the core of
our faith. Therefore I will need to start here with some basic theological
affirmations, and then proceed to draw their implications for decision-making.
The primary theological doctrine and spiritual experience of Friends is that
the living Christ is present to teach us Himself. No priestly intermediary is
necessary for Divine access, for “there is One, Christ Jesus, who can speak to
thy condition.”1
Rooted in such texts as John’s prologue, Quakers believe that the Light of
Christ is given in some measure to all people. This experience of the immediate
presence of Christ, both personally and corporately, implies that we may be led
by the Inward Teacher. Since Christ is not divided, the nearer we come to Him,
the nearer we will be to one another. Thus the sense of being led into Unity
with one another becomes a fundamental mark of the Divine work in the world.
Based on this theology, Friends commit themselves to discovering and
implementing the will of God. This is the purpose of the Quaker Meeting for
Business. “Since our method of transacting business presumes that in a given
matter there is a way that is in harmony with God’s plan, our search is for that
right way, and not simply for a way which is either victory for some faction, or
an expedient compromise.”2 What we call “the Sense of the Meeting” is not
the collected wisdom of those present, but the collective discernment of God’s
will. There is no place for activities such as motions, seconds, amendments and
votes in our process of collective discernment. Our bold affirmation is that God
does indeed have a will for us, that God is actively trying to communicate that
will, and that we are capable, through corporate prayer, to discover that will.
A sign that we have achieved our goal of discerning God’s will is the experience
of Unity which is recognized and affirmed by those gathered.
Quakers profess a theocratic understanding of authority. “The primary
authority is that of God, as the God whose will is sought, as Christ who
presides, and as the Holy Spirit who inspires and empowers. Thus the task of the
meeting is to listen in worship, putting itself under that authority, to discern
the right way forward on any piece of business.”3 All human leadership is subordinated to the
authority of Christ, the true shepherd of any gathering of Christians. All
participants in the Meeting are equally capable of being used by the Holy
Spirit, and those who moderate the Meeting are seen as servants of the gathering
discernment process.
A Quaker Meeting for Business is conducted in the context of worship, and
with the same expectant waiting upon the Spirit as in the Meeting for Worship.
The Business Meeting begins and ends with periods of open worship, and an
atmosphere of reverence and devotion is maintained throughout the Meeting. Each
contribution to the discussion is heard in a spirit of prayer. As the spiritual
momentum grows and the movement of Christ is felt among us, we experience the
Gathered Meeting, in which we are gathered into Unity with Christ and become of
one heart and mind.
Quakers do not practice the outward ritual of Eucharist in our worship, but
seek rather to experience and celebrate the inward spiritual participation in
Christ’s death and resurrection which comes from being raised up together into
Unity in God. “We believe that a corporate practice of the presence of God, a
corporate knowledge of Christ in our midst, a common experience of the work of
the Spirit, constitute the supremely real sacrament of a Holy Communion.”4 In the experience of
Quakers, the Meeting for Business is one of the deepest occasions for this
“eucharistic” event. Thus the spiritual depth of the Meeting is cherished and
upheld throughout. “The right conduct of Business Meetings, even in routine
matters, is important to the spiritual life of all. Care must be taken that the
enduring value of a spiritual community is not sacrificed to the immediate goal
of action.”5
“Consensus” is a word sometimes used to describe a Quaker-like process. Yet
Quakers would insist that this is not the most suitable term. Consensus (or
unanimous consent, or general agreement) are based on the work of human wisdom
and reason, whereas “the Sense of the Meeting” is based on the prompting of the
Spirit. Consensus is commonly understood to require mutual compromise — shaving
away at positions until we find a core which is objectionable to none. The
Quaker approach tries instead to reach toward a higher and greater Truth that
speaks to all concerns in ways that could not have been foreseen. We discover
what God wants for us, as opposed to what we thought we wanted. “Consensus is
the product of an intellectual process. Sense of the Meeting is a commitment of
faith.”6 This
difference is more than semantic. In resisting the word “consensus” we refuse to
allow our Sacrament to become secularized. Preferred terms would be “Unity” or
“Sense of the Meeting”. The latter emphasizes the goal for the Gathered Meeting,
and the former evokes the core theological affirmation of God’s will for
humanity.
I will freely admit that a Quaker Meeting for Business is vulnerable to
abuse. Those who do not enter the process in a right spirit can seriously
jeopardize the Meeting. In order for the Meeting to function, the members must
share a commitment to a spiritual discipline. This discipline is cultivated
rather than regulated, and it takes time to acquire. There is no official list
of rules, although each Yearly Meeting (autonomous Quaker church) has a book of
discipline which gives guidance on the spirit and practice of the Meeting for
Business. Some elements of the discipline are:
- attitude toward God: We enter into the Business Meeting with hearts and minds
prepared to be led by the Holy Spirit. We renew our commitment to Divine
authority and our belief that the living Christ is present this day to teach and
lead us. We submit to Divine will and seek to lay our own strong feelings and
desires before God.
- attitude toward the other members: Our process places a high value on the
strength of the community. A Sense of the Meeting is only achieved when those
participating respect and care for one another. It requires a humble and loving
spirit, imputing purity of motive to all participants and offering our highest
selves in return. We seek to create a safe space for sharing. We pray that we
might listen carefully, respectfully, lovingly. We listen always for the
presence of God through what someone is saying, knowing that each of us is
endowed with some measure of Divine Light. The creation of the blessed community
is both a necessary prerequisite and an inevitable by-product of corporate
discernment. While this is most easily accomplished at the local level, where
members are already known to each other, it has been our experience that, when
we ask the Lord’s help, deep Christian community can form even among strangers.
- attitude toward the process: We value process over product, action or
outcome. We respect each other’s thoughts, feelings and insights more than
expedient action. The process of reaching a decision yields more “results” than
the decisions themselves. Attention to the Divine movement in the community is,
in fact, the source of decision and action, so that process and outcome are
ideally two sides of the same Sacramental experience. Through that experience of
the Unity of the Meeting, we are prepared for faithful discipleship in the
church and world. A decision which is made without that experience is of little
value.
- attitude toward potential outcomes: We know that none of us is likely to
enter the Meeting with a fully-formed understanding of the will of God, and so
we expect that a new way will emerge which is not necessarily identified with
the position of any person or faction. “… a group, meeting in the right
spirit, may be given greater insight than any single person.”7 “A gathered meeting under the
authority of God is often able to find unity in creative ways which were not
considered before the meeting but which become apparent during its course.
Though the process of Quaker business may take some time, at the end it can find
a united meeting able to act swiftly because the action has been widely
agreed.”8
- commitment to the authority of the meeting: All authority rests in God. Once
the Meeting has discerned God’s will as best it can at that moment in time, the
decision of the Meeting is vested with a measure of Divine authority. Decisions
are not “revisited” by staff, clerks or committees. Those who were not present
accept the decision of the Meeting. This is not to say that the Meeting’s
decisions have ultimate authority, since our discernment is never free of human
imperfection. The Meeting itself can always revisit decisions, and new light may
be found.
- role of human leadership: The Meeting is served by a Presiding Clerk, and
often also a Recording Clerk. Friends are appointed for a limited time, and
these roles are widely shared among the membership. The Clerks have no formal
authority of their own and can not speak for the Meeting. Their task is to focus
and enable the discernment of the Meeting by laying business before it in an
orderly way, managing the pace and discipline of the discussion, listening for
the Sense of the Meeting to emerge, restating that Sense in clear language and
asking for approval, and recording the business in written minutes. The Clerks
develop the agenda and discern whether an issue is ripe for consideration by the
Meeting or needs further seasoning by a committee. The Clerks are responsible
for judging the “weight” of each comment by discerning the movement of the
Spirit in the Meeting, rather than developing a tally of opinions pro and con.
The Clerks are servants of the Meeting and not participants in the discussion.
On rare occasion, when a Clerk finds that he or she must speak to an item of
business, a replacement Clerk must be found until that item is concluded. Thus
we avoid the temptation to assign any authority to human figures which would
obscure our utter dependence on the authority of God.
- role of written minutes: The Clerk makes sure the Meeting understands what is
being approved by stating it in clear language which is written down, read back,
discussed and approved by the Meeting at the time the decision is made. The
minutes, once approved, become authoritative. They are kept and referred to
indefinitely. Thus minutes and minute-taking are crucial to the process, and are
seen as a weighty spiritual practice rather than clerical function.
- preparing an item of business: Generally, the Business Meeting benefits from
having items seasoned beforehand by a committee. The committee usually brings
the item with a recommendation, but even if it does not, it should have done
some work on preparing the item and anticipating various questions and concerns.
- personal conduct: We usually only speak once to each item. We only speak when
recognized by the Clerk. We don’t plan messages ahead of time, but listen
instead to the movement of the Spirit and pray for guidance as to whether we are
being led to speak. We fully expect that our message may not be needed, as God
may have empowered another individual to offer the same insight. We do not offer
redundant messages, since the Sense of the Meeting is not discerned by a tally
of opinions. We pray continuously for the Meeting and its Clerks. Friends often
find the Meeting for Business to be a purgative, humbling and awe-inspiring
experience as we let go of our own self and personal agenda. Although the
Meeting is a solemn event, humor is sometimes appropriate and helpful. We
refrain from comments which suggest argument, debate or an attempt to convince,
and rather give testimony to our experience of the leading of the Spirit in this
matter. We listen thoughtfully and respectfully, observing a pause between
messages for deeper listening. Each person present has a responsibility to
participate and not hold back if they are led to speak. Every member of the
church has the responsibility to attend the Business Meeting to the extent they
are able.
- on dissent: “If an individual differs from what appears to be the general
sense of the Meeting, it may be taken as a sign that the Divine will has not
quite been grasped.”9
The Meeting should be especially sensitive to sincere expressions of difference
from the growing Unity. These may indicate that the Meeting has not truly
listened to God’s prompting among us. When a Friend feels he or she must “stand
in the way” of Unity, the Meeting and the Friend will patiently labor together
in hopes of coming to a truer understanding of God’s will. However, individuals
do not hold a power of veto, and should be ready to recognize the validity of
corporate leadings and to submit to them if conscience allows, being recorded in
the minutes as “standing aside”. While we boldly profess a spirituality of
unmediated relationship with the Divine, we are always mindful of how the human
person is, in fact, already a mediating force. Our own past experience, our
fears, our sin, and the influence of our cultural context, can all obscure our
discernment of God’s will. The presence of dissent and discord in the Meeting is
therefore always an occasion for prayer, repentance and conversion by the whole
Meeting.
- on time: Quaker decision making takes time. We can not allow ourselves to be
hurried. A sense of urgency or pressure can quickly erode a process of deep
seeking. We don’t impose a deadline for making any decision. If Unity is not
reached in one Meeting, the matter is laid over.
- on not finding the sense of the meeting: We take no action until there is
Unity on taking action. Thus the Quaker process is essentially a conservative
process in that respect. Things stay the same until we are in Unity on changing
them.
Friends would not claim to have perfected this process, or that we always
practice it with complete faithfulness. What I’ve described in this paper is
Quaker process in its ideal form. Most Friends are painfully aware of how our
humans falls short of the spiritual ideal, and of how fragile our process can
seem. Corporate discernment of the will of God is a risky and imperfect
proposition. In relying so extensively on the Holy Spirit, we make ourselves
vulnerable to pitfalls and failures. However, far from being a weakness, such
vulnerability is central to our understanding of the power of worship (and
business) “in spirit and in truth.” To fall into the hands of the living God
requires leaping, laying ourselves open to risk. Our commitment to this process,
and our assurance of its outcomes, can only be proven in the eschaton, but still
we give testimony to the truth we have been given, and are able to say that we
have tested this method and found it that it does indeed bring us into Unity
with the will of God.
More could certainly be said about how Quakers make decisions, and I hope
others will supplement this paper with their own contributions. It is exciting
to Friends that the World Council of Churches is looking at models of decision
making in hopes of developing one which is less conflict-based and more
spiritually grounded. Quakers believe that we hold our process in trust for the
whole Church, and now may be a time to share it. I hope that my contribution
here has been faithful to the gift I have been given, and that it will prove
helpful to the Special Commission as it continues to discern God’s will for the
future of the World Council of Churches.
Sources
- Brinton, Howard., Guide to Quaker Practice, Pendle Hill Pamphlet 20,
Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 1955.
- Faith and Practice of New England Yearly Meeting of Friends [NEYM F&P],
Worcester MA: New England Yearly Meeting, 1985.
- Morley, Barry, Beyond Consensus: Salvaging Sense of the Meeting, Pendle Hill
Pamphlet 307, Wallingford PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 1993.
- Nuhn, Ferner, Friends and the Ecumenical Movement. Philadelphia PA: Friends
General Conference, 1970.
- Sheeran SJ, Michael J., Beyond Majority Rule: Voteless Decisions in the
Religious Society of Friends, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1983.
- Scott, Janet, “Worship in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)”,
manuscript submitted as a study document for the Faith & Order Commission of
the WCC, 1998.
- Scott, Janet “Business Meetings”, manuscript submitted for inclusion in the
forthcoming Dictionary of the Religious Society of Friends, 1999.
Notes
1 George Fox, founder of the Religious
Society of Friends in the 1650’s.
2
Thomas Brown, Faith and Practice of New England Yearly Meeting of Friends
(hereafter NEYM F&P), p. 117.
3
Janet Scott, “Business Meetings” manuscript.
4 From a Quaker position paper written and offered by the
three Quaker delegates to the Lausanne Conference on Faith and Order in 1927.
This paper, which tried to explain the Quaker position on sacraments and the
non-use of outward elements, became the center of a heated debate on whether
Quakers could be considered Christian, and more broadly on the matter of
religious liberty. The question was finally determined by Bishop Charles Gore of
the Church of England with his statement “God is not limited by His sacraments.”
see Ferner Nuhn, Friends and the Ecumenical Movement Philadelphia PA: Friends
General Conference, 1970, p. 19-22.
5
NEYM F&P p. 222.
6 Barry Morley PHP
p. 5.
7 George Selleck NEYM F&P p.
116.
8 Janet Scott, “Business Meetings”
manuscript.
9 George Selleck NEYM
F&P p. 116.
