Winter 2019 - Getting involved

Ask a Quaker a question

Quaker Life's outreach team would like to gather a small pool of Friends who could answer questions that come into our outreach email inbox.

The task would involve receiving two or three emails per month and offering a response that can then be sent back to the enquirer. There would be no direct contact with any of the people asking the questions. You would need to be able to respond within two days of received a question.

If you are interested in this piece of service please can you get in touch with Stela Brinzeanu, stelab@quaker.org.uk, by the end of 2019. When contacting Stela please give some brief background to your Quaker experience and whether there are any particular aspects of Quaker living that you would be willing to reply to.

We will be looking at the responses in early 2020 and will get back in touch once we have done this.

Journeys in the Spirit writers

Journeys in the Spirit is a resource that provides ideas and approaches to use with children in a Quaker setting. Each year a group of Friends gather to plan the next series (November 2020 onwards) of the children’s work edition.

If you have experience in creating sessions for children and are interested in offering your talents you are invited to contact: Mel Cook, Children’s Work Officer (020 7663 1014, melaniec@quaker.org.uk). Please give a brief outline of your writing experience and the children’s work you do. Mel would also be happy to hear about topics or themes that you think would be good to include in the new series.

The next gathering is taking place on 25-26 January 2020 (starting and finishing in the afternoon) at Friends House, London. Accommodation will be provided and travel expenses are paid. Please respond to Mel by 31 December.

Volunteers for yearly meeting events with
children and young people in 2020

Reasons to join a Children and Young People's event volunteer team:

• to have great fun
• to be part of a purposeful Quaker community
• to learn new skills
• to contribute to Quakers in Britain
• to make a difference to the lives of young Quakers.

Could you do this? If so you will need to look at:

• a summary of the events planned
• a role outline for each event
• the online offer of service form

For further details about any event please contact the staff member as stated. To be sent paper copies of the documents contact: Aleks, cypadmin@quaker.org.uk, 020 7663 1013.

We will be putting teams together with a blend of experience and skills in early 2020. We can't necessarily take up all offers of service.

Everyone who is invited to join a team needs to know:

• telephone or Skype conversations will take place with new volunteers (and those returning having not volunteered for a while)
• invites to join event volunteer teams will be sent before the end of January 2020 (please keep dates you have offered free until then)

Many of the opportunities for service in 2020 are part of the Yearly Meeting Gathering (YMG). This all age Quaker event happens every three years and the programmes for 0-17 year olds are an important part of this. In 2017 there were over 200 children and young people present, for many of them this is their Quaker community.

If you know anyone else who might be interested in these opportunities, please pass the information on to them or be in touch to ask for details to be sent to them.