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author Henry Thompson <ht@markup.co.uk>
date Mon, 05 Jun 2023 16:12:01 +0100
parents 39e5269bc7ed
children
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1 <?xml version='1.0'?>
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2 <!DOCTYPE doc SYSTEM "file:///D:/lib/xml/doc.dtd" >
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3 <doc>
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4 <head>
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5 <title>Reflections on Woodbrooke</title>
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6 <author>Henry S. Thompson, Central Edinburgh PM</author>
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7 <date>28 October 2002</date>
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8 </head>
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9 <body>
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10 <div>
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11 <title>Introduction</title>
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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12 <p>I've just returned from Woodbrooke, where I was fortunate to spend some time as a 'Friend in Residence'. This involved everything from carrying luggage and shifting
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13 furniture, through locking up at night and opening up in the morning, to
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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14 welcoming Friends to Meeting for Worship in the morning and Epilogue at the end
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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15 of the day, and a lot else besides. I got to know
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16 several of the management team who have been responsible for moving Woodbrooke
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17 into its new form, in which it is not only a center for meetings and courses
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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18 for Friends and a home for visiting Quaker scholars, but also a base for outreach, a venue for conferences, a hostel
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19 for students and even a bed-and-breakfast for tourists. Before the memories
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20 fade, I thought I'd try to set down some of my thoughts and experiences.</p>
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21 </div>
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22 <div>
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23 <title>How Woodbrooke Works</title>
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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24 <p>I last visited Woodbrooke over fifteen years ago, for a long weekend
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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25 course. At that time it provided both accommodation and teaching for various
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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26 full-time Quaker studies courses, as well as welcoming Friends for weekend
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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27 courses and meetings. The teaching and admin staff and the long-term resident
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28 students formed a sort of Quaker intentional community, and carried out a
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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29 significant amount of the cooking, serving, laundry etc. The atmosphere as
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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30 experienced by a visitor was a cross between a university hall of residence and
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31 a sprawling country house full of an extended family and a miscellany
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32 of guests, with the family dividing its time between trying to make the guests
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33 feel welcome, and getting on with running the house and taking care of business.</p>
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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34 <p>Today a lot has changed. There are no full-time courses, the resident
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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35 students are mostly just studying at Birmingham University and there is a full-time
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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36 professional administration and facilities staff, providing excellent food and
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37 a clean and well-run environment. The proportion of Quakers among the staff
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38 and long-term residents is lower, and the
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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39 atmosphere is much more of a country house hotel in the conference business.</p>
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40 </div>
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41 <div>
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42 <title>Woodbrooke is Still Special</title>
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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43 <p>In his PhD thesis <emph>A Sociological Analysis of the Theology of
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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44 Quakers</emph>, Ben Pink Dandelion, who is tutor in Postgraduate Quaker
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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45 Studies at Woodbrooke today, discusses the narrowing of 'Quaker-time'
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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46 from its historical scope of virtually all of Friends' lives, to the few hours
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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47 a week Friends spend at the Meeting house today. The special thing about
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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48 Woodbrooke, which it shares with Yearly Meeting, is that within its precincts
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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49 Quaker-time is once again expanded to fill the whole day. Friends arriving for
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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50 the first time often struggle to express the difference they sense, of an
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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51 environment in which not only the pace but also the style of what we've come to
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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52 accept as 'normal' life do not hold sway. Here it is still just possible, with
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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53 good will, to experience a bit of the inspired optimism of 17th century
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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54 Friends, that it would in fact be possible to bring in the Kingdom of God there
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55 and then. I at least find it easier to 'be good' at Woodbrooke -- to live a
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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56 saner life, without raising my voice or losing my temper, with my focus more on
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57 others and less on myself.</p>
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58 </div>
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59 <div>
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60 <title>Friends in Residence</title>
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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61 <p>Friends in Residence are a crucial component of the Woodbrooke mix. They
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62 are often the first person a visitor meets, and perhaps the only person other
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63 than those involved in their course or meeting that they may interact with
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Henry S. Thompson <ht@inf.ed.ac.uk>
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64 very much. Friends in Residence's <emph>jobs</emph> are prosaic, centering
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65 around providing basic 'hotel services' outside of weekday business hours.
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66 But their <emph>role</emph> is much more fundamental. It is to manifest
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67 Quakerism in action, to be, dare I say it, patterns and examples. Because they
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68 are in residence for weeks or months, they are comfortable and know their way
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69 around, unlike the short-term visitor who usually only gets to that state
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70 just before they leave. This in turn gives them a platform on which to build a
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71 presence which comforts and reassures the visitors, being visibly available for
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72 information or assistance, or just conversation.</p>
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73 <p>Woodbrooke is not a Preparative Meeting, and Friends in Residence are not
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74 its Elders or its Overseers, although their role resembles those a bit. The
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75 focus is on service, with the accompanying need for humility. The opportunity
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76 is there for worship, reading and study, along with conversation, which may
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77 range from spiritual to intellectual to personal, and conversation in
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78 particular is part of
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79 the overall pattern of service, but none of this is what Friends in Residence
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80 are really <emph>there</emph> for. Contemporary Quakerism is above all about
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81 what we <emph>do</emph> as Friends, not what we believe, and the fundamental
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82 job of Friends in Residence, at once very easy and terribly daunting, is to
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83 walk that walk, to visibly <emph>be</emph> Friends, to do as Friends should do,
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84 quietly, without fuss, but unmistakably. I was challenged, and in the end
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85 uplifted, by my effort to fulfil this role.</p>
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86 </div>
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87 <div>
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88 <title>Conclusion</title>
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89 <p>There can be only one conclusion, which I hope is evident by now: Go to
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90 Woodbrooke! Go for a course, go for a visit, go to serve as a Friend in
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91 Residence. You will find your understanding of what it means to be a Friend
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92 deepened, and your ability to witness to our particular vision strengthened.</p>
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93 <p>Information about Woodbrooke courses can be found at <link href="http://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/">Woodbrooke's web site (<code>http://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/</code>)</link>. For information about volunteering as a Friend in Residence, <span style="background-color: grey">contact <link href="mailto:rachael@woodbrooke.org.uk">Rachael Milling (<code>rachael@woodbrooke.org.uk</code>)</link>, the FiR coordinator</span>[As of 2019, use <link href="https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/about/support-us/friends-in-residence/">the FiR contact page</link> for this purpose].</p>
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94 </div>
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95 </body>
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96 </doc>