Eye - 17 May 2013

From inspiration to oysters

Inspired by worship

Next Sunday, take a moment to rest your eyes on your gathered Meeting and ponder how you might capture the sense of the silence and the spirit in paint… or charcoal… or words…

Artists in the Quaker Arts Network have done just that. The resulting 2014 calendar, entitled ‘Inspired by Worship’, contains artwork and inspirational texts focused on Meeting for Worship dating from the seventeenth century to the present day. Each costs £9 (plus postage and packing).

The Network will be formally launched, and hold its first Annual General Meeting, on Saturday 25 May at Yearly Meeting. For more information, visit the brand new website: www.quakerarts.net.

How many Quakers…

…does it take to change a light bulb? Nick Tyldesley, of Bolton Meeting, ponders the question:

‘Premises committee report the broken bulb to the Local Meeting.

‘Local Meeting puts it on the next Business Meeting agenda.

‘At the next Business Meeting there is a discussion on whether to replace the bulb – matter deferred until the following Meeting.

‘At the next Meeting it is agreed to have a replacement but more discussion on what type of bulb – focus group set up to report back.

‘At the next Meeting the focus group reports back and it is decided that the bulb is to be changed by next Meeting.

‘BUT since it is now summer time – we don’t need to switch the lights on.’

Natural appeal

On 16 March Leslie Fuhrmann, of Worthing Meeting, spied with his little eye: ‘A large, handsome, dog fox sunbathing on our Meeting house lawn. After enjoying a leisurely scratch, he leaped up onto the garden wall and basked awhile in the sun, pondering where to seek his next meal, until departing into another garden… (He pays no rent for the garden – warden alerted).’

The Oyster Quakers

What prompted the ‘Oyster King’ to be called ‘Mr Quaker’ (12 April) remains a mystery. However, Paul Honigmann offers some linguistic insights:

‘Kate Arnot wonders whether Friends are called Quakers in German… In my parents’ (or grandparents’) copy of Muret-Sanders’ German/English Dictionary (1909), there are several Quaker words without an umlaut on the letter “a”, namely Quaken = to croak or to quack.

‘It is almost certainly far-fetched to suggest that in the 1919 film The Oyster Princess the Oyster King was portrayed as toady or a sycophant, which does not seem to be in character of the person described in Kate’s question.

‘However, with an umlaut on the “ä”, there are several words relating to Quakers, including Quäker or Quäkeress: “Quäker Bund” = Society of Friends, “Quäker Gemeinde” = congregation or brotherhood of Quakers, “Quäkerisch” = of or like Quakers, and “Quäkertum” = Quakerdom.’

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