Listening Together in the Light When Leadings Collide

Join the UFM community on October 25, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for a fun, interesting, and thought-provoking first retreat during this Year of Discernment. We need to have a language to express our experience as we practice discernment together. What are we looking or listening for? How do we know that we are discerning instead of hearing what we want to hear? How do other people do it? What if we disagree with someone else's discernment? How does the Divine fit into this? Or does it?

We will meet some people we don't know and deepen our relationships with some we know already. We have planned for a few members of the UFM community to start the discussion with their experiences in discernment. Then the rest of us will have the opportunity to talk and listen with small groups of other attenders.

There will be a children's program, as well as some intergenerational activities, and a lunch facilitated by the Hospitality Committee. After lunch we will work for a couple of hours doing jobs assigned by the Quaker House and Building and Grounds committees, learning how to use the kitchen appliances, or dusting in the library. We will end our day in worship.

We are trying to get a sense of how many people will be attending, so please sign up on the attendance form on the table outside of the office. You may also be asked to bring a contribution to our meal or tools for the hands-on work. Even if you don't sign up and find at the last minute you can come, please do. We want as many people from the Meeting Community to join in as possible.

Queries

Some queries the Steering Committee has been asking committees and individuals:

• What is essential to the life of the community?
  

• What is your current role? How does your work serve the community?
  

• What in your current role is fulfilling? What gets in the way of really feeling fulfilled?
  

• What resources might help you or your successors carry out this work successfully?

• What might be set aside for a year to focus on something else that's either in your work or in University Friends Meeting?

• Could some aspects of your work be performed more efficiently through a different structure?

• How can University Friends Meeting more fully engage our community?
  

• How can we encourage more people to participate in the work of University Friends Meeting, in communities, Monthly Meeting, and Quarterly and Yearly Meeting?

• What elements should a meeting-wide retreat include?

• Is there anything else that Year of Discernment Steering Committee should be thinking about?

We would like to hear from you if you have thoughts or ideas related to these queries.