Letters - 03 March 2017
From the cause of peace to the Leaveners
The cause of peace
I must confess to a rising sense of despair whenever I turn to the letters page of the Friend and see the words ‘Israel/Palestine’.
Regrettably, we too often hear viewpoints which clearly favour one side, and push that side’s agenda (I do not refer to any individual correspondent, but merely to the tone of the debate).
People in power on both sides have given orders of which they should be thoroughly ashamed. There has been no shortage of people willing to carry these orders out. And, as usual, those who have least – on both sides – have suffered most.
However, we should remember that people rarely commit violent acts out of simple sadistic pleasure. More often, it is because their upbringing and life experiences have brought them to a place where carrying out the act of violence seems the lesser of two evils, given that the other side is clearly attempting to destroy all they hold dear.
If we foreigners actually wish to help then we would do well to put ourselves in other people’s shoes, remembering that no one is inherently evil. Is there not something of God in everyone?
To pick sides is to risk becoming what Ludwig von Mises called a ‘useful innocent’. It is unlikely to raise any further sympathy abroad, and may expose the person (and any organisation they work for) to accusations of bias and foreign meddling from the other side. Such a situation can hardly advance the cause of peace.
James Yeoman
When is Worship not-worship?
In his reflection (3 February), Alex Thomson notes: ‘It seems to me that God does not want to be worshipped…’
My sober side is prompted to enquire, what do you mean by worship? And, since I often pose this question to myself, what do you think is happening in Meeting for Worship or, even more puzzling, in Meeting for Worship for Business?
Guided by the wise and refreshingly brief words of Howard H Brinton, I am reminded that: ‘Worshippers are like spokes in a wheel. The nearer they come to the centre of all Life the nearer they are to each other. Having reached the centre, they become united in a single life through the creative love of God’ (Quaker faith & practice 21.35).
Not yet quite content, my more playful side wants to enquire, from those who have similar doubts about worship to Alex, should an alternative title for our key community gathering be on a ‘potential’ revision agenda? To get the ball rolling, may I suggest Meeting for Opinion-sharing or Meeting for Personal Growth and, surely a winner, Meeting for Spirituality.
For myself, encouraged by the unshackled exuberance of Isaiah’s devotion, on occasion I am guided to minister locally: ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory, Glory be to thee O Lord Most High’.
Is any Quaker renewal possible that lacks comparable devotion expressed in worship, inextinguishably springing from heart-soul-mind-love of God though always affirmed distinctively in care for neighbour?
Geoffrey Johnson
Theism and nontheism
Noël Staples (10 February) suggests that ‘what nontheists mostly object to is the old-fashioned idea of a bearded man in long clothes in “heaven”’. But if that’s all there is to it, surely every Friend is a nontheist?
I see the distinction between theism and nontheism differently. Theism is the belief that there is a transcendent reality or Being underpinning the universe, the source of life, love, truth and worship. Nontheists respect this traditional understanding, but not all of us can honestly say that it fits our own experience.
The distinction is certainly there, but it is theoretical (or theological) rather than practical. In their daily lives, theist Friends, nontheist Friends and Friends who resist any label but Quaker, seek to live out the values, testimonies and practices which early Friends defined as ‘the peaceable kingdom’, Jesus of Nazareth called ‘the kingdom of heaven’, and we have come to think of as ‘the Quaker way’. That’s our common commitment.
We may differ on the metaphysics, but the metaphysics should not be our central concern. Theism and nontheism need not be perceived as binary opposites. As the world turns on its dark side, let’s light a Quaker candle to celebrate our Society’s openness, inclusivity and diversity.
David Boulton
Speaking out on climate change
It is good to speak out about transferring our finances from fossil fuels into renewable energy and work towards a low carbon, sustainable economy.
However, do we think this could ever be sufficient to persuade seven billion people to tear up capitalism and renounce materialism in time to save future human beings from runaway climate change and mass resource depletion?
There is now a growing awareness amongst climate scientists, that it is already too late to avoid the two degree rise in ocean temperatures that will inevitably lead to the destruction of civilisation as we know it. We are irreversably on that trajectory. The findings of the Arctic Methane Emergency Group (www.ameg.me) make scary reading.
Urgent questions now present themselves:
- Are we willing to recognise that it is already too late to expect our descendants to be able to inherit a low-emission world by mid-century?
- Have we the courage be honest with the next generation and work together to prepare ourselves for a totally uncertain future?
- Are we brave enough to enter a conversation about how to cope with the chaos that is to come?
- Are we strong enough to face the grief of likely losses, not least of the types of certainties and securities we have become accustomed to?
- Are we ready to engage in exchanges about hope and hopelessness, without becoming doom and gloom-mongers.
Without denigrating our worthy efforts to speak out about one route towards a more ‘sustainable’ future, have we got the guts to lead the way into this more gritty conversation too?
Sue Holden
Prayer
Do Friends pray? If so, why, and how?
Roger Seal
Quaker reading
As a new Quaker I have been impressed with the quality and the depth of articles in the Friend and indeed some of the books that I have been reading about being a Quaker.
Impressed but also overwhelmed! Does one have to be an avid reader or of high intelligence to become a Quaker? I have never been a skilled reader or someone that can retain a lot of what I have read, despite much trying during my long lifetime. Despite my reading difficulties I do think very deeply and am usually willing to take part in discussions.
As a marriage guidance counsellor in the nineteen-seventies and eighties we had discussions about our being middle class, educated people and how could we encourage people from other backgrounds to become counsellors. How could we expect people to talk about their feelings if this was impossible for them to do? What alternatives were there? I now ask whether disadvantaged people are welcomed as a Friend rather than being helped by them?
How is it possible to include all kinds of people and not just the well-educated to our Meetings for Worship?
I believe that the work Jean Vanier did with L’Arche showed that worth can come from unexpected places. Quakers are people of inclusion and I see this as a challenge.
I have limited experience as a Quaker and limited abilities in use of the website. I am just seeking answers and would be interested if this challenge has been, or is being, met in some Meetings.
Margaret Worthington
The Leaveners
How unutterably sad: the end of the Leaveners (24 February).
It’s dreadful that Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) can’t sustain an organisation which did so much to enrich our spiritual life with musical and dramatic endeavours. As well as the delight and inspiration it brought to us all, it brought untold benefit to the younger generation – Quakers and non-Quakers. It gave them the joy and discipline of performing, the opportunity to form lasting friendships and raised their awareness of important social concerns – as it raised the awareness of those who saw them perform.
I am left with glorious memories from the small efforts to the great, such as The Gates of Greenham causing the Royal Festival Hall to be swarming with Quakers, and the Cry of the Earth filling the Hochkirche in Leiden with non-Quakers.
I grieve as audience; performers must have deeper memories.
Penelope Putz
Comments
I agree with all my heart with James Yeomans about not taking sides ...But only when both sides are equal in power, influence and so on.
With regard to Palestine, this has been changed in my lifetime from being the land of Palestinians to land which now contains hundreds of thousands of settlers from outside, who were not invited in by the Palestinians, and whose presence is backed by the overwhelming force of the IDF.
By JohnN on 3rd March 2017 - 10:10
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