The discipline of corporate discernment ties us together as a community. The community supports and guides individuals in their journeys just as surely as the individuals inspire the community. The discipline of corporate discernment holds the community together, preventing it from fracturing into individuals, each following their own interpretation of the Inner Light. Our differences may provide opportunities for growth and understanding, thus invigorating the religious life of the community. We do not believe in either majority rule or in a leadership that must be followed: we recognize that the majority is not necessarily correct. We learn not to ride rough-shod over members with whom we disagree, but to take the time to listen to them and together to listen for God’s guidance. Our meetings for business are to discern God’s will and in the process to build up the community of faith. It is not our aim just to “get good things done.”

New England Yearly Meeting Faith & Practice, 2015 Web Edition, In Meeting for Business