Faith & Practice

Quaker Decision Making The Quaker approach to communal decision weights each and every community member’s voice equally, and no decision is made without opportunity for input by all. This is not an expedient means for determining a course of action. Listening deeply to one another and working to understand various, even opposing, viewpoints is often tedious work. Yet once a “sense of the meeting” is reached, once all members are comfortable in moving forward, members of the community do so confidently knowing that all concerns, dissenting voices, and the potentially disaffected minority in a voting system have been heard and their thoughts have been incorporated into the final decision. The decision-making process is then a truly collaborative and inclusive experience.

For Friends, it is imperative to remain open to truths that are not readily apparent, truths that may only be revealed by a single voice. The Quaker decision-making process assures that just one person can “stand in the way” of a course of action if they feel moved to do so. This is the voice of truth and righteousness that is often drowned out by “group think,” popularity, the majority, and sometimes even laws. This is the voice of Moses, of Jesus, of Susan B. Anthony, of Mahatma Gandhi, of Rosa Parks, of Martin Luther King, Jr., of Malala Yousafzai, and of Mother Teresa. It is also the voice of a sixth-grade student in Middle School Business Meeting and the voice of a first-year teacher in faculty meeting. In Quaker decision-making, remaining open to new understanding, often referred to as “continuing revelation,” and valuing the truths each voice has to reveal to us assures that, once made, decisions are wisely informed and shared by all.

Meeting for Business is held monthly in both middle and upper school and provides an opportunity for student voice and to practice Quaker decision-making with issues that are relevant to the school community. The Business Meeting is a unique and powerful opportunity for students themselves to develop agenda for and “clerk” or guide the student body through a collective, consensus-based decision-making process.