FAQs
Quaker Quest—what is it?
Quaker Quest is a dynamic new form of inreach for a meeting and outreach to seekers that encourages Friends to clarify and speak of their faith experience. It strongly affirms that Friends have a spiritual path for today that is simple, radical, and contemporary.
It is for a healthy meeting that wants to deepen its own spiritual life, wants to do outreach, and wants to welcome new life into the meeting.
How is this outreach done?
Quaker Quest is a series of weekly public meetings on Quaker topics, which are presented on consecutive weeks in repeated cycles. The meeting decides how many sessions to offer in a cycle, usually between three and six, and chooses its own topics. The cycle is repeated at least once. Popular topics have included, Quakers and Worship, Quakers and Peace, and Quaker Faith in Action.
What does the whole Quaker Quest Process look like?
The process starts with the meeting dicussing having a Full-Day Workshop and continues through the following Half-Day Prep Session. The follow-up may be to move forward on to public session or to follow-up in other ways. Quaker Quest is more than the publc sessions: it is an experience that the whole meeting shares over many months."Bringing Quaker Quest Public session to Your Meeting and to Your Community" provides and in-depth look at the whole process.
The Steps to the Quaker Quest Process. 
What should I expect from a Full-Day Workshop?
The Full-Day Workshop is led by two co-leaders from Friends General Conference. The program consists of fifteen fast paced exercises.
Intended Goals for the Full-Day Workshop:
- Build Community
- Help people know each other more deeply
- Consider what it is like to be a newcomer and share way to inegrate newcomers into the fabric of the community
- Share what Quaker Quest is all about
- Share what is involved in holding Public Sessions
What happens in a Quaker Quest Public Session?
Each session offers a varied program of brief presentations by three Quakers who speak from the heart on the evening’s topic, a time of listening to seekers in small groups, a question and answer period, a 30-minute meeting for worship, and hospitality.
Why repeat the cycle of Public Sessions?
Like everyone else, seekers have busy schedules. By repeating the cycle Friends give seekers the opportunity to attend sessions they missed during the first cycle. This has been an important part of Quaker Quest’s success. Another reason why repetition is important is that experience has shown that the Friends offering Quaker Quest improve each time they do it.
Could we rotate the sessions around our quarter to help all the meetings?
While this is a thoughtful idea, it has been found that it usually does not work well. If the site changes from week to week, attendance will fall off markedly. This is something that Friends presenting Quaker Quest have learned by experience. Speaking of quarters and nearby meetings, though, if your meeting doesn’t have the human resources by itself, your neighbors might help you put on a Quaker Quest. And next year you might help them!
How did Quaker Quest begin?
In 2002, a group of about twelve Friends in London were troubled that although Quakers have a powerful, transformative faith to offer seekers, very few people have ever heard of us. They cultivated the process over more than five years.
In 2007, the Quakers from Hampstead Meeting in London asked FGC to shepherd Quaker Quest. Since then it has reached over 50 meetings in the United States and Canada.
What sorts of meetings have held Quaker Quests?
Quaker Quests have been presented by meetings all over England, in small villages to large cities. During the fall of 2007 more than 30 meetings in England offered Quaker Quests.
Today, in the U.S. and Canada, more than 50 meetings of all sizes and locations have engaged in Quaker Quest.
How do I get Quaker Quest started in my meeting?
Building interest and knowledge in the meeting is a good first step. You could begin by circulating a copy of “What is Quaker Quest?” to others in your meeting. Then perhaps you could organize an informal discussion group around the topic. As interest develops, you will want to bring the issue to your meeting for business. Quaker Quest is a project that involves the entire meeting. First, gather information about Quaker Quest. Then work with a small group in the meetin to bring a request to business meeting. Finally, request a Full-Day Workshop from FGC.
What is the cost?
There is no charge for the workshop. We ask that meetings reimburse the transportation costs of the two workshop leaders.
If this is a hardship, then the meeting should contact the Elaine Crauderueff (elainec@fgcquaker.org) who will try to ensure that finances are not an obstacle to holding a Quaker Quest workshop in your meeting.
For more information, go to Learn More About Quaker Quest or to "Bringing Quaker Quest Public Sessions to Your Meeting and to Your Community."
My meeting just decided that we would like to offer a Public Session next month. Is there a speedy way to get it started?
Quaker Quest is a development process and it takes time, begining with the Full-Day Workshop. That way, everyone in the meeting will know what Quaker Quest is all about and what is involved if the meeting moves ahead and holds public sessions. After the workshop the meeting decides whether to move ahead with the program. If so, a proposal is brought to business meeting.
If the meeting approves moving ahead, then plans are made for the public sessions; we ask that a meeting take at least six months after this approval before holding public sessions. During this time, the meeting can be deliberate about creating ways to welcome newcomers and incorporate them into the meeting. A Half-Day Preperation Session is organized approximatly six weeks before public sessions begin.
Also, this allows time to plan the public sessons without feeling pressured or rushed. The preparation time you allow and the care you take will contribute greatly to the success of your Quaker Quest program.
How can I learn more about Quaker Quest?
You could begin by looking at other documents, including “What is Quaker Quest?”, “Core Principles,” and “Bringing Quaker Quest Public Sessions to Your Meeting and to Your Community” at www.fgcquaker.org/quakerquest. You could also explore the excellent web site set up by the British Friends who founded Quaker Quest, www.quakerquest.org.
My meeting is interested in Quaker Quest. What is the next step?
The next step is to ask your meeting to invite an experienced trainer to give a Quaker Quest Full-Day Workshop. The Full-Day Workshop will help Friends 1) consider the needs of seekers today; 2) learn about the Core Principles that make a Quaker Quest; 3) practice responding to questions typically asked by seekers; and 4) begin thinking about the logistics of offering a Quaker Quest in your area should the meeting decide to go forward. Any Quaker Quest program needs to begin with this meeting-focused Full-Day Workshop held under the care of a trained Quaker Quest Facilitator.
To arrange such support and a Quaker Quest workshop for your meeting, contact the FGC Advancement & Outreach Coordinator at quakerquest@fgcquaker.org, by phone at 215-561-1700, or online at Take the Next Step! After the Full-Day Workshop your meeting will be in a good position to discern whether to move forward with Quaker Quest.
For more information, go to Learn More About Quaker Quest or to "Bringing Quaker Quest Public Sessions to Your Meeting and to Your Community."
