Divestment continues to strike a chord with Friends
Divestment from fossil fuels will be on the agenda at an upcoming Friends World Committee for consultation meeting
The Friends World Commit-tee for Consultation (FWCC) is the latest Quaker organisation to consider divesting from companies engaged in the extraction and distribution of fossil fuels.
FWCC general secretary Gretchen Castle told the Friend that the organisation has ‘a spiritual imperative to respond to climate change’ and that divestment is on the agenda for a significant meeting new week. She added: ‘As a world organisation we can encourage all Friends to make thoughtful choices around consumption, knowing that climate change affects the poorest nations first and hardest, even though it will affect us all.
‘Divesting from companies engaged in the extraction and distribution of fossil fuels is a call we can make corporately. As communities of faith, church bodies play a vital role in encouraging ethical decision-making and life choices.’
The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the FWCC will meet from 7 to 12 June at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham. In addition to divestment, committee members will consider proposed changes to the FWCC’s constitution.
The meeting will be attended by Friends from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Kenya and the United States.
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