Photo: Courtesy of Senior Conference.
Hopeful futures: Epistle from Senior Conference 2024
‘People were moved to give emotive and powerful ministry.’
‘Fifty-seven young Quakers and thirteen adult volunteers gathered at Leighton Park School [August 20–26] for connection and reflection. This year we centred around the theme of ‘Using Our Beliefs to Construct a Hopeful Future’ through speaker sessions that helped us question preconceived notions of a hopeful future and the steps Quakers can take to help achieve it.
Three of the adult volunteer team engaged us with stories about their beliefs and how these have affected their decisions. Participants joined small discussion groups to share how their beliefs and what they hope for relates to their own lives and experiences. This session established a good foundation to examine our theme more personally.
The next speaker was Ellis Brooks who works for Quaker Peace & Social Witness. We discussed the effectiveness of nonviolent civil disobedience and learnt many surprising facts, such as that as few as 3.5% of a population need to become involved in nonviolent protest movements for it to be successful. A discussion about what constitutes violence inspired thoughtful and passionate conversations. We took away the idea that nonviolent action from a diverse range of people is often more likely to be successful than violent action. There was space to share how each of us understands the complexity and contextual nature of each scenario.
Our final speaker, David Kikaya, told us of his experiences as a Kenyan Quaker and his involvement in organisations such as Friends World Committee for Consultation and the Quaker United Nations Office. These broadened our view and gave us a perspective on what a hopeful future looks like on a global stage. David’s work in Peace Studies, and experiences of living under the propaganda of British colonial rule, were a reminder of how our government created huge levels of inequality and unfairness that continues today.
We enjoyed a trip to Oxford with Junior Gathering, holding a joint Meeting for Worship before exploring the city. Evening entertainments continued to create fun and laughter with events such as the Quiz, the Themed Disco, Hunt the Committee and the final night Ents. Base groups and Secret Friends created welcoming, familial spaces for participants to form closer connections. A quiet breakout space supported participants and sustained an inclusive atmosphere.
Senior Conference has been sharing a venue with Junior Gathering, which has strengthened the connection between the two. Changing venues has been challenging; we adapted the event whilst maintaining the parts we think are special, such as the strong community and the responsibility and agency held by the Arrangements Committee.
Meetings for Worship and Epilogues maintained the spiritual closeness throughout the event. With guidance and support from the Elders, people were moved to give emotive and powerful ministry – some for the first time.
Centrepieces helped to focus the worship as we shared our beliefs and hopes, as well as our worries, for the future.
We reluctantly leave a week of happiness, safety, and fun, but feel filled with love and hope for the future. We are now re-energised and inspired to take action.’
Signed Freddie Fricker & Sam Bennett, clerks. Edited for length.
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