Meeting Needs and Friends General Conference (FGC) Resources

December 11, 2019 | Adult Religious Education, Children's Religious Education, Home and Family, Small Meetings, Young Adult Friends, Youth Education

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Meeting Needs linked with FGC Resources: A Sampling

(Bolded words can be put into a search engine like Google this way — “FGC clearness committees”, or “FGC outreach” for example or into the FGC search window on the website without the “FGC”)

Outreach: How can we attract more visitors? How can we use digital media to reach out? What are newcomers expecting? How can we reach out to other religious congregations?

Integrating Newcomers: How can we welcome new attenders so they will return, including those who are LGBTQ and Friends of Color, and those with young children? How can we make sure we don’t overwhelm new attenders? How do we educate new attenders about Quakerism?

FAQ about Quakerism and explanations: https://www.fgcquaker.org/discover/faqs-about-quakers

Community building: How can we build community between different ages in the meeting? How do we get to know each other more deeply?

Racial Justice/Becoming an anti-racist faith community: How can we make sure we are truly welcoming to all? What might we need to do differently to become more diverse? What training/education do we need? What are Quakers doing to erase white supremacy?

Conflict Resolution: How can we resolve conflict in our meeting? People don’t share their concerns directly with others. Some have hurt feelings and feel judged….

Adult Religious Education: How can we get people to come to adult religious education programs? How can we help the meeting become spiritually enriched? What kinds of programs should we offer?

Children and Youth Religious Education: We need materials for a wide age group in our First Day School. How can we build community in our First Day School?

Vocal Ministry and Worship: How can we encourage deeper worship? How do we help people learn about vocal ministry without making them feel “wrong”?

Clearness Committees: How can we help someone asking for help deciding on a vocation or calling? How are clearness committees created? When is a clearness committee appropriate?

Eldering/Eldership/ Spiritual Accompaniment:

Faithfulness: How can we support people in living their faith?

Aging, Death and Dying: How can we open up the topic of aging and end of life issues? How can we help people with their end of life decisions? How can we help parents with resources on aging, death and dying for children?

Funding sources: Where can I find funding to renovate my meeting house? Are there loans or grants to help us become ADA accessible? Are there travel funds to help Friends of Color?

(For individuals) There is no meeting near me, or I can’t go to worship on Sundays…or I’d like to participate virtually…or my meeting is very tiny…or I’m the only Friend of Color/Adult Young Friend/LGBTQI Person at my meeting.

Compiled by Development Committee, Fall 2019, with the intent to add to and update at least annually. Send suggestions/corrections to lhpiersol@gmail.comIt is not meant to be a complete listing of all resources, but a sampling for a variety of needs that meetings and individuals may have that FGC has resources for.

Author: FGC Development Committee

Illustrator: 

Publisher: Friends General Conference

Age Group: Adults

Preparation Time: 

Related File:  Click to view/download file

Related Link (or File):  Click to go to link

Topics: Adult Education, All-Age Activities, Clearness Committees, Community, Peace, Quaker Process, Quakerism, Racial Justice, Testimonies, Welcoming

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