Discovering Quakers is a grassroots Quaker outreach initiative that provides those curious about Quakers easy to digest information and online events they can readily join.
We are a small group of members and attenders from various parts of Britain who are passionate about Quaker outreach. Early on we recognised that to be sustainable we needed to be supported by paid expertise which we were delighted to find was available within our Quaker communities. We pay for the services of a Digital Marketing Specialist and an Outreach Coordinator. There's more about all the Friends involved below.
Our initiative has been running since October 2022 when we received initial funding from the BYM Adventurous Outreach fund - a one-off fund of £80k helping innovative outreach approaches to get off the ground. Discovering Quakers was one of the initiatives funded. The intention of the fund was that initiatives would find other ways to become sustainable in the future.
We received a follow-on grant in Oct 2023 from the fund, which ran out in July 2024, and are now seeking to become sustainable through funding directly from Meetings and individuals via donations.
BYM remains supportive of Discovering Quaker's work.
In January 2024, Discovering Quakers became a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (1206818) and is currently applying to become a Quaker Recognised Body.
Also in January 2024, the Quaker Quest Network and Quaker Quest Euston were laid down and minuted that their assets would be transferred to Discovering Quakers. One of these assets is the marketing rights to the ‘Being a Quaker’ book written by Geoffrey Durham, who is a founding member of Discovering Quakers. We hope to publish a revised 3rd edition of the book in 2024.
We have achieved a great deal since we started. Some highlights from Discovering Quakers 2022-2023 Annual Report include;
You can find out more information about what we do and have achieved here.
Caitlin is a lifelong attender, and before joining the Discovering Quakers team, their experience of working in Quaker community includes helping set up the Jesus Lane Young People's group, coordinating several social media projects for Hampshire & Islands AM, and bringing Quaker Arts Network to Greenbelt Festival 2024. Caitlin's role with Discovering Quakers focuses on developing and diversifying our social media, email and website content. In the spirit of 'living adventurously', her geographical location is constantly subject to change, but she currently finds herself at Glasgow Meeting.
Helen Drewery is a lifelong Quaker. Brought up in Bristol, she studied and worked in Manchester before spending nearly 40 years working for Quakers, at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre and Friends House. She ended up overseeing the Quaker Life team (including outreach) as well as the QPSW team.
She has been an active member of Sutton Meeting since 1982, currently serving as clerk, elder, and a member of premises committee and a 'Climate Friends' group supported by the Meeting. She joined Discovering Quakers when Sutton and Croydon Meetings were helped by DQ to run an experimental local outreach campaign.
Helen's other activities include co-clerking Quaker United Nations Committee (Geneva) and simplifying the governance of London Quakers. She even does a few non-Quaker things, including poetry-reading, listening to storytellers and teaching English to refugees. Her husband moans about not seeing much of her!
Geoffrey Durham went to his first Quaker meeting in 1994 and joined the Religious Society of Friends in 1999. He retired from a thirty-five year career in the performing arts in 2006 in order to write about Quakers. He has contributed to the Twelve Quakers series of books, compiled an anthology The Spirit of the Quakers (2010), published three editions of Being a Quaker: a guide for newcomers (2011-2024) and written What Do Quakers Believe? (2019), as well as making numerous broadcasts, including two editions of Thought for the Day for BBC Radio 4. He has been a founder member of two major outreach initiatives: Quaker Quest in 2001 and Discovering Quakers in 2022. He is a regular speaker at Quaker events.
Gillian is a member of Northumbria Quakers and attends Sunderland Local Meeting.
Gillian works as a chemist by day helping to develop new pharmaceuticals.
Gillian is a trustee of Discovering Quakers and its Clerk.
Alistair has been an attender since 2009 at Northampton and more recently Oakham. He was previously a trustee of the Quakers & Business Group for 6 years. He draws on his skills and experience as a business founder to help Quaker initiatives get off the ground. He is one of the founding members of Restoring Relations, a Quaker initiative that supports Meetings experiencing damaging conflict, and is currently one of its coordinators.
Alistair is a Discovering Quakers trustee and the charity’s membership secretary.
The Meeting she gets to most predictably is Darlington (although it is more than 30 miles away); Darlington was once a Quaker town to the extent that its football team is called the Darlington Quakers and we have to call ourselves Friends. --She has reservations about Quakerism and more reservations about Christianity; she doesn't think she has any reservations about the Testimonies and she is clear that the world needs more people who tell the truth, try to treat everyone equally, take wealth with a large pinch of salt, prize the planet and try to make it easier for people and countries not to be ruled by anger. She will soon be 76.
Margot is the Discovering Quakers treasurer and a trustee.
Joe attends Ettington Quaker Meeting (near Stratford-upon-Avon) and has spent his career growing businesses and charities as a digital marketing strategist. Joe directs our outreach strategy at Discovering Quakers, helping us find the best ways to reach, engage and connect with people. He believes that everyone might be a Quaker, they just don’t know it yet! Joe owns a recruitment marketing agency called McRoberts, and one of his favourite things to do when he's not working is play the drums and write music with other musicians.
Sam lives in South East London and attends Blackheath Quaker Meeting. Sam is the Content Co-ordinator for Discovering Quakers, producing audio and video content and writing articles. Outside of her work for Discovering Quakers, she has produced podcasts and radio documentaries for BBC Radio 4, the Institute of Contemporary Art and NTS Radio.
Caroline (Carrie) was born in Pakistan and is the child, grandchild, and great-grandchild of Anglican missionaries. At an early age she questioned and challenged the faith of her parents, eventually defining herself as agnostic. After many years Carrie found Quakers and she has worshipped in Beccles for over 20 years. Currently she is a Norfolk & Waveney Area Meeting trustee, a member of the Ministry and Pastoral care team, and is actively engaged in outreach.
Professionally Carrie has been a social worker, lecturer, psychologist and coach. Voluntary work has included leadership training for head teachers in Pakistan, and English conversation with refugees in Azerbaijan. Carrie was a trustee of Quaker Social Action for a number of years and served as clerk to trustees for a while.
Carrie feels really fortunate to live in beautiful Suffolk and is an Ipswich Town supporter.