Preparing for Post-Pandemic Discernment

In the last thirteen months, we’ve all been through a lot, and our experiences have touched every part of our lives.  Now, many Quaker meetings are discerning what’s next, but it’s hard to find the right questions, much less the right answers.

In this moment—following a pandemic and a period of extraordinary social and political turbulence—how do we find our way forward, especially knowing that none of this is completely over?  How do we take into account the experiences of the last thirteen months—personal, familial, and societal?  How does our new familiarity with Internet-based activities affect our next steps?

In this afternoon gathering, we will not attempt to do the discernment of next steps.  Instead, we’ll talk about the impact of recent events, much of which we’ve only begun to explore, and we’ll develop queries to support next step discernment in our Quaker meetings and committees.

We’ll do most of this work in small, self-selected breakout groups.  Here is a list of topics for which we might form groups:

• Pastoral Care
• Children and Youth
• Meeting for Worship
• Meeting Finances
• Engaging with the Neighborhood
• Meeting Membership
• Caring for Carers
• Climate Justice
• Anti-Racism
• Support for Parents
• Outreach and Welcoming
• Religious Education
• Memorials and Grieving
• Buildings and Grounds
• Celebrating and Socializing