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Highlights from QREC’s 2021-2022 Work and Ministry

The Quaker Religious Education Collaborative, across regions and cultures, stepped up in robust, faithful ways to listen, discern, and serve some of the emerging needs of our community of practice during this second year of the pandemic. We drew on our creativity and craft of teaching in this time of reset and recalibration of our ministry. The Covid 19 pandemic, in many cases, imperiled the very existence of the religious education programs in Friends meetings and churches. Many families drifted away from their Quaker communities, while experienced teachers rotated out of service, new teachers needed to be called and trained, and previous styles of content and programming lost their appeal. The myriad challenges cascaded and compounded each other.

The interaction among the challenges may also be a key to a new beginning. We can see how a new way forward, might address multiple needs. Fruitful approaches that can attract families and enliven faith in this new time include intergenerational programming, experiential learning, faith formation extending into the home, and a heightened awareness that Quakerism is useful in guiding all aspects of our life. If there is one overarching theme it might be “re-integration” and yearning for wholeness.

QREC has responded to these needs and shifts by:

  • building our collective capacity to do the work,
  • regathering and strengthening our communities of practice, and
  • actively exploring new ways to speak more fully to Friends’ conditions.

We used the tools at hand like our Conversation Circles and Valiant Together Facebook Page, financial reserves in the form of grant monies, living connections with Friends around the world, and our ability to create new resources to respond to emerging needs.

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Highlights Report

What’s New?

An Introduction

The Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) is an international, cross-branch, grassroots network of Friends sharing a stewardship for lifelong Quaker faith formation through religious education. We formed in April 2014 and now serve more than 300 Friends in our network. We actively engage and support each other across languages and continents. We gather for regional and annual conferences and offer monthly Conversation Circles via an online conferencing platform. 

Find Out More about QREC

Steering Circle

We share leadership as part of our collaborative mission, making decisions using the Quaker ‘sense of the meeting’ process, sitting in expectant, worshipful waiting for the emergence of shared truth. Read more…

Working Circles

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Our work  takes place in ‘circles’ or small groups of Friends who labor on a common task, usually meeting by video conference due to the geographic diversity of the membership. Read more…

The Resource Library

Finders Guide, a sampling of the collection

The QREC Resource Library is a place to share lessons and other educational information in support of our work as Quaker religious educators. This library is a forum for curricula, articles, videos and other educational materials on Quaker themes. You will also find principles, policies and procedures to strengthen operation of your child, youth and adult religious education programs.

Resource Library General Search

Children's Education

Adult Education

Family

African Quaker Library

Youth Education

Small Meetings

Young Adult Friends

Biblioteca QREC

Events

Find renewal, companionship, and help for nitty gritty issues in Quaker religious education, all the while opening spaces for Spirit to work and listening together for God’s way forward.

QREC holds an annual conference and retreat. In addition we hold online Conversation Circles and post other religious education events as we learn about them.

Attend QREC Conferences and Retreats

Conversation Circles

Online conferences for Quaker religious educators to share about their work. Conversations are scheduled for two sessions per topic to encourage international participation.  Join the conversation…

Other Events

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Religious education events of interest to Quakers from all parts of the world. Please let us know about upcoming online or in-person events happening in your area. See the list of upcoming events…

Love at the Heart

Spiritual Practices

Discernment

Active Caring

Quaker Family Culture

Finding the Light

Faith at Home

Home is the heart of faith formation for all families. This is especially true for Friends. As an experiential religion, Quakerism is best learned through living in loving community. Indeed, the vast majority of faith formation for our young Friends happens at home in the busy swirl of daily life.

Learn More about Faith at Home

Become a Member

Submit Resources

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Donate

Attend an Event

Contact Us

Get Involved

QREC depends on all of us sharing our gifts and skills as religious educators. Here are some of the ways you can get involved…

Get involved with QREC