Softly-lit roof struts in Malvern Meeting House. Photo: Courtesy of Rosie Adamson-Clark.
Hands of Friendship
Rosie Adamson-Clark tells the tale of a roof
My partner and I recently had the joy of visiting dear friends in Malvern as part of a two-week holiday. We travelled, taking in Scotland, then all the way down to Pershore, Malvern and Bath. The holiday was to celebrate my wife’s sixtieth birthday, and her retirement from a university post of twenty-eight years. Recent times at work for Chris had been extremely stressful and my health challenges had worsened considerably. Chris, as my carer, also had a lot of stress related to that. Our faith and religion as Quakers has kept us afloat in difficult times. It had kept us ‘safe’ and continues to sustain and nurture us… when perhaps relationships around us generally may not have offered the much-needed extra ‘hand-holding’ or supporting at times.
We can all be distracted by our own needs and we have ever increasingly busy lives. The many demands on our time, and this type of speedy life, make our period in worship crucially important. That simple quietude with Friends nurtures our inner being; it stills the ruminations (hopefully) and pushes back or diminishes the ‘oh so many “shouty” voices’ we carry with us each day. These voices can be demanding of our attention and actions.
Often the ‘voices’ are about the ‘should’, ‘ought’, ‘must do’ and ‘need to’ in our lives; and yet on examination so many of these urgent pulls on our selfhood and way of life are not really imperative, or life sustaining actions. They are the burdens of a life lived in a society in the fast lane, where the individual is expected to be a certain way, live a certain way and dress a certain way. With these urgencies come less time to reflect, feel the Light, less time to calmly and deeply explore the inner world we each have. Our mind, like our lives, is often a complex maze of over-thinking and ‘overdoing’ that which could be more simplified and uplifting.
It is not just plain or uncluttered courses of action we seek to make way for the important ‘stuff’, but also the simplicity of our type of living generally. For me, Advices & queries 41 speaks enormously: ‘Try to live simply. A simple lifestyle freely chosen is a source of strength. Do not be persuaded into buying what you do not need or cannot afford. Do you keep yourself informed about the effects your style of living is having on the global economy and environment?’
So, it seems to me, visiting friends, and Friends, and sharing tasty simple food, laughter and silence, is part of the simplicity that allows for the space to grow in the spirit, and reach out to a brighter Light in our lives.
The roof struts in Malvern Meeting caught my eye and, as we sat and worshipped that Sunday on our holiday, they spoke loudly to me about hands reaching out and supporting each other. The wooden ‘arms and hands’ supported the roof and sides of the building, and they kept the people inside warm, dry, safe and secure.
These beautiful and simple structures, of an ancient design, did a magnificent job of befriending in a simple and profound way. They simply protected and upheld in a lovely lightness those who come to share, worship and offer hands to each other. The oak – hard, dependable, sure, always there, bridging a gap and being ‘true’ – was, for me, the sign of our faith; it was the representation of Friends who seek the Inner Light, and the simplicity and the honesty to live out our testimony as Quakers. Nothing was complex about it. It wasn’t over-busy, or fussy. The wood was light and plain.
I felt renewed and supported after the worship, as it should be.
