My dear Wormwood

In recent years, we have made excellent progress weakening the Quakers, with the number of members dropping on average about 800 every four years. Although many people have vaguely heard of the Friends, nearly half of those have no idea whether they are a humanitarian organisation involved with social action, a social group or a religion.

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Comments

• Posted by Colin on June 08, 2010

  Yup Rosemary, you seem to have got is sussed, although we have had some good good sessions, over the years, and not always boring.  I was at the first session on the media, but couldn’t face the second session. It really was one of those ‘why am I here’ moments.  I have today read the minute, and that isn’t too clear.  I have two confessions - I was the poor soul who got up at 5.00am to do the Today interview at York, and I was the one who suggested that we add to the minute that we trust in spirit when it came to Sufferings.  Quite frankly, I’ve never wanted to be a member of a secret society, and didn’t realise until now just how secret we were. Pip pip. Colin

• Posted by geriatrikid on June 10, 2010

  If it were not so serious, this is an absolute delight for a newcoming non-attender who has been a concerned reader of all the paperwork.  If I were sixty years younger with the excitement that I now feel for the power for good in practical ways that the Society can become, I fear that on closer inspection I might lose heart. Newcomers are precious - they must not be discouraged. As a seasoned oldie outsider I only wish that my current sense of commitment could be supported by the ability to get out, meet and act - not just among Friends but for everyone.

  A last comment: in my career I had much to do with committees and general meetings. In my experience ‘plenary’ meetings are almost always prey to over stage-management and the dynamics and life come from smaller groupings. It is understandable that the Yearly Meeting has to be more than just a symbol of the coherence of many units and of the diffused, locally centred, membership. Its life will however almost certainly come from the gathered individuals, through specific topic groups and through scope for social interaction and spiritual reflection. The desire to meet at the renewed centre was natural; but gatherings in collegiate university or similar environments are likely to offer much more flexibility in activity around the main meeting.

  
  Perhaps I have missed their publication but I am waiting to see what came out of the essay competition of last autumn. Not that there are likely to be simple solutions.

• Posted by sylvan on June 13, 2010

  Friends be open to new light
  recognise that the spirit of life cannot be owned, or controlled
  let the spirit go and see just what is possible
  and stop being afraid of newness and fresh ideas
  Oh, and let the essence (sorry not testimonies)out that was discovered 350 years ago.
  Put the quake back into Quakers