'‘Invites were through personal connections and links with multicultural groups from our richly diverse city…'
Eye - 29 September 2023
From A summer of sharing to Fierce philanthropy
A summer of sharing
Sheffield Central Meeting was packed with around 100 people for a Shared World Celebration on 21 July.
Chrissie Hinde told Eye: ‘Invites were through personal connections and links with multicultural groups from our richly diverse city… we congregated under one roof, sharing a bountiful array of tasty food and talents. We were joined by a number of friends from City of Sanctuary’s Conversation Club, which is facilitated by two of our Quaker members.
‘We kicked off the evening with Create Dance Pitsmoor youngsters, aged four to nine years old, showcasing their lively dance routines. This was followed by a thirty-five-member-strong One World Choir with a set including very moving songs written by choir members from Sudan and Congo. A choir member from Ukraine made a very delicious birthday cake for us all to share to thank those who’d made her so welcome in Sheffield.
‘One of the choir members said it was a joy to perform for such a diverse audience as they usually performed to mainly white audiences. Next up was “Connected World” Black Women’s poetry group, performing poems from their beautiful anthology composed in Sheffield Flourish’s poetry workshops.
‘The evening rounded off with our “in-house” Quaker Ceilidh caller and band leading us in some energetic and easy to follow dances.’
The atmosphere drew everyone together. Lauren, of Create Dance Pitsmoor, said: ‘Many families planned on leaving straight after the dancing, but they said they felt so welcome, they stayed for much longer.’
Meanwhile Susan, of Connected Worlds, reflects: ‘I smile every time I think of the dancing at the end. Sometimes, being terrible is the best thing.’
Following this event the Meeting has collaborated with Utopia Theatre Company, a Sheffield-based company celebrating African culture. Chrissie tells Eye: ‘We had hoped to host their performance of Anna Hibiscus Song at our Meeting house. Insufficient floor space meant that many of us enjoyed this very life affirming show at the Crucible theatre instead… We are very grateful to Quakers in Yorkshire for supporting us with outreach funds to help pay for food provided and travel for guests on low/no income.’
Have there been any outreach events or conversations that have made your heart sing too Friends?
Fierce philanthropy
A highly-decorated robe intended for a Chinese government official might be a surprising find in the wardrobe of a Quaker missionary in the early twentieth-century. Meg Hill, of Preston Patrick Meeting, told Eye the tale of how it came into her ancestor’s hands.
She writes: ‘My grandfather, John Porter Rodwell, and his wife Dorothy, née Holmes, spent many years as Quaker missionaries in Szechuan, China…Recently, a new China Gallery has been opened in Manchester Museum. Curated, as it happens, by their great-grandson, who has also spent much time in China. In it is a marvellous “Dragon Robe” made for Duanfang, a Chinese governor killed in 1911 as the Qing dynasty came to a violent end…
‘John Rodwell knew that the robe had been made by a local tailor at vast expense, but before he could be paid for it his customer, Duanfang, met his end. This would have meant real financial difficulties for the tailor, so John bought the robe from him and eventually brought it back to Britain when the family had to leave in 1926.’
