Planning Quaker Quest in a Local Quaker Meeting...

How to Manual

We have produced a PDF document titled Quaker Quest - The How-To-Do-It Manual, detailing how to best plan a Quaker Quest event.

To download it, please click here.

You can also download the text from this page as a Word document, that you may find a useful reference also.

To download that, just click here.

Quaker Quest is an opportunity to engage with local people (beyond those we know already) on a deep spiritual level on the important themes – God, worship, faith etc.

Have this clear aim before you, all through the project.

If your Meeting has not yet decided to offer Quaker Quest ask Quaker Quest Network (QQN) (quakerquestnetwork@quaker.org.uk) for a half day training session, Motivation and Inspiration.

The key to a good Quaker Quest is Planning and Training.

Planning

  • Ask QQN for a copy of QUAKER QUEST the how-to-do-it-manual or download it from this website
    Request the approval of PM and a budget (most of the budget is for publicity which is costly but essential)
    You need a small group to organise/coordinate.
  • Book the meeting place well ahead (say 4 consecutive Tuesdays) It is not desirable that there is a gap due to Christmas etc.
  • Book for a Training Day with the Quaker Quest Network team (all day or half day training)
    Make time for other later sessions, which you run yourselves for rehearsals and further detailed planning
  • If you are using your Meeting House, allocate a couple of Friends to look at it objectively. Does it feel like a spiritual place, a welcoming and simple place reflecting the simplicity of Quaker worship? Remove out of date notices, check the front door is well lit, check you have enough copies of Quaker Faith and Practice and Advices and queries to spread round the benches, up to date outreach leaflets, good posters etc.
  • Order an outreach bookbox from Quaker Bookshop on sale or return
  • Ask the QQN team for a free pack of publicity posters
  • Prepare a pack to give to Questers to include information about Quakers, contacts and an invitation to worship and further events at your Meeting
  • Organise refreshments for the sessions

Advertising

Leaflets – Ask the QQN training co-ordinators for copies of leaflets used by other Meetings if you want help in writing your leaflet. Keep the main wording and just alter the details to suit the local situation – times, map, contact numbers etc.

If you wish create a website for your QQ, facebook page, add this address to your leaflets. Add twitter feeds. Inform QQN and have your details added to www.quakerquest.org Put this site on your leaflet too as there is a great deal of additional information about Quakers.

Get leaflets printed well in advance of your Quest (a medium sized meeting may be able to deliver some leaflets before your QQ starts). A bundle of 150 is about right for a delivery route. Alternatively pay to get them delivered commercially but this might be expensive. The Royal Mail delivery service is a good system, is very reliable but needs to be booked a long time in advance - leaflets will be delivered to every home in post code areas. Take some leaflets to the library, information centre, tourist office, adult education centres etc. and place leaflets there at least two weeks before QQ.

Send a handful of leaflets to Outreach Department at Friends House and ask them to send one in any information pack which may be requested in your post code areas.

Consider placing adverts in the local papers (this may be expensive). Some papers may have a free section for notices.

Send press releases to local newspapers and local radio and anything else you can think of to publicise QQ.

Send letters of personal invitation to anyone who may have expressed interest in Quakers in your area or wanted to know more about us.

Posters and handbills are available from QQN. Fill in the blank with date and place. Get posters up at least 2 weeks before your QQ including in and outside the Meeting place.

Training

QQN will run a Training Day. Invite all Friends who just might participate as part of this project.

Do NOT ask Friends to be presenters, hosts etc at this stage.

After the full training ask Friends to fill in a form to tick what they are prepared to do. It is desirable that a Friend ticks more than one box so that he/she can be a presenter at one session, willing to chair or host at another etc.

Everyone who is prepared to participate in QQ is part of the CORE TEAM. All need to participate in the training and all need to support the rest of the team.

Write a briefing paper so that every member of the Core Team is fully aware not only of his/her role on the night but every one else’s. The briefing papers should include time of arrival, place for presenters to have a short period of worship together before the session, who will lock up etc.

Final training/rehearsal – Do one or more than one rehearsal for your QQ evening. Members of the Core Team will be hosts, chair, presenters and facilitators on one of the chosen themes. The rest of the Core Team to act as Questers. Those attending the Training Day may be so full of ideas that they may find it difficult to envisage a QQ session so this full rehearsal will be valuable in helping everything to fall into place. Your session can be tweaked (e.g. Dorking Friends realised that they needed two Friends to greet and host instead of one because of the layout of the rooms).

Evaluate as you go through your QQ and be prepared to deliver another batch of leaflets or place more adverts during the project.

Keep a list of Questers with addresses if people are prepared to provide them and if they would like to keep in touch.

CONSIDER FOLLOW UP AND SPIRITUAL NURTURE OF NEW ATTENDERS either before or in the early stages of QQ.

QQN Training Co-ordinators January 2015
Tel: 01372 454363
Email: quakerquestnetwork@quaker.org.uk