As Volunteers’ Week draws to a close I have been reflecting on the role of volunteers in the context of Woodbrooke.
If you type ‘benefits of volunteering’ into Google (other search engines are available) the results will inevitably show a vast and varied array of different brightly coloured pie charts, bar graphs and friendly cartoons, listing the many ways in which volunteering is good for our mental and physical health. But I think that something deeper runs through the experience of offering service in a Quaker context. We have, as Quakers, a sense of service and a concept of spiritual gifts which makes the secular narrative around volunteering not quite ‘cut it’ for me.
Woodbrooke strives to further the work of God, Good or ‘whatever’ in Quakers, equipping people with the tools to perform and sustain their activism, supporting new and sometimes fearful Elders, Pastoral Care Friends, Nominations Committee members, Trustees and Treasurers with training and reassurance in order to do that job successfully. We offer space for those who wish to dance as their worship and those who wish to dive deeply in to the lives and writings of early Friends, and much more besides.
Woodbrooke simply would not be able to offer this variety of learning, of “transformative experience” as one course participant put it recently, without the support, hard work and deep commitment of our volunteers.
As part of my reflections on the service offered to Woodbrooke I asked various Friends who have worked alongside the Programme Coordinators in several different capacities, from Trustees to Elders, Associate Tutors to Tech Support, what their experience of being a Woodbrooke volunteer was. The wealth of positive, glowing responses I received was frankly quite moving.
Many of the quotes focused around giving something back to Woodbrooke itself, having felt great gain in their spiritual journeys from Woodbrooke courses in the past, summarised by this Friend, “Being an Associate Tutor for Woodbrooke is an opportunity to share my life experience with the Woodbrooke family and to give back to the place where I learned what it means to be a Quaker.” For other Friends their reflection was that they had gained something from the offering of service, as with this Friend, who served as an Elder for an online course recently, “I was really nervous to be an Elder on a Woodbrooke course before I first did it. I wasn’t sure what would be expected of me and if I would be any good at it but it soon became clear that I had something to offer and I really enjoyed working with the tutor, the course and the experience as a whole.” This sentiment is something which we hear a lot, the initial trepidation but gentle willingness, the lack of surety about exactly what a Friend can offer which blossoms into a clarity around gifts they didn’t know they had.
As a Programme Coordinator I have the great privilege of supporting Associate Tutors and Elders as they do their work for us. The wealth of experience, knowledge, passion, joy and kindness I have witnessed is immeasurable. There is also a huge amount of work being done for Woodbrooke which is not so public facing, our Trustees especially have faced a challenging few years and it mustn’t be forgotten that this work is also done on our behalf as service to our wider community. So often the conversation among Friends at the moment is about declining numbers and fractured, tired communities but every day I see the steadfast commitment and deep care Friends bring to their service and I am bolstered.
So, to those yet to work alongside us, whether you know you have something to offer or if you are gently willing but unsure – get in touch, there will be something for you and, in the words of one Associate Tutor “It’s a hugely rewarding experience to facilitate deep conversations with Friends”.
And finally, to those nearly 400 Friends who offer invaluable service to Woodbrooke every day, Trustees, Swarthmore Lecture Committee members, Associate Tutors, Elders, Online Worship Facilitators, Tech Supporters and everyone else…
Thank you.
So, very very much.
If you’re inspired to volunteer with Woodbrooke you can find out how to do so here:
