East Anglian Friends gather. Photo: Courtesy of Paul Hodgkin.
Friends gather for spring equinox
'At the equinox, the light and the dark fall equally on everything on Earth'
Twenty-three Friends across East Anglia gathered together in the sunshine to reflect on the equinox and its ‘message of rebirth’.
Paul Hodgkin, from Bury St Edmunds Meeting, told the Friend: ‘Friends across East Anglia gathered together for twenty-four hours in Bury St Edmunds to discuss the twin Earth crises of climate breakdown and worldwide loss of biodiversity. At the equinox, the light and the dark fall equally on everything on Earth, so, as well as the joys of meeting in the spring sunshine, we also reflected on the equality of all things – human and other-than-human – which make up the web of life on which we all depend.’
Sessions included: looking at Friends’ experience of witness, in relation to climate change; and using the Support Circles approach to explore Friends’ own particular concerns. ‘We even did some singing,’ added Paul. ‘The Friday evening, plus all day on Saturday, format worked well for us, and using a Meeting house meant we kept costs down for everyone. Some of us even slept in the Meeting house… we would really encourage other Area Meetings or regions to use this kind of approach.’
