Three principles of William Penn Quaker Workcamps
1. Participants experience enhanced mindfulness.
2. Participants experience and understand importance of connectedness to place.
3. The Workcamps have a positive impact in their work.
More about these principles:
Enhanced Mindfulness
“Mindfulness” can take many shapes and forms. For Quaker Workcamp purposes, practicing mindfulness means
intentionally getting off the routine treadmill of life, overcoming natural tendencies to feel apprehension –
including subconscious fears – of being in new places and new people, and experiencing things with openness and
appreciation. Literally, mindfulness means engaging the whole mind – the brain as well as parts of the mind that
exist in other parts of the body that are felt in our gut and chest. This is done through spending time in service
activities, meal time, fellowship, fun and reflection, and where conversations are led not by focusing on problems
but on opportunities. Often, this kind of mindfulness challenges our own assumptions about people and places
and about how we perceive the world as it is and how we think it should be. This mindfulness can also challenge
us to think more about our deeply held beliefs, and in doing so can help us live more in alignment with that faith
in a way that better connects to the world around us.
Connectedness to Place
“Place”, in this case, refers to the place where we have gathered for the Workcamp, and all the people with whom
we interact. The principle of connectedness is based on equality – that we are all equals. We are not necessarily
in the place to serve those in need, as this calls on us to make assumptions about people we may not know. We
are there to develop a sense of connectedness with the people and the environment around us. It is here that we
move away from a focus on issues and into the realm of stories – hearing stories and sharing our own. As we
become more versed in this, we develop the gift of storytelling, where these shared narratives help bring visibility,
healing and empowerment to all of us, and further enhance our connectivity. We also develop a greater sense of
connectedness with everyone with whom we have traveled. This connectedness is further nourished by on-going
fellowship and communications with each other that builds on the stronger connectedness. As an important
aspect of the Quaker Workcamp experience, we encourage – and facilitate, as we can – that this experience of
connectedness be further exercised in our home communities, for real change can be greatly influenced in our
own backyard, where we live every day, and can flow out from there. In fact, when we only look at change as
needing to happen somewhere else, we may do more harm than good. By experiencing what it is to exercise
connectedness on a Quaker Workcamp, we become more aware that we are all helping to create one human
narrative that connects all people and all issues, and when we practice breaking down these barriers where we
live, we help break down the cycles of injustice and violence.
Having a positive impact
Needless to say, we strive to do the above while also leaving an immediate positive impact where the Quaker
Workcamp has taken place. Quite simply, this means being committed that we leave a place better than it was
when we got there. Often, this means cleaning up river banks, or helping at a soup kitchen, or helping with
gardening, or painting a house or other home repairs. It can also mean spending time with someone, sharing
stories. But it also means that we strive to leave the facilities where we stay in better shape. That we mindfully
consider not just the project, but the journey as the ground covered where we want to leave a positive impact.
Often, groups may initially think that having a positive impact is the main focal point. For William Penn Quaker
Workcamps, this is a necessary part of the experience, but when it is done with clear intentionality to the other
two principles, it is likely to have a more lasting impact on the life-trajectory of the participants. The participants
will look at the issues of peace and justice with a more open mind, a mind that considers many ways to make a
difference over the course of their lives, and thus have a greater impact on our striving for a more just and peace
world. It is also a way to help create more critical thinking skills for the next generation of service leaders.