Commemoration events
Commemoration events at Yearly Meeting Gathering
Bearing light in commemoration
The second full day of Yearly Meeting Gathering coincided with the one hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of world war one. Friends were able to mark 4 August in a number of ways.
Light and darkness were at the heart of a very simple, creative and moving epilogue on Monday evening led by Young Friends General Meeting.
Young Friends chose to explore the historic words of Edward Grey, British foreign secretary from 1905 to 1916, that ‘the lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime’. These historic words were also the focus of ecumenical and interfaith events across the country that evening.
Several hundred Friends gathered in the large space outside the Big Top, forming a huge human ring, and the epilogue began with torches and lights being switched on by participants. A powerful silence was held throughout the epilogue. No words were spoken. The switching off of lights represented the beginning of the first world war. Finally, lights were switched on by participants to signify the end of the war and the start of peace and a period of hope.
It was a wonderful event and elder Friends expressed a deep sense of gratitude for the imagination and witness of Young Friends present.
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