This activity invites a group to explore together what it means to be a Quaker and to be a part of this thing called Quakerism.  Exploring this theme together can build connections between newcomers and Friends in the meeting and can also serve to spark interesting conversations about what exactly lies at the root of our shared faith experience.  

Materials: flipchart paper, 5-8 sticky notes per participant, pens

Plan for this activity to take between 30-45 minutes, depending on the size of the group.

Draw a large Q on a piece of flipchart paper and place it in the center of the group.  Explain that this “Q” stands for the Quaker Way and being a Quaker.

Hand out sticky notes and pens.  Ask people to write on the sticky notes what they associate with Quakerism and being a Quaker – serious and not so serious – and explain that there are no wrong answers.

Invite folks to get up and put their sticky notes around the Q, the closest ones being the things that they more closely associate with being a Quaker and getting further away as they become less clearly linked.

Reflect: Give everyone time to visit the flipchart page in silence and to read all the responses.

Discuss: Return to the large group to ask what they notice.  Participants can ask each other why they wrote certain things or places the notes in certain positions.  Remind folks that there are no wrong answers and this is a time for curiosity, not arguments or judging.

Going deeper: If each individual had to leave just one note, which would it be?  What, for them, is the one thing they most associate with being a Quaker?   

Notice: Different people have different answers.  How do we listen to and honor diversity in our meetings?

Adapted with permission from the Sharing Our Journeys resource developed by Friends in Britain Yearly Meeting.