Epistle

To Friends in Australia

We write to tell you the results of our meeting of the Australian Quaker Centre (AQC) Working Group at the Quaker Cottage in Woodford from 27/2-3/3/2009.

The Australian Quaker Centre will:

• Have an atmosphere of prayer, simplicity and gratitude before God
• Be willing to encounter inwardly the Indigenous spirituality and care of this land and its peoples
• Assume everyone is becoming more deeply part of a spiritual community
• Embody Quaker practice in all its aspects and activities
• Reflect a way of life that is spiritually, physically, environmentally and economically sustainable in Australia

In practical terms the AQC will be:

1. A haven for rest and healing
2. A learning space for listening and ministry
3. A place to listen to and learn from Indigenous people
4. A school for spirituality and Quaker heritage
5. A place to experience and demonstrate living as a spirit-directed, sustainable community
6. A fertile ground for prophets

Our discernment has focused on providing a series of courses during 2009, which will start these processes, while also helping us discern the possibility and nature of a permanent Centre. The Working Group has appointed a small team to lead this work: David Johnson (Convener), John Baker and Helen Bayes, who will be Director of the AQC for 2009.

We are planning a series of courses over a 2-3 month period hopefully from mid-September to early December this year. The courses will run in five streams:

• Quaker History, Faith, Practice and Theology
• Indigenous Spirituality and Issues
• Prayer and Spiritual Life
• Creative Life
• Preparation for Ministry and Witness.

In addition we hope to organise a Silent Retreat, and a couple of Threshing Weeks (that will allow a group of people to work through an issue). We also anticipate space for people to join us to experience living in Quaker community.

We will appoint a Resident Elder. We will need the assistance of an Administration Officer, a Cook, and a volunteer financial consultant to help set up the financial management system. There will be scope for three Friends-in-Residence, of whom one will be Indigenous, to cover technical support and pastoral care. Search for a venue and discussions with course teachers are underway, and we plan to start formal advertising for participants by mid May.

We are very conscious of the weight of this task, and what is to be done, and yet also of the strong spiritual leading to do it.

David Johnson (Convener), John Baker, Helen Bayes, Sheila Keane, Elizabeth Kwan, Mark Macleod, Kerry O’Regan, Drew Thomas. Not present: Kate Alessia (alternate with Kerry O’Regan) and a Young Friend, appointment not yet confirmed.