Friends take part in climate justice banner drop
Local Friend Linda Murgotroyd said that Wandsworth Quakers put their banner up more than a week early ‘as Friends were too keen!’
Wandsworth Meeting was one of the first groups to display its climate justice banner as part of an international multi-faith day of action. The ‘Faiths 4 Climate Justice’ initiative officially began on 17 October, with a banner unfurled in front of St John’s Church in Waterloo as part of a coordinated programme of action across the UK.
Local Friend Linda Murgotroyd said that Wandsworth Quakers put their banner up more than a week early ‘as Friends were too keen!’ Made from recyclable materials, it is now on display outside the Meeting House.
The unfurling at St John’s in Waterloo was attended by people of all faiths calling for ‘real climate justice commitments at COP26’.
Central Edinburgh Friends also took part in the banner drop, organised by the GreenFaith network. Their banner will be up throughout COP26, including welcoming some pilgrims walking from Dunbar to Glasgow for the ‘Pilgrimage for COP26’. One of the Quaker organisers Jonathan Baxter said: ‘Just as streams flow together to form a river, the Pilgrimage for COP26 will increase its flow as the journey develops. Individuals, communities and cultural organisations are collaborating to bring their concerns, imagination and resources to bear to shape the pilgrimage and articulate its vision.’
The pilgrimage was launched on 17 October at St Anne’s Church in Dunbar, following thirty minutes of Quaker worship. The journey includes many cultural events such as a talk by Quaker author and activist Alastair McIntosh and ends on 31 October at Glasgow Meeting House. There is a timeline of events building up to COP26 on the Quakers in Britain website: www.quaker.org.uk/cop26countdown.
