Friends ‘work creatively to heal our fractured world’
‘We recognise the on-going suffering in other parts of the world which could be forgotten at this time.’
Eighty Friends came together last month to discuss ‘From Crisis to Connection: working creatively to heal our fractured world’.
The gathering in Paris was the annual meeting of Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) Europe and Middle East Section (EMES). According to the epistle, the meeting took place ‘in the long shadow of the war in Ukraine’, despite the joy of being together physically for the first time in two years. ‘We recognise the on-going suffering in other parts of the world which could be forgotten at this time.’
On Sunday morning, the attendees joined in worship with Quakers in Kiev and heard ‘firsthand accounts of the work being done by Friends across Europe to support those affected by the war, notably in Georgia, Estonia, Czechia and Poland. We listened to the fears’.
‘We were inspired and challenged by our speakers to create peace on earth, to dare to dream of turning weapons into spades, and to challenge the mistaken notion that the military option is the only option.’
Tim Gee, general secretary of FWCC, spoke at the meeting, as did Bainito Wamalwa, clerk of FWCC Africa Section, who urged Friends to remember ‘that we have a prophetic task of personal and collective transformation in this age of global uncertainty and instability’.
Karina Knight Spencer, from Stop Fuelling War, and Quaker Council for European Affairs representatives, reminded the attendees ‘to recognise the complexity of the situations we are facing. We need to listen, reflect and work on long-term solutions’.
The epistle for the meeting from 20–23 May is on the FWCC website. Forty Friends attended online with forty in person.
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