Friends spread welcome at Pride
'Quakers [as an official group] did not march in Pride in London this year. There have been objections in the past, about military and corporate involvement.'
Nine London Friends joined the city’s Pride march to spread the Quaker message of inclusion, despite the fact that London Quakers as a group did not join. Friend Abigail Maxwell took a Local Meeting minute and described how the group stood along Piccadilly in groups of three, holding foam boards with the message to marchers that ‘Quakers welcome them’. Writing on the Clare Flourish blog, Abigail Maxwell said: ‘Quakers [as an official group] did not march in Pride in London this year. There have been objections in the past, about military and corporate involvement. I was not present at the decision. Quaker Rainbow, the Quaker LGBT+ fellowship, considered the matter again, and [one Friend] suggested we face the march, saying that Quakers include LGBT+. I felt a need to do that.’
Pride has been criticised for the fact that some events were sponsored by arms companies, including BAE Systems. Last year the arms dealer sponsored several Pride events in the UK, including Leeds and London last summer, and three Pride marches in 2019.
Quaker Rainbow told the Friend last year that it has been concerned about corporate involvement and ‘pink-washing’ in Pride events for some time, which is why the group was no longer involved in the events and stopped attending London Pride with a Quaker presence. However, it said: ‘We welcome the perspectives of Friends on this if they wish to share them with us.’
Abigail Maxwell also told the Friend that Brighton Meeting House was open for tea and cakes for the city’s Pride march this weekend. Friends also held placards welcoming LGBT+ people to Quakers. Penzance Friends also attended a Cornwall Pride event, with groups of Quakers joining marches.
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