Honouring our differences: Elaine Green of QCCIR

‘Through purposeful dialogue, we have stood firm.’

‘Inasmuch as the spirit of true religion remains the same under every name, it lives in every form, and is confined to none, being one in itself, unchangeable and powerful in its energy, sanctifying the soul, and whereby the heart is made pure in the sight of God.’ – Samuel Fothergill, ministering at York on the thirtieth of sixth month, 1769.

A Friend recently asked me if in the ecumenical domain there is any evidence that contemporary churches recognise the diversity and plurality of belief within Quakerism today. Is there any understanding of how far British Quakerism has moved from its Christian roots? I find this to be an important question about our self-identity; it also lies at the root of our inter-church and interfaith dialogue, and we must wrestle with it constantly when building relationships.

Quakerism has always diverged from other churches, both established and dissenting, in its Christology and experience of the scriptures. Since the beginning, as an authentic people of faith, Quakers have negotiated their position with other churches and faiths.

The question does, however, also presume that Christians, and the bodies to which they adhere, are contrarily uniform and consistent in their faith expression. In my experience, they most certainly are not, and never have been throughout their parallel histories.

One member of my local Churches Together group explained to me recently her struggle with the word ‘ecumenical’. It has been interpreted, she feels by some, as meaning more than ‘united’, and rather seeking to proselytise across denominational boundaries. In her experience, the term ‘ecumenical’ has meant for many the merging of churches and loss of faith identity; or it has brought about for some a ‘dumbing down’ of doctrines and an inevitable ‘wishy-washiness’ of nothing very distinctive.

The writer who posed the opening question to me believes that Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) can no longer be viewed as a Christian organisation, nor even formally a ‘religious’ organisation, because of its own plurality and diversity of faith, its element of non-theism, and its openness to membership by those who espouse beliefs that stem from other faiths. This is a deeply complex proposition that may revolve around terminology as much as around the dimensions of a personal faith, and perhaps for those reasons may remain unaddressed and unresolvable.

In his 2022 Reith Lecture on freedom of worship, Rowan Williams proposed that: ‘Freedom of worship is an intrinsic aspect of the freedom to manifest belief which is the phrasing used in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And manifesting belief, it seems, is not just about being able to say what you think in abstract terms, it’s not even about your sacred rituals being more or less tolerated; it’s about the freedom to conduct yourself in a certain way, understanding your pattern of life as communicating something more than just your individual wants or feelings because it’s answerable to something more than just your own judgment or just the prevailing social consensus.’

I humbly endorse this value statement and want to find ever-new ways of respecting our differences in our faith expressions. These lie at the heart of who each of us is, as a child of God, to use my chosen phraseology.

I welcome difference as a source of social enrichment and maturity. My own life experience is enlightened by the clear and confident faith expressions of others which I may not share to any degree, but which I do not wish to see diluted for my easier, if blander life. These experiences change some people’s lives for the better, and I rejoice in the religious freedom of any truly liberal democracy that allows for that.

I go further and suggest that the diversity of BYM is also a rich gift in the faith landscape of these islands. The Society of Friends has a strong reputation among different communities across this landscape, both for being faithful and authentic in our faith expression and sometimes challenging in the social witness that results from that authenticity.

The Yearly Meeting and Meeting for Sufferings have had occasion to review the position of BYM as a ‘church’, and discerned thus far that this is where we need to be if we want to engage in the dialogue necessary for community-building across the faiths. Through purposeful dialogue, we have stood firm in our principles on matters over which we have disagreed. Through our own experience of Quaker diversity, we have been able to explore with the wide range of Christians how we might find unity in the things that are eternal and mystical, constrained only by our human words. Our ability to do this has brought us a degree of respect and dignity which extends beyond our size as a faith community. The Quaker contribution to religious and social dialogue meets with a degree of acknowledgement that suggests we often also speak to the condition of others. We speak out truthfully and clearly on matters that are distinct, calling on our principles where this is required.

Churches Together in England (CTE) currently urges all participant denominations to consider the concept of ‘Receptive Ecumenism’, as both a way of thinking and a process that enables unity to be built by receiving gifts from others. We are invited to enter into the experiences of others to draw on their strength of spirit and illumination as we progress on our own journey of continuing revelation. Mike Royal, the general secretary of CTE, wrote in a recent paper about his own faith experience: ‘The history of the Windrush Generation from the Caribbean coming to Great Britain in the 1950s and 1960s and finding themselves not welcomed by the historic churches because of the colour of their skin, is well documented. These migrants from the Caribbean were often members of historic churches back in the Caribbean… The story of that rejection, in part fuelled the establishment of denominations like the New Testament Church of God and the Church of God of Prophecy here in the UK. The sharing of those stories and the stories of the setting up of the Pentecostal Credit Union by Carmel Jones in the mid 1960s are stories of lament that when told in a receptive ecumenical setting not only brings healing and forgiveness between churches but has the effect of drawing churches into closer communion with each other as we understand the pain of the journey.’

Mike quotes another writer, Sarah L Barnes, in Receptive Ecumenism as Transformative Learning: ‘White Christians must stand side by side with their Black and brown sisters and brothers to more concertedly push back against such inequalities and promote structural change.’

By such testimony, I am led to understand that our participation alongside other faiths and religious movements is vital. It is part of our authentic social witness. Quakers in Britain can be confident in their own diverse faith expression and personal experience of truth, if they remain open to the spirit and generous in their acknowledgement in the hidden truths that may be disclosed to others.

We must listen with our hearts.

Elaine is the clerk of Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations.

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