Reminder: “Hope as a Practice” Workshop

A reminder that registration for this “Hope as a Practice” workshop closes March 12!

Can hope be more powerful than simple optimism? What does it mean to ‘practice hope’? How do we maintain hope when things seem to be getting worse rather than better?

In two “Hope as a Practice” online workshops, held on March 19 and April 2, we’ll explore different perspectives on hope and think about how they speak to us as Quakers. Participants will also have the opportunity to try out practices that can strengthen hope. We’ll reflect together on how to generate and renew hope to strengthen our collective capacity to bear witness in the world.

Registration for ‘Hope as a Practice’ is now open.

“Hope as a Practice” has been taught across the United Kingdom by Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre tutor Tracey Martin. It is for individuals wanting to strengthen their relationship to hope in a world filled with challenges, or to explore hopes for our Quaker community. It is brought to you by CYM’s Education & Outreach Committee, who are focussing on offering restorative Quaker practices in 2022.

Times & Details

“Hope as a Practice” will take place over two Zoom meetings on March 19 and April 2, 2022.

Given that Tracey Martin is based in UK time zone, that workshop will start at:

  • 9 am Pacific
  • 10 am Mountain
  • 11 am Central
  • noon Eastern
  • 1 pm Atlantic
  • 1:30 pm Newfoundland & Labrador
  • 5 pm British Time

Each session is two hours long, for a total of 4 hours, and will offer loads of experiential contact.

There is a cost for this workshop, as Woodbrooke Quaker Learning charges for tutor facilitation. Full and half bursaries are also available. For details, see the registration form.

To join the two-part workshop, Register for ‘Hope as a Practice’. Registration will close on March 12.

Reminder: Online Quaker Conversation Circle

On Saturday, February 12 there will be a 90-minute online workshop that introduces Quaker Conversation Circles from the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative. Come and learn about this exciting new way to hold deeper conversations about topics that matter to you and your group or Quaker Meeting. All are welcome – including those new to Quaker ways.

Members of CYM Education & Outreach will join with the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC, a non-affiliated group of Quakers in the U.S.) to provide mutual guidance during this session.

More on Quaker Conversation Circles

Starting in 2014, a group of dedicated American Friends at QREC began to develop online practices that make Quaker meetings come alive together, individually and corporately. The Conversation Circle tool they developed is a Quaker practice with a bit more structure and preparation than regular worship-sharing. It is an online tool that will benefit Canadian Quakers who are spread across this land, often in small- or medium-sized communities. We hope to offer you a way to build connection where you are. Conversation Circles can be used for national conversations, local Meeting, or in small groups.

Our queries are: What is a Quaker? How do we walk in the world as Friends?

Times and how to join

This first online Conversation Circle (again, on Saturday, February 12, 2022) will start at:

  • 10:30 AM PST
  • 11:30 AM MST
  • 12:30 PM CST
  • 1:30 PM EST
  • 2:30 AST
  • 3:00 NST

The workshop is 90 minutes long and there is no cost. To register, contact the clerk of E&O, Catherine Harding ().

Please join us on February 12!

Other upcoming events from Education & Outreach

This is the first session in a series. The Education & Outreach Committee has decided to focus on offering restorative Quaker practices in 2022.

For the next event, on 19 March & 2 April 2022, we are bringing Tracey Martin back online to guide us in Hope as a Practice. There is a cost for this workshop, as Woodbrooke Quaker Learning charges for tutor facilitation. 

Given that Tracey Martin is based in UK time zone, that workshop will start at 9:00 AM PST / 10:00 AM MST/ 11:00 AM CST/ 12:00 PM EST/ 1:00 PM AST/ 1:30 PM NST. The 2-part workshop runs for 2 hours each time and offers loads of experiential contact.

For more information and to join, please fill out the Hope as Practice registration form before March 12.

Also coming Spring 2022, we are working with Woodbrooke Learning Team to offer workshops practices on Diversity and Inclusion in Quaker Meetings. The dates and times are still being determined, but there will be 3 consecutive sessions of 2 hours each.

And finally, even when our events are fee-charging, we believe in barrier-free entrance to all of our offerings. For further information, contact the clerk of E&O, Catherine Harding ().

Online Quaker Conversation Circles & More

Restore your souls, rebuild your Meeting. CYM Education & Outreach has decided to focus on offering restorative Quaker practices in 2022 – with the first session involving Quaker Conversation Circles.

A Year of Quaker Practices 2022

This first event will take place on Saturday, February 12, 2022, with a 90-minute online workshop that introduces Canadian Quakers to Conversation Circles from the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative. Come and learn about this exciting new way to hold deeper conversations about topics that matter to you and your Meeting. All the details are farther down.

For the next event, on 19 March & 2 April 2022, we are bringing Tracey Martin back online to guide us in Hope as a Practice. There is a cost for this workshop, as Woodbrooke Quaker Learning charges for tutor facilitation.  Given that Tracey Martin is based in UK time zone, that workshop will start at 9:00 AM PST / 10:00 AM MST/ 11:00 AM CST/ 12:00 PM EST/ 1:00 PM AST/ 1:30 PM NST. The 2-part workshop runs for 2 hours each time and offers loads of experiential contact.

Also coming Spring 2022, we are working with Woodbrooke Learning Team to offer workshops practices on Diversity and Inclusion in Quaker Meetings. The dates and times are still being determined, but there will be 3 consecutive sessions of 2 hours each.

And finally, even when our events are fee-charging, we believe in barrier-free entrance to all of our offerings. For further information, contact Catherine Harding:

Save the Date! Introducing Quaker Conversation Circles

Members of CYM Education & Outreach will join with the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (Quaker Friends in the USA, non-affiliated) to provide mutual guidance on Quaker Conversation Circles.

Starting in 2014, a group of dedicated American Friends at QREC began to develop online practices that make Quaker meetings come alive together, individually and corporately. This is a Quaker practice with a bit more structure and preparation than regular worship-sharing. It is an online tool that will benefit Canadian Quakers who are spread across this land, often in small- or medium-sized communities. We hope to offer you a way to build connection where you are. Conversation Circles can be used for national conversations, local Meeting, or in small groups.

Our queries are: What is a Quaker? How do we walk in the world as a Friend?

This online workshop will be held on Saturday, February 12, 2022. It will starting at:

  • 10:30 AM PST
  • 11:30 AM MST
  • 12:30 PM CST
  • 1:30 PM EST
  • 2:30 AST
  • 3:00 NST

The workshop is 90 minutes long.

There is no cost. To register, contact Catherine Harding:

All are welcome. Please join us on February 12!

 

Online Quaker Courses – Spring 2018

E&O’s spring semester courses will begin soon! Two courses will be offered: “Introduction to Quakers and Friends’ Ways” and “Quaker Faith and Practice.”

The first registration deadline is April 15 — at which time the online course administration team will begin to determine which courses will run and their respective dates and times.

Late registrants can sometimes be accommodated — so don’t hesitate to contact us — but priority goes to those who register by the deadline!

Introduction to Quakers and Friends’ Ways

How did Quaker faith come to be based on direct experience rather than authority? How can a Quaker community nurture how we live, work, worship, and make decisions? “Introduction to Quakers and Friends’ Ways” is a free online course that explores the origin of Quaker testimonies, such as the traditional peace testimony and testimony of equality, in Canadian Friends’ history and beyond. It also invites participants to deepen their understanding of the role of Monthly Meetings in Quaker life.

Topics include:Picture of pews

  • Experiencing the Spirit;
  • Early Friends in Canada and the world;
  • Quaker decision-making;
  • Living the Spiritual community.

New attenders as well as experienced Friends will find opportunities to grow in this course, which meets online once per week for 6 weeks starting in late-April/early May.

Register for the Introduction to Quaker and Friends’ Ways course

Quaker Faith and Practice

Would you like to share and learn about the varieties of ways people “do” Quakerism? Do you wonder how Friends know when to speak during worship? “Quaker Faith and Practice” is another free course starting in late April/early May. This course will explore some of the many ways that Quakers worship in expectant silence, listen spiritually to build peaceful communities, read and write spiritual journals, and make business decisions in large and small groups by “coming to unity” in the “sense of the Meeting.”

The course will explore themes like the following:

  • That of God in everyone
  • No end to divine revelation
  • What is Heaven on Earth?
  • Quaker Mysticism

This group will also meet online once per week for 7 weeks, use queries to nurture spiritual growth, and explore the foundational book Faith and Practice of the Canadian Yearly Meeting. This book documents the spiritual insights of Canadian Quakers past and present, as well as including text from other times and places such as the historical “Advices and Queries.”

Register for the Quaker Faith and Practice course

When do these courses run?

Introduction to Quaker and Friends’ Ways
May – June 2018 (day and time determined through registration process)

Quaker Faith and Practice
May – June 2018 (day and time determined through registration process)

Registrants will assist Education and Outreach Committee with determining the exact dates and times that these courses will run by completing the online registration form.

*Multiple courses may be offered if registration number warrant. The scheduling of any additional courses will accommodate as many people as possible. Are you considering signing up? Do you need more information? Contact the organizing committee for more information.

How do the courses work?

A short reading will be provided before each session. The weekly online sessions will use video or audio conference, depending on the technology available to those who sign up, and will include worship, exercises, reflections on readings, and opportunities to apply the learning to our own lives. You can see examples of previous course materials here:

Introduction to Quakers and Friends Ways Learning Resource
Quaker Faith and Practice Learning Resource

The courses are offered by Canadian Yearly Meeting’s Education and Outreach Committee. You can contact the organizing committee for more information.

Both courses are free of charge

However, we warmly welcome any donations you are able to give, to support future courses and other work of Canadian Yearly Meeting. You can donate online, by mail, or by phone.

Facilitators

David Summerhays, an experienced facilitator from Montreal Monthly Meeting, will lead one course, or multiple sessions of the same course. Previous participants have said:

  • “David did a beautiful job of modelling the Quaker way and managing deep sharing.”
  • “David was able to move us along, without me feeling hurried. He asked open-ended questions, which moved the discussion to the most interesting places.”
  • “He managed time and turn-taking smoothly and held a great balance between keeping to the outline of that day’s material and allowing time for discussion that arose.”
  • “David was also very conscious of assisting those having technical/language difficulties.”

Arwen Brenneman, an experienced facilitator from Vancouver Monthly Meeting, will lead one course. Previous participants have said:

  • “Arwen did a helpful, insightful, sensitive job!”
  • “She was attentive to the needs of the group and individuals and very respectful of differences in opinions and experiences.”
  • “Arwen was awesome. Her experience and values/approach were a perfect fit.”

What are people saying about Canadian Yearly Meeting’s online courses?

They enhance spiritual connection:

  • “The big Ah-Ha’s for me were around understanding what waiting in the Light means for me, and what that sense of being connected to God means for me.”
  • “Reading Faith & Practice was inspiring and it reminded me of the inspiration and insights it contains. I enjoyed the discussions and sharing of the course participants.”
  • “Very meaningful — I’ve still got sooooo much to learn.”

They deepen understanding:

  • “The specific topics we focused on were things that I’d somehow not understood very well even as I found Meeting for Worship sustaining. I think I understand better now.”
  • The course “was very meaningful to me. I have been circling the Quakers for a few years now and it helped me decide that it’s right for me.”
  • “As someone who is new to Quakerism, I found the outline very informative. I appreciated the conversation with others, as it prompted a wider perspective of the topic under discussion and also allowed me to see some of the variety of the Quaker culture beyond the Meeting I have been attending. My Meeting was interested in my experience of the course.”
  • “It provided the information on Quaker ways it was presumably designed to, and also provided opportunities to interact with participants in Quaker ways. Both functions are of good intellectual, emotional and spiritual value in my quest to learn.”

They connect community:

  • “The real thing that made this course meaningful was the connection I made with other Friends.”
  • “I greatly enjoyed meeting other Friends from across the country. I liked hearing people’s personal stories and perspectives.”
  • “I had an opportunity to communicate with Friends I did not know, and that was worthwhile.”
  • “I greatly appreciated hearing from other Quakers about their experiences, struggles, joys, and questions. Their contributions led me to reflect on my own journey and the dynamics of my particular meeting. I also now feel like I have a stronger knowledge base in Quaker practice and history, and can more easily explain some Quaker concepts to curious friends and family.”

Contact us with questions or for more info

For more information, contact the organizing team at . We look forward to meeting you!

UPDATE – CLOSED: Call for Facilitators for CYM Online Courses

Canadian Yearly Meeting (CYM) Education & Outreach Committee is Seeking Experienced/Qualified Online Course Facilitators for Contractual Work.

Education and Outreach Committee (E&O) is seeking expressions of interest for a subcontracting facilitator to act as a backup when E&O is able to offer more than one course, or as need arises. We warmly encourage anyone interested in this opportunity to apply.

E&O has one online course facilitator, who can currently teach one course (with one or two sessions) per term. We would like to start offering two or more courses per term in the future; therefore another facilitator may be needed. The utilization of an additional contractor is dependent upon a number of factors, mainly course registrations.

E&O online courses usually run for seven or eight weeks. This includes a technology troubleshooting session and six classes. Classes take place once a week, and last 1.5 to 2 hours.  Facilitators can expect to work between 45-60 hours per 7-8 week period, on an as-needed basis.

Contractors are expected to work independently to advertise, promote, schedule and facilitate courses. Facilitators will, however, be supported by the clerk of Education and Outreach Committee and the Online Course Subcommittee as needed.

Interested persons are invited to send a:
• cover letter,
• resume, and
• current references
to E&O Online Course Subcommittee care of the CYM Secretary at with the title “Online Course Contractor” in the subject line.

Applicants should highlight their:
• reasons for being interested in this Quaker facilitation work,
• experience with online learning platforms, and
• teaching/facilitation experience.

You can review the current courses being offered through Education and Outreach Committee on the Quaker.ca website.

The contract price will be negotiated based on qualifications and experience.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59pm PST on Sunday October 1. Candidates will only be contacted if they are chosen for an interview.