I’ve come to the conclusion that decision making in Wellspring Community will function much like this description of how Quakers make decisions. Every aspect of this writing reminds me of how I also envision us living with each other in every moment.

I believe that all of Creation was created by the perfectly good Creators–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have free will, and yet because we can’t always see the big picture and therefore know what to do that is for the highest good of all, seeking Creator’s will together is essential for ultimate happiness for our community. Happiness for our community means that we need a higher perspective from Creator in order to make decisions that will be positive for all of life including the next seven generations, as the ancient Iroquois people did. 

I highly recommend that you read this paper in full. I will soon have a printed copy of this so that we can practice this beautiful way of making decisions together.

The paper is written by Eden Grace, and was published here: 

Here are a few highlights:

“The first comment to make about Quaker business practice is that it is of central importance to Friends. It is rooted in our deepest theological affirmations, and is one of our highest spiritual experiences. To ask a Quaker to describe the Meeting for Business is to ask for a testimony of the core of our faith.”

“Since Christ is not divided, the nearer we come to Him, the nearer we will be to one another. Thus the sense of being led into Unity with one another becomes a fundamental mark of the Divine work in the world.”

“Based on this theology, Friends commit themselves to discovering and implementing the will of God. This is the purpose of the Quaker Meeting for Business…..A sign that we have achieved our goal of discerning God’s will is the experience of Unity which is recognized and affirmed by those gathered.”

“All participants in the Meeting are equally capable of being used by the Holy Spirit, and those who moderate the Meeting are seen as servants of the gathering discernment process.”

A Quaker Meeting for Business is conducted in the context of worship, and with the same expectant waiting upon the Spirit as in the Meeting for Worship. The Business Meeting begins and ends with periods of open worship, and an atmosphere of reverence and devotion is maintained throughout the Meeting. Each contribution to the discussion is heard in a spirit of prayer. As the spiritual momentum grows and the movement of Christ is felt among us, we experience the Gathered Meeting, in which we are gathered into Unity with Christ and become of one heart and mind.

Quakers do not practice the outward ritual of Eucharist in our worship, but seek rather to experience and celebrate the inward spiritual participation in Christ’s death and resurrection which comes from being raised up together into Unity in God. “We believe that a corporate practice of the presence of God, a corporate knowledge of Christ in our midst, a common experience of the work of the Spirit, constitute the supremely real sacrament of a Holy Communion.”⁴ In the experience of Quakers, the Meeting for Business is one of the deepest occasions for this “eucharistic” event. Thus the spiritual depth of the Meeting is cherished and upheld throughout. “The right conduct of Business Meetings, even in routine matters, is important to the spiritual life of all. Care must be taken that the enduring value of a spiritual community is not sacrificed to the immediate goal of action.”⁵

“”Consensus” is a word sometimes used to describe a Quaker-like process. Yet Quakers would insist that this is not the most suitable term. Consensus (or unanimous consent, or general agreement) are based on the work of human wisdom and reason, whereas “the Sense of the Meeting” is based on the prompting of the Spirit.”