Nontheist Friends and Courageous Discernment

Workshop # 26
Robin Alpern and David Boulton

Committed nontheist Friends are invited to explore the nature and process of discernment. How do we recognize, interpret and respond to leadings, calls, clearness, and sense of the meeting, outside a traditional theistic framework? How do our processes of decision-making enable us to live faithful, adventurous lives?

Percentage of time:
Worship/worship-sharing 20; Lecture 10; Discussion 60; Experiential 10

Open to all

Faithful discernment rests on our clear grounding in life principles and purpose. Traditional theism leads us to interpret discernment as seeking the will of God (both individually and collectively), answering the promptings of the Spirit, praying for guidance, submission to a source of absolute knowledge and wisdom, and so on. But for those compelled in integrity to set theism aside, what does this language mean? What source does guide our actions? What IS "discernment" in a nontheist context? How DO we "discern" when it's all down to us? Is there still for us a religious sense of discernment, a religious way of making decisions?  Is it different from everyday decision-making in our secular lives? 

The intention of this workshop is to deepen our clarity about the source of our actions and decisions, and to ground our lives more firmly in faithful discernment.  Participants can expect to find a greater sense of unity of purpose and principle with the Religious Society of Friends and our individual Monthly Meetings, as we examine how we, as nontheists, can interpret and live the faith and practice of Friends.

Some of the specifics to be addressed are traditional Quaker concepts such as opening, leading, clearness, sense of the meeting, gospel order, and of course, the will of God.  There will be opportunities to explore our personal style of discernment, to learn where we may be holding back from following life’s promptings courageously, where our strengths lie, how we may benefit more from corporate discernment, and ways we may be able to contribute our skills in discernment more widely.

Our format will vary each day.  There will be ample time for worship and worship sharing, as well as discussion.  The leaders will be prepared to present material to help us focus, but the majority of the workshop content will be provided by participants themselves, sharing experiences and listening creatively.  We may form one-time clearness committees at one session to experiment with corporate discernment.  Each person will be asked to bring a specific pending decision from their lives, to use for “lab practice” during the week.