Quaker Process for Friends on the Benches

by Mathilda Navias

Overview

Quaker Process for Friends on the Benches is the most thorough survey to date of the nuances of Quaker process and practice.

This book provides historical context to how Quaker process has evolved, shares common practices and variations used by contemporary Friends, and gives real-life examples of model Quaker process in action. Readers will find answers to such questions as “What does it mean to serve on a committee?” and “How should new technologies be used in our Quaker business?” Readers will learn best practices from a range of perspectives on topics like discernment, leadings, and the mechanics of interrelated Quaker bodies.

Both accessible and comprehensive, this richly researched handbook deserves a place in the library of every Friends meeting and every Quaker member or attender who seeks to find joy in the spiritual practice of Quaker process. A glossary, index, and annotated bibliography will give readers years of practical service and well-lit paths into a deeper study of the Quaker faith.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015018943
Publisher:	Friends Publishing Corporation
Publication date:	07/24/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	370
File size:	356 KB

About the Author

Mathilda Navias serves as recording clerk and web master for Broadmead Meeting in northwest Ohio. She serves Lake Erie Yearly Meeting as Database Manager as well as being a member of the Nominating Committee, Spiritual Formation Planning Committee, and an ad hoc committee to revise the yearly meeting's manual of Policies & Procedures. She is clerk of the Accessible Literature Working Group, a member of the Growing Subcommittee (formerly Advancement & Outreach), and a member of Central Committee for Friends General Conference. She is also employed part-time as Yearly Meeting Worker for Lake Erie Yearly Meeting, helping with the web site, communications, and special projects. Mathilda has served as co-clerk of a monthly meeting and on numerous monthly and yearly meeting committees.

Mathilda lives in Tiffin, Ohio, with her husband, Dan, who grew up in Western Yearly Meeting (western Indiana), and a cat, Sophie. They have one adult daughter, a self-proclaimed computer geek, who attends Northampton Meeting in western Massachusetts. Until moving to Ohio 12 years ago, Mathilda worked in a variety of clerical and computer-related positions, including editing, technical writing, bookkeeping, and using a variety of computer software. She has designed and maintains several web sites.

Mathilda was born in 1957 in Colorado to parents who had recently become members of Boulder Meeting (IYM). She grew up in Friends Meeting at Cambridge (NEYM) and Rochester Friends Meeting (NYYM), where she became a member during her teen years. She graduated from Earlham College in 1979, where she got a grounding in Quaker studies and the Bible. At Earlham, she became friends with her future husband, Dan K. Bell. Dan's parents, John and Marilynn Bell, come from a long line of Quakers and have both been active in Western Yearly Meeting and Friends United Meeting. Marilynn is a recorded minister in Western Yearly Meeting and has served in numerous positions for her monthly and yearly meeting and for FUM.