Friends from Hill House Meeting in Accra, Ghana. Photo: Courtesy of Kuukuwa Manful.
Digital exchange
Friends in Stansted and Accra are connecting via the internet for discussion and debate
Stansted Friends are organising two discussions with a Quaker Meeting in Accra, Ghana. The first Skype debate will take place on 27 January on ‘Truth’ with discussion about ‘post-truth’. The next online meeting, on 10 March, close to Ghana’s Independence Day, will be about: ‘Applying Quaker Testimony to the idea of Freedom – Independence or Interdependence?’.
Lynne Kirtley, member of Stansted Meeting, told the Friend: ‘The idea is that we can learn from each other. It was originally prompted by a note in the Friend from Accra Quakers, who were rebuilding their damaged Meeting house. We gave support, but wanted to share on a more reciprocal and spiritual level.’
Kobina Ankomah-Graham, from Hill House Meeting in Accra, told the Friend the exchange ‘helps our Meeting feel part of something bigger. There’s something about the format that encourages you to be a little more reflective and thoughtful; to think outside of yourself and through the eyes of other Friends.’
The Meetings first connected over the social media platform WhatsApp in June to discuss ‘Welcoming a Stranger’. Lynne Kirtley said: ‘To be silent with another Meeting in another continent was very profound.’ There are six members of Hill House Meeting and eight members of Stansted Meeting.
