Courtesy of Magnus Ramage. Photo: Friends attending Pride in Northampton.
Eye - 16 August 2024
Friends in Northampton attend Pride for the first time, a Friend shares how their Yearly Meeting was literally upheld, and colouring contemplation
Queer Quakers
Photos filled with colour, pride, and Friendly smiles arrived in Eye’s mailbag, courtesy of Magnus Ramage, clerk of Northampton Meeting.
Magnus says: ‘A group of Friends from Northampton Meeting took part in Northampton Pride for the first time [this year], under a sign saying “Queer Quakers”. It was a really positive occasion, and it felt very good to celebrate our identity with LGBTQIA+ folks and allies.
‘Lots of civic groups were present in the parade, but I think we were the only faith group present. We made use of really good BYM [Britain Yearly Meeting] resources for Pride – stickers, badges and postcards – with the slogan “Quakers support the LGBTQIA+ community”.’
Glimmers
What has brought some sunshine to your day?
Upholding Yearly Meeting
Jan Sellers, from Wanstead Meeting, shared a moment of synchronicity with Eye and explained: ‘I grabbed a handful of books from the nearest shelf without looking at them, just to get my iPad to the right height to join a preparatory BYM meeting – I was astonished afterwards to see the relevance of the set of titles I’d picked up!’
Well-love phrases
Eye invites you to contemplate well-loved phrases from Quaker texts by picking up a pen or pencil and colouring, doodling… whatever moves you! This week, the phrase is from Quaker faith & practice 26.04.
