Eye - 22 March 2019
From Friends, animals and songs to a complicated and occasionally gruesome Quaker
Friends, animals and songs…
A Quaker singer/songwriter has rolled up his musical sleeves and embarked on a new project focussed on animals and people.
Eden Thomas, of Heswall Meeting, was responsible for the Quaker Songs Project, which ran from 2014 to 2016. In his new venture, Quaker Animal Songs, he aims to create ten new pieces about animals to raise funds for the Quaker Concern for Animals.
He told Eye: ‘Animals are, without doubt, a crucial resource for humans but how much use are we to them? They sustain and support us in many, many ways but how much do we sustain them, other than for our own interests? How unequal is this symbiotic relationship? And yet without us all, in our amazing diversity, the world would be a lesser and poorer place.’
Three songs have already been created and can be heard at http://bit.ly/QuakerAnimalSongs. Friends can also contact Eden via this website, especially if they are artistically-inclined… ‘[I am] looking for Quaker artists who would like to produce art around either the project subject of sustainability and animals, or around the individual songs.’
Further work in progress includes topics such as the difficult decision to euthanise, industrial fishing and animals trained to save human life.
Porridge, ruffles and chocolate
‘You might think of the porridge, people wearing ruffles or the Cadbury family association. But who exactly are Quakers? And what do they believe?’ On 2 March the Western Mail Weekend published a feature about Quakers in Bridgend that sought to answer these questions.
Local Friend Pete Thompson told Eye that Jessica Walford, the reporter, met half a dozen Friends one Sunday to delve into the history and practice of the Society and explore personal stories.
These ranged from spiritual journeys to experiences of Quakers around the world. She spoke to both newcomers and long-standing Friends, and discovered the impact that their faith has had on their families, careers and acts of witness.
One Friend reflected: ‘From a Quaker point of view, you see God in everyone and that element of goodness. But that’s quite difficult when you think of some of the bad people who have been around. You should hate the sin, love the sinner. The person themselves deserves respect and to be treated properly, even if that means being prosecuted and going to jail. They have to learn the consequences. But you have to appreciate that the thing they do is wrong, not the person.’
Inspiration flares in the foyer
The welcoming surroundings of Liverpool Meeting house has stirred the artistic inclinations of a visitor.
The striking drawing by visitors to the Meeting house’s cafe, Ron and Wendy Brown, was shared with Eye by Andrew Backhouse, of Wilmslow Meeting, who said: ‘[It is] not quite as it looks in reality, more what the artist saw was possible.’
Eye wonders whether others have been moved to put pencil to paper by Friendly surroundings?
‘Not recommended’
Readers who might be moved to pick up a particular book expecting there to be a Friendly connection may be disappointed.
Diana and John Lampen, of Stourbridge Meeting, told Eye: ‘Friends who might spot a paperback called The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney in bookshops need not rush to buy it. It is a police thriller set mostly in Glasgow, and “the Quaker” is the police and press nickname for the mystery serial killer. This name is never explained and seems intended simply to shock. The story, ingenious, complicated and occasionally gruesome, sheds no light on our Society or its beliefs.
