living-systems-resIn the spirit of ‘living experimentally’, The Online Australian Friend invites Australian Quakers to a virtual retreat. This idea was talked about in a dynamic Share and Tell session at AYM 2012. The details are still to be worked out, and we welcome ideas, suggestions and offers of help (use the comments form below). The initial ideas, none of which are fixed, are:

1. AF will organise day of reflection for Quakers in all parts of Australia.

2. We will reflect on inquiry for living systems, how ideas in Yoland Wadsworth’s (2010) book might be applied in our lives as Quakers; possibly leading towards a model for Quakerly inquiry.

3. The program may include:

  • Preparation including information in The Australian Friend and preparatory reading material,
  • Several small groups gathering face-to-face in locations around Australia,
  • Linking the small groups using Skype, Google+ Hangout or other technology,
  • Periods of shared worship across locations,
  • Structured questions to explore topics in depth,
  • Australia-wide forward-looking discussion,
  • Group and individual text-based sharing,
  • Shared lunch at locations,
  • Evaluative feedback

4. The program may run for four to five hours in total. Pencil Saturday 4 August into your diary.

Talk about it to friends, join discussion using the form below, and look for more info in the June Australian Friend.

Recommended reading:

Wadsworth, Y. (2010) Building in Research and Evaluation: Human inquiry for living systems, Action Research Press, Hawthorn and Allen & Unwin, Sydney <http://livingsystemsresearch.com/>

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