The End of Day 3 - Introducing Quaker Leadership
I am sorry I just jumped in without introducing what the Young Adult Leadership Programme is all about. I am not about to enlighten you as it is far too late in the evening, but I promise I will do so soon. The day has ended, and I am alone probably doing one of my favourite activities, which is to write my musings to the world. At the start of a new venture, blogs are a great way of tracking progress, and taking others along with us.
So, suddenly I appeared here in Birmingham, after struggling and coping with all that London has had to throw at me. The last few months have been intense, and have left me sleepy and somewhat moody, as I mentioned in my previous post.
I didn't really know what to expect from this course, other than it would be about leadership, though that might appear to be a oxymoron in Quaker terms. There are no leaders in Quakerism, surely?
Are we not all individuals who do what we want, follow our own spiritual paths, and perhaps behave like cats being herded when someone tries to impose some sort of order?
Quaker leadership is still a new concept for me to be working with, so it will take some time to fully understand and develop. In a religious group which places equality at the centre of its core values, the word leader is a difficult word, for certain.
All of the above is true, and untrue. I think it is closer to say that each individual is their own leader, and everyone has the potential to demonstrate leadership and take the lead. This is leadership beyond the command, control and dominant model we are very used to in our wider culture and society. In the group discussions I wondered how much of the social hierarchy we aspire to be separate from we actually bring with us into our Quaker lives, whether consciously or unconsciously. A huge question I can't possibly answer here.
The above thoughts are just a brief summary of what we have been discussing over the last two days, and there is yet more to come.
So, suddenly I appeared here in Birmingham, after struggling and coping with all that London has had to throw at me. The last few months have been intense, and have left me sleepy and somewhat moody, as I mentioned in my previous post.
I didn't really know what to expect from this course, other than it would be about leadership, though that might appear to be a oxymoron in Quaker terms. There are no leaders in Quakerism, surely?
Are we not all individuals who do what we want, follow our own spiritual paths, and perhaps behave like cats being herded when someone tries to impose some sort of order?
Quaker leadership is still a new concept for me to be working with, so it will take some time to fully understand and develop. In a religious group which places equality at the centre of its core values, the word leader is a difficult word, for certain.
All of the above is true, and untrue. I think it is closer to say that each individual is their own leader, and everyone has the potential to demonstrate leadership and take the lead. This is leadership beyond the command, control and dominant model we are very used to in our wider culture and society. In the group discussions I wondered how much of the social hierarchy we aspire to be separate from we actually bring with us into our Quaker lives, whether consciously or unconsciously. A huge question I can't possibly answer here.
The above thoughts are just a brief summary of what we have been discussing over the last two days, and there is yet more to come.
The journey has just begun...
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