Eye - 08 March 2024
From Never too old to
Never too old
Friends might remember a story that appeared in the sunshine pages on 26 January, ‘Never too old’.
Bristol-based Roger Sturge, an eighty-five-year-old Friend, appeared on the BBC News website, sharing how he hasn’t let age stop him from pursuing a PhD examining the work of Quakers in Nazi Germany.
Roger told Eye that the story developed from an unexpected place: ‘Oddly enough the contact arose from me being interviewed on WhatsApp by BBC News over the disruption to Eurostar on 30 December when I was held up in Brussels for twenty-four hours, and I mentioned that, among other reasons for being in Germany in December, I’d been getting archive material from German Quakers.’
Roger has found that the piece has sparked curiosity locally: ‘I’m expecting to hear from Radio Bristol… but my favourite response was a message on the WhatsApp group for the community of my road, asking if they’ll have to ask for my autograph.’
Peace-loving eggs
How does our faith impact on the language we use?
Beth Allen, from Bromley Meeting, shared a story of how this can filter through as far as a dippy egg: ‘My parents both served in the Friends Ambulance Unit during the 1939-45 war and we grew up as a pacifist family.
‘When we had boiled eggs, we cut our toast into “soldiers” and dipped them in the yolk like thousands of other children.
‘A Quaker I once met, from a family even more committed to the Peace Testimony, told me that they didn’t call their toast fingers “soldiers” – but I can’t remember what word they used! What is an appropriate name? Volunteers? Protestors? Conscientious objectors?’
What do you think trusty readers? Have you got any suggestions?
Alternative peace work
Roger Bartlett, from Cambridge Jesus Lane Meeting, sent Eye a missive asking just one question: ‘Should Friends be singing in the Houses of Parliament?’
While a singsong is no bad thing, what, I hear you ask, prompted this question?
Well, Roger pointed Eye in the direction of a story in Fellowship Magazine, published on 6 February, about Mennonites singing for ceasefire at Capitol Hill in Washington DC: https://bit.ly/SingCeasefire
Phil Stoltzfus reports that a mass choir of Mennonites sang outside the Cannon House office building on 16 January.
‘We were organized by Mennonite Action, a grassroots start-up calling for congressional support for a ceasefire in Gaza… our black-clad pickup choir sang movement songs as well as traditional hymns straight out of the Mennonite Church USA hymnal, interspersed by chanting.’
He writes about how the protest came about: ‘After the shocking, horrible attacks on Oct. 7, Jewish groups organized very quickly, with several ceasefire actions featuring traditional Jewish ritual elements… “Where are the Christians,” they asked, “after so many thousands of deaths? After Christian Zionists have continued to promote excuses for war?’
‘So, several 20- and 30-something-year-old Mennonites set up a Zoom call. Hundreds showed up, hungry for action and eager to foreground in public the moral power of unique aspects of our faith tradition.’
A day of dispersed ceasefire events took place on 19 December, then the group decided to take their voices to Washington.
‘The Capitol Hill police were apparently completely taken by surprise. They rush in reinforcements… At the end of “My soul cries out” they started, in a generally courteous manner, having each person stand and be zip-tied around the wrists… Finally [after three hours continuing to sing while waiting in hallways], all of us ended up at a nearby garage holding area. Complying with an order not to sing, we sat quietly on folding chairs, listening bemusedly as an officer butchers our surnames as he calls us up, one by one, to get pictures taken and $50 fines paid. Released and back at the nearby Washington City Church of the Brethren, we found hot pizza waiting, along with our outside vigil folks who spent part of the afternoon delivering our ceasefire petition to representatives’ offices.’
Eye is always open to new light, from wherever it may come – have you seen anything that’s inspired you that you’d like to share with Friends?
A twitch in Ipswich
There are Quakers much troubled in Ipswich
Where the midges provoke and the nits itch.
Multitudinous fleas
Seem to do as they please
While their victims must suffer from hips twitch.
Alec Davison
