New Presiding Clerk is Duncan Frewin, QRM
When Nominations Committee approached me about becoming the next Presiding Clerk (2025-2028), I was surprised. “Who, me?” But in fact, I could see that I had been well prepared over many years.
For those who don’t know me, I was born and raised in Canada, in southern Ontario. In the United Church I imbibed hymns and scripture, which have given me a spiritual language that is still meaningful.
Meanwhile I discovered a love of travel, and spent two years living in Japan, learning to practice Zen. Indeed, for me Quakers offer a loose parallel of Zen but with a familiar Christian language.
Back in Canada I also studied Church Music, which gave me another way of understanding the Spirit. Practising church music in many different churches gave me an appreciation of the various gifts that every church offers. But when it became clear that music was not the right path for me, I went to a Quaker meeting in Brisbane, and I was finally home.
Along the way I had married an Australian woman, had two wonderful daughters, and inevitably got divorced. With Quakers, I found the courage to come out as a gay man. I met Patrick almost 40 years ago, and we married in Brisbane meetinghouse in 2018.
Travel and teaching English language here and overseas (Japan, Cambodia, UAE, Qatar and China) has expanded my appreciation of the variety of cultures, the variety of human experience, and the gifts they all offer. Relationships and bringing up two daughters has kept my feet on the ground.
Attending Quaker meetings, especially Yearly Meetings, has been an adventure of the spirit and intellect. So many Friends have taught me, shown me the path, mentored me, encouraged me to take up challenges, helped me see the skills I have, and always encouraged me to deepen my spiritual life.
In a paradoxical way I have come to appreciate the spiritual insights of the Scriptures and early Christians, even as I gradually moved to a non-theistic way of thinking. The words of Friends speak to my heart, and feeling secure in my faith among Friends, I can now appreciate the spirit life of Christian thinkers such as Saint Augustine or Thomas Merton, as I feel the spirit that lies behind the words.
I look forward to the next three years. It will be a time to offer my skills for a community I love. It will be a real challenge to help deal with the painful things that come from the life of a community, and that only a community can heal. It will be a blessing to witness the gifts of the Spirit among Friends. It will be a gift in itself to represent Friends in the wider community. And in all these, I know I will have the company of Friends on the road. Thank you, my Friends.
Duncan Frewin, Presiding Clerk
