Jan Hoffman, clerk of the Faith and Practice Revision Committee, reported that the text we approve today will be sent to monthly and quarterly meetings, together with the draft of the worship chapter, and the provisional skeleton for the book. The committee invites us all to think about how to use these materials not only to publish a product, but also to use the process to educate, enrich, and deepen the spiritual life of everyone, in every monthly meeting, with the ebb and flow of drafts and readings. Jan assured us that even though this preface is much shorter than its original draft, nothing will be lost as those materials will find their rightful places elsewhere in the book. Friends gave first approval to the following preface, expressing our gratitude for a monumental task faithfully carried out:

 

This book is a witness to the lived faith of Quakers in New England from the mid-17th century to the present. It is a devotional resource and a handbook of procedures. When procedural questions arise, this book is designed to be a helpful guide, not a rigid instruction manual. Through corporate discernment, we change our structures and procedures in responsive obedience to God.

 

This revision of NEYM Faith and Practice reflects a range of spiritual experience among Friends. Each selection retains the original language used by the individual or faith community.

 

Quotations are identified in the text by author, title, and date of publication. Acknowledgements to publishers will be found on page XXX. The book is also available electronically at [web address].