How is the Quaker book of discipline like Doctor Who?
Rhiannon Grant explains how the time travelling character, known for the power of regeneration, can help us understand what it means to have a new book of discipline.
Do you have a favourite 'Doctor'? Many people will recognise the character and the various actors who have taken the role over the years, and for those of us who (at least sometimes) watch the show, different versions define different eras of our lives.
I watched reruns of Tom Baker with my parents and discussed David Tennant on Livejournal. In more recent years, some castings – such as when Jodie Whittaker became the first woman to take the role – have brought questions about equality to the fore.
Within the story, these changes are regenerations: the Doctor is from Gallifrey and one of the abilities of Gallifreyan people is to cheat death by entirely renewing their bodies. The new Doctor created by this regeneration process has some things in common with the previous one, such as memories and knowledge, but is also very different: in looks, in dress sense, and often in personality as well. It's the idea of regeneration which makes it interesting to compare Doctor Who to a Quaker book.
Regenerating a book
The current book of Quaker insights used in Britain, Quaker faith & practice, is going to be replaced by a new version – the draft is called Our Quaker way. It's a regeneration of the book: it reflects the same Quaker tradition and includes many of the same insights.
It's also a completely new book, with a different tone, arranged in a different way. The committee who have renewed it have attended to questions of equality, so that, for example, the words and needs of children and young people are woven throughout the book rather than held in a separate section.
Expected and unexpected changes
When the Doctor regenerates, viewers know there will be changes, and fan discussion of guesses and predictions is often heated. There are some predictions we can safely make about the new book of discipline: for example, when Britain Yearly Meeting asked for a committee to work on it, the committee were asked to start with the sections on governance – those weren't touched in the previous revision, in the 1990s, and many had only been edited lightly since the 1950s.
Also, in the same way that Doctor Who changes to address the needs and interests of new generations – in terms of TV episode formats and subject matter – the new book of discipline can be expected to include updated material about topics Quakers have worked on more in recent years, such as the climate crisis.
Other changes might be less expected. A new Doctor often has a quirk, catch phrase, or reminder from a previous storyline (anything from playing a recorder to experiencing "mavity" instead of gravity) which the audience could never have predicted. I found some surprises when I read the draft and I'm sure you will too: perhaps the tree diagram which accompanies the contents list to show how elements within the book are related, the explicit inclusion of Quaker theology, or an inspiring quotation you've never encountered before.
Involvement in the process
A key difference between the book and the character lies in the show runners. Whatever our opinions on Doctor Who, very few viewers will ever have the chance to shape the show. Outside the scriptwriters and production team, we all have to sit back, watch what we're offered, and debate it on our social media and in our schools and workplaces without having the chance to change it.
Our Quaker way, however, is a draft offered for discernment. Everyone in the British Quaker community should have the chance to engage with it and be involved in the process – in local and area meetings, as individuals, and when it comes to Yearly Meeting. This is a complete draft but it's not the finished book, and just as Yearly Meeting told the committee where to begin, Yearly Meeting can tell the committee what needs to change before it's published.
Is there a TV show, whether Doctor Who or something else, which you make an appointment to watch? Could you set aside dedicated time in the same way to read the draft of our new book of discipline and reflect on it with Friends and in prayer?
The full text of the draft will be available from Yearly Meeting on 21 November. Print and e-book versions will be available in full and there will chapters available in audiobook form. In collaboration with Woodbrooke, there will be a number of different ways to engage with and respond to the draft in advance of the sessions of Yearly Meeting in July 2027.
