Eye - 29 November 2013
From singing songs to botherations
Singing songs and silence
When Young Friends General Meeting (YFGM) met in May Les Miserables and Evita inspired YFGM the Opera! It is a delightful melding of musical and Meeting that is not to be missed – with gems such as:
‘I dreamed a dream in time gone by
when time was spare and duties fleeting
I dreamed that noms would pass me by…
I dreamed of going to Meeting for Eating
But the pressure was applied
With kind smiles and gentle nudging
And my name it was discerned
And the appointment it was made’
The performance was captured by some impromptu filming and can now be seen on Youtube: bit.ly/YFGMopera
Whilst voices are clearly in fine fettle, Young Friends are also bringing their creative flair to their annual appeal.
‘Like most local Quaker Meetings YFGM has an appeal that it tries to raise money for… However, unlike most Meetings there will only be one YFGM appeal for twelve months at a time.’
The current appeal is for the Cape Town Quaker Peace Centre in South Africa, which works to promote peace and nonviolence in schools and to encourage young women’s leadership skills.
YFGM’s latest and biggest fundraising project is a silent auction of promises, where Young Friends have volunteered their time and skills – from a Ceilidh band performance and calligraphy to a sign language lesson and lawn-mowing.
Any Eye readers keen to take part can find further details here: bit.ly/YFGMauction
Spied in a postscript
Laurie Andrews, of Maldon Meeting, got in touch when he spotted a Quaker Meeting house in the postscript of Diary of a gay priest by Malcolm Johnson: ‘I still pray and remember those I love or who are in need, but I do not often attend church because the services are so stunningly boring and wordy. Since the age of ten I have always felt an outsider and still am. Perhaps I should follow my friend John Hencher’s example and find a Quaker Meeting house…’
Powerful and profound
As Prisons Week drew to a close it was marked by an ecumenical act of worship at Wells-next-the-Sea Meeting house.
David Saunders, a local Friend, contacted Eye to tell us more:
‘Most of the material used came from the group of men who attend the weekly Quaker Meeting for Worship held in the chaplaincy of Norwich prison under the care of the Quaker chaplain, Joolz Saunders. They had been invited to write about themselves and their experience of prison. The result was a powerful, authentic, at times heart breaking, series of contributions which rang deep and true.
‘Introducing the worship Joolz explained that the men who had contributed would be linking in spiritually from their prison cells with our worshipping group at 6pm on Sunday. It meant a lot to them to know that their words would be heard and valued.
‘The readers came from four church denominations and the cumulative impact of hearing what life in prison is like from those experiencing it on the inside was profound. One of them wrote: “Because I can’t be part of the outside world anymore I have no way of making it all better.” This was a true ministry to us.’
Oh bother
Eye would like to apologise to Philip Morris, of Stratford-upon-Avon Meeting, for incorrectly referring to the hymn ‘Oh Brother Man’ as ‘Oh Bother Man’ in last week’s story ‘Singing Quakers’ (22 November).
Thank you to those eagle-eyed readers who spotted this error, with particular thanks to Bridget Bowcock, of Come-to-Good Meeting, for this novel composition:
We read just a tiny mistake
that proofreaders can easily make
for, instead of a ‘brother’
we meet here a ‘bother’
– what a difference one letter can make!
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