John Harris writes

Starting on Sunday 18 April, and offering eight sessions over nine weeks, there is an opportunity to join in “Bitesize” sessions about Simpler Meetings.

“How can we release the joy of being a Quaker by making our organisation simpler? How can being a Quaker role holder be less of a burden? What are we learning about simplicity through the pandemic?”

In half-hour lunchtime slots, Jonathan Carmichael will share insights from the Simpler Meetings project of Britain Yearly Meeting. These are free opportunities, and offer a ten-minute talk followed by twenty minutes for responses and questions–alongside your lunch if you wish!

I’ve been attending the fuller series of events offered through Woodbrooke, and have done four of the eight topics so far. The first session on the Fundamentals of Quaker insight and practice was fascinating, and I found shared experience from Friends across Britain and some from Australia, Canada, and the United States. These fundamentals have led us on into discussion (so far) of the questions we encounter when seeking to fill roles, the dilemmas faced by smaller meetings, and pros and cons experienced by those Meetings (like ours) who don’t have their own meeting house.

I recommend these topics as a stimulating way to reflect on Quaker experience and practice today, including the opportunities for focusing on what matters most.

More details and registration options are available here.

As part of the Simpler Meetings series Jonathan Carmichael explains a simpler approach to property management. Bath Quakers sold the former Friends Meeting House in Bath earlier this year.