Steps for Bringing Quaker Quest to Your Meeting and Your Community

The basic steps that you and your meeting will need to take in order to offer Quaker Quest

Learn about Quaker Quest

• Read about Quaker Quest in this site.
• Explore www.quakerquest.org, the British site, for more information.

Keep People in Your Meeting Informed and Included

• Share the information with others in your meeting who are interested in outreach. Bring Quaker Quest to an appropriate committee, such as Outreach. Put an article in the meeting newsletter. Keep as many people as possible, including the clerk, informed and included
• Once there is interest in learning more, bring Quaker Quest to meeting for business. When the business meeting is ready, recommend that the meeting hold a day-long Quaker Quest workshop. These are usually led by two members of a Traveling Team from Friends General Conference (FGC).

Hold a Quaker Quest Workshop for the Meeting

• If the business meeting approves, contact Elaine Crauderueff, FGC's Advancement and Outreach Coordinator, to invite a Traveling Team to your meeting for a workshop. There is no fee for the workshop; however we request travel expenses. (Contact Elaine if this is a hardship.) Email correspondence to: quak...@fgcquaker.org.
• Encourage as many members and attenders as possible to attend. The day-long workshop (usually held on a Saturday), will give your meeting a good idea whether it is called to undertake Quaker Quest at this time. Whether called to do Quaker Quest or not, the meeting will learn much about advancement and have an amazing community-building experience.

Discern Whether to Offer Quaker Quest

• Over the next weeks or months, discern whether to offer a Quaker Quest for the wider community. Is there a Core Group of 6-8 people who will faithfully shepherd the program and attend all of the sessions? How many sessions do you want to offer? What topics would you like to cover? And, most importantly, is your meeting being led by the Spirit in this process?
• If there is a sense that the Spirit is moving among you, and if there is a Core Group, ask business meeting for approval to offer a Quaker Quest for the community.

Prepare and Plan

• Once the meeting approves the proposal to offer Quaker Quest, assume that the planning will take approximately six months between approval and the first Quaker Quest session. Follow the guidelines that Quaker Quest Traveling Team workshop leaders will give your meeting after the workshop.
• Review how ready your meeting is to welcome new attenders. Visit www.fgcquaker.org/ao. Click on "Resources for Meetings-Readings" for ideas and resources for strengthening your meeting's outreach. For example, using "Seeking Racial and Ethnic Diversity" for an adult discussion may help strengthen your meeting's ability to be more welcoming. Note that even if your meeting doesn't pursue Quaker Quest at this time, this website has valuable information!
• Plan and implement the local publicity. In addition, put the dates of your planned sessions on the Quaker Quest website which may draw seekers to your meeting.
• Invite one Quaker Quest Traveling Team member to give a 31/2-hour workshop to train the presenters as well as to work with others who will be involved in Quaker Quest. There are opportunities for hosts, presenters, and hospitality-providers. Hold the training session 1 to 2 months before the first Quaker Quest session.
• Send for basic books and pamphlets to give away and/or offer for sale during the Quaker Quest, www.quakerbooks.org.
• Consider how your meeting will nurture those who may begin to attend after one or more of the Quaker Quest sessions. Make long-term plans for nurturing new attenders and including them in the life of the meeting.

Launch and Follow Up

• Hold a Quaker Quest!
• Repeat the cycle at least once (for example, three consecutive Tuesdays in September immediately followed by three consecutive Tuesdays in October).
• Reflect on what worked well, what might be revised, and how the Spirit was present.
• Consider repeating yearly or every other year.

For further information, including how to arrange for a Quaker Quest workshop with your meeting, contact:

Elaine Crauderueff
Advancement and Outreach Coordinator
Friends General Conference
1216 Arch Street, #2B
Philadelphia, PA 19107
PHONE: 215-561-1700
EMAIL: quak...@fgcquaker.org