BeFriending Creation
More questions for you, QEW...
Dorothy Zug really got us thinking… and wondering. Contracted to do a fundraising workshop with the Steering Committee at its April Steering Committee meeting, she began with Henri Nouwen's words: "Fundraising is first and foremost a form of ministry… a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission...."
Asked to break up into pairs and role-play an opportunity to tell a grant maker about QEW and why it is worthy of support, it soon became clear that most of us were not able to clearly and succinctly state QEW's purpose or even what it does. Hmmmm. We are devoted to the organization, delighted to be a part of it, but unsure—or at least not in agreement—about its purpose.
There are some Friends on QEW's Steering Committee who are uncomfortable with the notion of a Quaker organization having a "mission statement" The term has become tainted for them through its use by businesses and multinational corporations. For me, however, having spent my entire career in non-profit organizations, a "mission statement" is the core that inspires and gives focus to all our work. Still, if the term is problematic, then we need to find one that works for us. In April, Dorothy helped us ask ourselves, "What is QEW's purpose? What function do we serve? And for whom?"
Our imaginations really went to work when a query was posed: "If QEW had unlimited funds with which to work, what might it do?" In worship sharing, Friends allowed themselves to envision all sorts of workfrom administering a fund to assist Friends to super- insulate their homes and meetings and where appropriate add solar or wind energy sources, to providing relief to the vulnerable who are being and will be hurt by the catastrophic effects of climate change. We were beginning to think about some of the "Big Ideas" that Marshall Massey has challenged Friends to embrace.
We did some good work in small groups trying to address all those questions in April, and we got a wide range of responses. By the time you read this, Alternate Clerk Barbara Williamson will have compiled those responses for us, and we will be pondering what we heard. After some seasoning, some draft statements of purpose will be developed for consideration by the Steering Committee before the Annual Meeting in Atlanta. If you'd like to be part of our discussions, just contact Ruah at <ruah@quakerearthcare.org>, and ask her to add you to the QEWdiscussions list-serv.
By the way, some of this may sound familiar. I was delighted when several of you wrote me in response to my "clerk's message" in the March-April BeFriending Creation (the one in which I asked if you felt a part of QEW and asked how you described the organization to others.) Not knowing then what Dorothy was going to ask us, I had mentioned then that QEW had a "vision and witness" statement but had not yet defined its "mission." Your messages to me are being added to the mix of ideas about QEW's purpose. And I invite more of you who read this to send me your thoughts. You can e-mail me at <h.knowlton@comcast.net>, or snail mail at 34 W. Evergreen Ave., Philadelphia PA 19118. Remember, you are QEW, too.
QEW supporters and Monthly Meeting contacts—We have jobs for you!
Please help spread the word about caring for the earth as a spiritual concern by sharing BeFriending Creation and other QEW publications with your Meeting and wider community. Possibilities include: a) putting the QEW newsletter and pamphlets on display in your Meeting's literature rack or library (see Publications Catalog on QEW's website, <www.quakerearthcare.org>), b) organizing a study group around one of QEW's publications, c) using QEW's First Day School curriculum, Earthcare for Children, in your children's religious education, d) starting an Earthcare committee in your Meeting, and/or e) talking to your Monthly Meeting about including QEW in its scheduled contributions.
