The below call to action was written by participants in the Letting our Light Shine: Governance & Friends workshop at the 2024 Gathering in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

The world is facing problems of scale & significance never before seen. We believe that the goal of Beloved Community is POSSIBLE and that Quakers and our organizations have a role to play in bringing it about.

The thriving of our organizations and the Religious Society of Friends are deeply intertwined and require immediate and coordinated action by individuals, meetings and those in governance of Quaker organizations.

Who are we? A group of 20 Quakers who spent 15 hours over 5 days in worship and discussion to try make progress towards that world that we seek. We are involved in many levels of governance and leadership of Quaker organizations, including meetings, committees, schools, retirement communities, peace & justice organizations, foundations, and financial infrastructure.

What will it look like when Quakers are fully contributing to the realization of the Beloved Community?

We will have:

• Diverse, effective, well-resourced Quaker organizations that are thriving and that are modeling and co-creating Quaker-ness
• Robust membership of the meetings and organizations of the Religious Society, in terms of size, diversity, and skills
• “Cast off the bushel” and allow our Light to shine brightly
• Worship and the confidence to take action in the world with enthusiasm and joy
• Influence, both direct & indirect, in the world that is widely felt and understood

Why are we “Sounding the Alarm?”

Immediate action is required to address the fact of declining and aging membership. We have too few people available to do the “work,” and we are burning out too many of those who are. We feel that addressing the inadequate communication of who Quakers are is the most promising path to solve this problem.

What are our recommendations?

• To address the lack of clarity of what a “Quaker organization” is, we recommend a self-reflective process for all Quaker organizations to affirm their identity as Quaker institutions. Friends Council on Education’s (FCE) Membership Renewal Process (MRP) for Quaker schools is a good model that could be adapted. This self-reflective process should uncover how Quakerism permeates the organization. This approach goes beyond a checklist, or counting a percentage of board members who are Quakers. It is inclusive and invitational and should involve people at all levels of the organization from constituents and staff through leadership and board.
• Quakerism needs marketing help. Given the limited financial resources of our disparate organizations and meetings, it would be most effective if FGC as an umbrella organization undertook a project to identify and engage a professional marketing firm. Deliverables from this engagement should include materials, language, concepts, and processes that Quaker constituencies could use to communicate effectively about who Quakers are. We recognize that much good work has been done on these issues by many people. We hope that this new project would build on that work, learn from it and contribute to reversing the negative membership trend.

We see that the present moment is challenging all religious denominations to adapt or disappear. These recommendations will require Quakers, individually and in our meetings and organizations, to support this effort.

Submitted by:

Full time participants Marvin Barnes Matt Bradley Burgess Eckman Gabriel Ehri Wally Evans Megan Fair Scott Hoskins Meg Lytton Wendy Michener Chiyo Moriuchi Frank Perch Byron Sandford Selden Smith Victor Thuronyi

Part time participants Ethan Birchard Mimi Blackwell Edward Jennings Martin Kelley Dela Muhlenberg Salvador Orellana Neil Vance