Radical Welcome 

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 

1 Corinthians 12:27 

I’ve been thinking a lot about how groups and communities can offer a radical welcome to all. 

What do I mean by a radical welcome?  Well, it’s got to be accepting of the gifts and perspectives of all, especially those who tradition may have sidelined.  And it’s got to be transformative; for all. 

I am a Quaker, a member of the Religious Society of Friends, and this is important work we’re doing at the moment.  I watched a YouTube video recently featuring Paul Parker, Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain (the closest thing Quakers get to a leader!).  In the video, Parker speaks of welcoming you, and expanding who we are to include you, rather than welcoming you if you are like us already.  Rhiannon Grant, Quaker researcher, has published on this topic, and given a keynote - she highlights how race, sex, disability, class can impact how we are welcomed, and welcome others.  Grant also talks about community structures being made for humans, and not vice versa. 

Quakers speak of that of God in all; it’s contentious (it’s theology, so yeah, it gets complicated!) but it means we look to the divine in all living things.  This philosophy and practice of radical welcome is where we need to be, if we genuinely believe in that of God in all.   

From my own experience, being radically welcomed can be a deeply spiritual experience.  I find time in prayer with the education team incredibly valuable, for instance.  My Quaker meeting makes allowances for my spiritual and physical needs, and respect my boundaries.  From experience - where my needs are incorporated as part of the community dynamic, that’s where I feel radically welcomed. 

Our schools, by their very nature, welcome all, and are transformative.  Vision and values run through our communities, shaping our welcome; we are aware of how we can build people up and encourage people to thrive, not just fit in. 

‘How can we make the meeting a community in which each person is accepted and nurtured, and strangers are welcome? Seek to know one another in the things which are eternal, bear the burden of each other’s failings and pray for one another. As we enter with tender sympathy into the joys and sorrows of each other’s lives, ready to give help and to receive it, our meeting can be a channel for God’s love and forgiveness.’ 

Quaker Advices & Queries 14 

Ellen Cross

 LDBE Administrator