General Overview
Vancouver Island Monthly Meeting (VIMM) conducts the formal business for local Quakers – holding membership, arranging pastoral care, marriages and memorials, holding land and property, and collecting (from Friends) and distributing funds.
VIMM is a member of both Western Half-Yearly Meeting (WHYM) and Canadian Yearly Meeting (CYM – see https://quaker.ca/news-events/gatherings/), and is one of Canada’s larger Meetings.
Vancouver Island Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) (VIMM) is one of the organizational groups of Quakers on Vancouver Island. This body is comprised of a Meeting in Victoria and a Worshiping Group in Nanaimo – as well as several isolated Friends on the north island, on the west coast, or sojourning elsewhere in the world. Saanich Peninsula Monthly Meeting (SPMM) serves the peninsula, and Cowichan Valley Monthly Meeting (CVMM) north of the Malahat.
Meeting for Worship (M4W)
Most of the actual work of the Meeting is done by committees or individual experienced Friends, which report as needed to Meeting for Worship for Business.
Decisions affecting the spiritual and business concerns of the Monthly Meeting are made here. Members and attenders may contribute and decisions are sought with Divine guidance, resulting in a unified “sense of the Meeting”. The Clerks discern the sense of the meeting and when it is reached. This is then written into a Minute (by the recording clerk), tested with the Meeting, and (usually) approved after minor edits.
Vancouver Island Monthly Meeting holds a Meeting for Worship for Business each month (except for July and August). All members and attenders are invited to attend, usually after Meeting for Worship on a Sunday. Quaker discernment and decision-making is an important aspect of our faith.
We encourage succinct and deepening insights, and discourage the use of prepared statements or ministry in direct response to that of others. We listen for the heart of the message (that is, ‘beyond the words or language’) and what meaning it might have for us in our own spiritual journey. Ministry may touch an individual in unexpected ways, or speak to some people meaningfully in ways that it does not speak to others.
Everyone is welcome to worship with us – come as you are. Meeting for Worship itself lasts for about one hour, and there is fellowship afterward.
Our Meeting is in the Quaker liberal (un-programmed) tradition – we have no pastor or spiritual director – rather we understand the Spirit moving amongst us individually and collectively. Friends worship through “silent expectant waiting” and a search for spiritual communion with the Spirit within. We often speak of a ‘gathered Meeting’ by which we mean that there is a sense of unity in the depth of worship amongst us. Meeting for Worship takes place centred in silence. The silence is broken only when someone feels moved by the Spirit to share some deep insight with the rest of the Meeting.
Final Designation Forms
M&C encourages Friends to prepare (and periodically update) their final designation forms (containing their wishes for a memorial, location of will, etc.). The forms are available from M&C or the website (link), and when completed and submitted are held in confidence.
Living Our Beliefs or Testimonies
Quakers recognize that their testimonies go against many of the current standards of economic, social, and political change. This may, therefore, mean dissenting from fundamental aspects of the contemporary social order. It means living out of our testimonies so as to hold up an alternative vision of deep human fulfillment.
Young Friends (YFs)
We value the presence of young friends in our midst. We also recognize the particular pressures of time commitments to school and work, and that these can make for difficult regular attendance at Meeting. We try to particularly support young friends’ travel to attend WHYM and CYM gatherings so that they may share their experiences with other young friends. We also encourage their connection to friends through email, and other electronic networks.
Meeting for Worship for Business (M4W4B)
Meeting for Worship is held regularly — on Sunday (often called ‘first day’) — in Victoria (Friends Meeting House at 1831 Fern Street and Zoom). The Religious Society of Friends grew from the belief that everyone has direct access to the Spirit, and that truth continues to be revealed to us from a variety of sources. All members and attenders share in the spiritual and business life of the Meeting.
Historically, Quakers were part of radical Reformation Christianity. They were inspired by the life of Jesus as shown in the New Testament. Friends rejected formal creeds. Over the last century, many Friends have explored spiritual nourishment from a variety of religious and other traditions. We continue to seek for authentic spiritual experience and to live our lives in a way consistent with it.
Membership
Membership in VIMM implies and provides a reciprocal relationship with the meeting; a mutual caring for, and belonging to, a shared spiritual community. Attenders who wish to move into a closer relationship with the Meeting are asked first to talk to experienced Friends in their Worshipping Group about membership. Then, when they feel ready, they should write a letter to the VIMM Clerk requesting membership. (See link for the procedure.)
Experiencing Quaker discernment and decision-making through M4W4B is an important aspect of our faith, and should be a part of the journey into membership.
Ministry & Counsel (M&C)
M&C is responsible for the spiritual and pastoral care of the Meeting. In Victoria and other Worshipping Groups, members of M&C or other designated individuals provide Pastoral Care and Memorial services.
Any member or attender who wishes support or care is welcome to bring the concern to any member of Ministry and Counsel. Such concerns are held in confidence, unless the member/attender wishes otherwise. M&C would appreciate a written request which outlines the nature of the requested support.
The following types of committees, while often initiated by an individual, are usually appointed by Ministry and Counsel:
- A Clearness Committee is initiated by the individual, who approaches their M&C with a concern or problem that necessitates a decision. When the decision is reached, the work of the Committee ceases.
- A Clearness Committee specifically for marriage or membership is initiated by written request to the VIMM Clerk and appointed by M&C. Applicants should be aware that a Clearness Committee may take a long time (6 months or more), and should not be rushed. Wedding dates should not be set until the Clearness Committee process is finished.
- A Committee of Care may be initiated by either the individual or by Ministry and Counsel to give continuing support to the person in an undertaking (such as an appointment with weighty responsibilities), or progressing through a specific situation (such as a bereavement, illness, divorce, approaching death).
- A Committee of Oversight, though rare, would be initiated by the Meeting, when they discern that activities taken in the name of Meeting must be safeguarded.