FWCC Gretchen Castle reflects
'We expanded the table, bringing around more tables and chairs, as an act of encouragement for everyone to gather.'
Quaker Gretchen Castle spoke at a Quaker Conversations session about her nine years service as general secretary for Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC). The episode on 26 June was the tenth in the FWCC series. Writing on the FWCC website, Gretchen Castle said: ‘I have shared meals with Friends in many parts of the world.’ Over the years, she says, she has ‘watched as we expanded the table, bringing around more tables and chairs, as an act of encouragement for everyone to gather’. This, she admits, has also led to ‘difficult conversations’, particularly regarding sustainability work, as ‘we struggle to find a common language for certain aspects of our faith. But we are at the table, ready to have the conversation. Ready to listen and ask questions where we didn’t understand. Because we want to understand.’
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