Friends join DSEI peace pilgrimage
‘We’ve given lots of descriptions of the stages on the website and then people can let us know on the registration what days they’re hoping to walk.'
Quakers are organising a peace pilgrimage to support witness against the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair.
The walk will leave Oxford Friends Meeting House on 4 September and arrive at Westminster Meeting House on 11 September, in time for the evening candlelit vigil outside the arms fair.
Quaker Sam Donaldson, who is co-organising the pilgrimage, told the Friend that there are two parts to the ‘peace pilgrimage project’.
‘One is trying to encourage people to walk for their own local projects. So we’ve created some resources on the website to support those who want to do that, and there are already some people, including myself, who have walked one. The second part is the main bulk of the project, which is this week of walking from Oxford to the start of DSEI.’
The walkers will be staying at various church halls throughout the week, with people free to walk individual route sections. ‘We’ve given lots of descriptions of the stages on the website and then people can let us know on the registration what days they’re hoping to walk. It’s really helpful for people to register in advance, so the hosts know in advance how many are attending.’
There will also be a ‘day of rest’ where the walkers – who are not exclusively Quakers – will be visiting the Catholic Worker Farm in Rickmansworth.
Sam Donaldson said that Quaker Roots particularly wanted to increase ‘the range of options for ways in which people can work for peace, in the face of the increasing violence and greed that is embodied at the arms fair. The pilgrimage, in some sense, highlights the spiritual nature of the crises. I think there is a growing awareness that actually the climate crisis and all that is going on [in terms of global conflict] has deep spiritual roots in our societies. Walking is a way to sow the seeds of peace.’
Friends can register at: https://peacepilgrimage.org.uk/about-the-pilgrimage.
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