Written Ministry from Rising Generations

Workshop Number

Leader(s)

Harriet

Hart

Angelina

Conti

Audience

Who may register:

Open to All (adult & high school)

Time breakdown

Experiential Activities:

40%

Lecture:

Discussion:

23%

Description

Short Description:

Friends have used writing as ministry for centuries. Join us as we use worship, intergenerational dialogue, and writing prompts designed for the Quaker Youth Book Project (Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices) to share authentically about our spiritual lives and get to the heart of youth and intergenerational concerns among Friends.

Long Description:

Spirit Rising is an anthology of writing and visual art by teenage and young adult Friends from around the world and across the theological spectrum of Friends. It is the product of the Quaker Youth Book Project of Quakers Uniting in Publications (QUIP) and will be published by QuakerPress of FGC in May 2010. The pieces included speak to the lives, faith, and experiences of contemporary young Friends, and is intended to be a powerful tool in intergenerational growth and renewal among Friends.

Using Spirit Rising and our own (participant and facilitator) stories and writing as a guide, we will practice writing and sharing as a way to develop a toolkit for dialogue about youth concerns and intergenerational community among Friends. We will practice the deep listening intergenerational community-building demands and embrace each other as Friends and fellow ministers, writers, storytellers, artists and leaders - whatever our age may be. We will attempt to get beyond those unspoken questions among Friends like "Why are there no young people in our meeting?" and "What do the young people want?" and touch the heart of youth concerns and community among Friends.

The book is tentatively divided into 8 chapters of very universal themes, and we hope to use them all at least briefly. They are as follows:

1. Ways of Worship, Forms of Faith
2. Practicing Faithfulness: Seeking, Callings, Leadings, and Ministry
3. One Source, Many Streams: Friendship, Convergence, Ecumenism and Intervisitation
4. Kingdom Life: Witness and engaging the world.
5. Deep Oceans of Darkness and Light: Sufferings
6. Stories of Convincement, Conversion, Salvation, and Transformation
7. Breaking Bread: Fellowship with God and Others
8. Troubling the Water: Calls for Transformation and Renewal

Description of Format:
Each day we will work with a query that relates to one or two sections of the book, letting our written responses form the basis for further discussion and dialogue.

Our first session will include personal introductions and a brief history of Spirit Rising as well as some stories from the journey of the book, ice breakers, working agreements, hopes and expectations for the workshop, and some worship.

All other sessions will follow this outline:
Opening worship with a query (30-35mins)
A reading from the book that relates to the query
A writing activity that responds to the reading or the query itself.
Sharing in pairs or small groups
Ending with a listening circle in which people may share their writing, the process they went through or simply their thoughts.

Sometimes we will work directly from the query, sometimes we will respond to the reading from the book itself. Response exercises will be grounded in writing as ministry but may also include, worship sharing, paired or small group sharing, whole group discussion and creative listening.

Advanced reading (optional but strongly encouraged): Spirit Rising: Quaker Quaker Voices (the Quaker Youth Book Project), QuakerPress of FGC 2010.

Things to bring: a journal or notebook, something to write with, Spirit Rising, an open mind and an open heart.

Leader Experience:

Although Harriet have never led a workshop at Gathering, her work for the Quaker youth book project has included interactive presentations and writing workshops with a wide age range. In addition to that she has facilitated groups of teenagers (16-18) at Britain Yearly Meeting's Junior Yearly Meeting both as a peer facilitator and, more recently as a staff member. she has also co-facilited an intergenerational group at BrYM's Summer Gathering. She took the Group Work Skills course provided by Friends House, London, two years ago and has since had the opportunity to practice these core facilitation skills.