WINTER 2005
Drew Smith
Head of School
kay, so I've established that Friends School is a business – see last month's column – and that many other Quaker organizations and institutions also have business, like providing health care benefits to our employees, to tend to, and that I never intended to be a businessperson when I grew up, and that to pitch one of Phil Anthony's tents you need poles and guy wires each performing its task of support, and that continuing care communities and schools serve as two wonderful sources of outreach for Quakers.
Now what?
I think "now what" is developing as many ties as we can between and among Quaker organizations and meetings. The difficulty I have found in building these ties is largely practical: We work and worship in different geographic locations, on schedules of days and times. Speaking only for myself, as much as I want to share my work with other Friends, there is only so much of me to go around. And I know many Friends feel the same.
But the "now what?" nags as me. Because we do, in fact, truly need one another, individually as Friends, and together as communities of Friends. And I for one, and our school for another, would very much like to become part of a much larger and stronger voice for what Friends have to offer the world. If we multiplied the number or us, as individuals and organizations, who served as guy wires and poles, I imagine that our Quaker tent might be more visible than I think it is right now.
At this point in my thinking, the "now what?" turns into "what if?"
What if there were more Friends schools, of all kinds, in Salem Quarter? What if we raised enough money to ensure, truly, that all who needed a Friends School could attend? What if we could figure out a way to collaborate with public schools throughout South Jersey to offer peace studies in their curricula? What if we joined together to form an institute for the study of peace to which each of us, and our meetings and organizations, contributed ideas and talent?
To see the list of "what ifs?" is, on the one hand, a daunting maze of meetings, and governance decisions, and capital expenditures. On the other, all of the "what ifs" on the list already exist, as ideas or ongoing efforts. Friends School spends twenty per cent of its operating budget on financial aid, ensuring that families who want to be here can be here. Quaker educators in public schools already meet regularly with one another on an annual basis. Peace centers exist in two meetings in the Salem Quarter. I have spoken to Friends who are interested in expanding the reach of Friends education beyond Mullica Hill.
We stand ready at Friends School to support good ideas within the Quaker tent. Our facility is open to all of you, and our hearts and minds are eager to give and receive your good will. Please feel free to accept our offer.
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Last modified:
Monday, November 21, 2005 at 04:25 PM
