Berry Dicker presenting Dorothy with a card and a basket of hyacinth bulbs. Photo: Rhoda Wharton.
Eye - 12 February 2016
From celebrating a century to Friends in Finland
Celebrating a century
Dorothy Smith recently celebrated becoming a centenarian.
Friends in Lichfield joined her to mark this milestone birthday.
Rhoda Wharton told Eye: ‘We sang happy birthday and Dorothy blew out the one candle on the cake!
‘As a child Dorothy attended Bull Street Meeting and became a member of the [Religious] Society of Friends when she was in her nineties.
‘She is much loved by Lichfield Friends and is well known in Lichfield. She was the first manager of the hospice shop here and until recently she continued to help in the shop.’
Love of God
A love of radio reconnected one Friend with a fondly-remembered name from the past.
Connie Hazell, of Bournemouth & Fordingbridge Meeting, reflected: ‘One of the milestones on my journey to the [Religious] Society of Friends was the weekly broadcasts Yours faithfully by the late Gerald Priestland, who, at the time, was religious affairs correspondent at the BBC…
‘I was delighted to find mention of him in a book entitled Hello Again by Simon Elmes, which is described as “nine decades of radio voices”. It mentions how at a time of deep depression he was rescued by faith in the form of Quakerism.
‘After a partial recovery from a severe stroke, his last broadcast was Easter 1991 in which he said, in speech much impaired, “I have had the feeling of being crushed under a rock till I could see only one crack of light. And that was the love of God. The absolute certainty when everything else had been taken from me, that God loved me”.’
Friends in Finland
How far do you travel to get to Meeting for Worship?
Roger Hill, from Totnes, sent Eye an icy snap of members of the North Finland Worship Group in early January.
He wrote: ‘Members of the group travel some 200 kilometres from different parts of Northern Finland in conditions such as this to spend the day meeting together for worship, conversation and sharing a meal. An added emphasis and value is given to Meeting by the difficulties of travel.’
