Eye - 14 December 2018

From friendship and fellowship to caring for craftsmanship

Friendship and fellowship

Quakers in Bradford have been extending the hand of friendship to a local community group.

Local Friend Carolyn Piggott told Eye that in November ‘Friends welcomed the Bradford East Africa Community (BEAC) to a shared lunch and, in addition, were delighted to welcome a family from Gaza who have recently arrived in the city’.

She explained: ‘The BEAC supports newcomers and refugees arriving in the city from countries in the region and they now use Bradford Meeting House each week as a base for their activities… It provides homework support for children, language support, men’s and women’s groups and now has a football team.’

Carolyn added: ‘One man was so moved to see a contribution in our book This Light that Pushes Me which, he said, reflected his experience.’

An unexpected gift

Eighteenth century pantaloons brought smiles to a sad farewell over the summer.

Jill Allum, of Beccles Meeting, told Eye about the passing of local Friend Inge Lambert: ‘I was fortunate to have been invited to her home several times, to share her amazing gift of telling the story of her early life. She knew I loved Quaker history, and gave talks, so she gave me a family heirloom of a pair of pants! She thought they came from the eighteenth century – wide and silky, with no way of doing them up!’

This unexpected gift made a reappearance at Inge’s memorial in July, attended by sixty relatives and friends, including about fifteen Quakers. ‘In ministry Inge’s grandson, Julian, sang a moving lullaby, then sat down and sobbed. I held up the pants and thanked Inge for them. Smiles went round the room. Inge’s daughter, Ruth, was laughing out loud! Inge’s spirit was so strong and felt so close.’

Caring for craftsmanship

An unusual feature in a Quaker Meeting house was the subject of careful discernment and restoration in 2018. In Middlesbrough Meeting House, originally a private house built in 1914, there is a curved window made up of twelve large panels of opaque and textured glass in various styles, all leaded and sitting within wooden frames.

Local Friend Michael Wright told Eye that, when this distinctive aperture showed signs of being ‘decayed in places beyond repair’, Friends were faced with a dilemma: ‘Pay for a complete renovation, or opt for a less costly replacement with a modern flat UPVC window.’

Michael explained: ‘The decision to restore the window using local skilled craftsmanship was, in the end, made by Middlesbrough Friends as part of their responsibility for their stewardship of the building, and in the spirit of the Arts and Crafts movement – to support local craft skills, and maintain a unique artistic feature in the area.’

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