Letters - 14 December 2018
From a 'Quiet Day' to seeking in Meeting
‘Quiet Day’
Were the disputes currently happening over Brexit occurring at Local Meeting level, Friends would probably be calling for a Meeting for Clearness.
It is unlikely that all the parliamentary factions would agree to attend such a meeting, even if invited by the heads of the churches and other faiths, but it might be worth a try. Quakers might be well placed to initiate such an idea.
An alternative might be to ask the BBC and ITV to lead the nation in a ‘Quiet Day’. There would be no political news, views or discussion broadcast. In their place would be appropriate music and pictures of nature, or works of art with messages underneath. The messages might say such things as: ‘Think you may be mistaken’ and ‘Be open to new ideas wherever they may come from’.
It might just be possible that this could help to break the impasse we are in.
David May-Bowles
Fragmentation
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, the journalist, gave the thirty-fourth Coventry Peace Lecture on 13 November. She described herself as a political refugee of 1972 who loves Britain, with its freedom, justice and equality. However, Britain also has fragmentation, she said, because of austerity and not paying equal attention to the whole of Britain. Fragmentation is causing discrimination and prejudice, she argued. I worry that this may apply to Quakers in Britain.
I have some descriptions of fragmenting. In Area Meeting minutes, my Local Meeting is a branch. Correspondence clarifies: ‘It’s merely a branch.’
My Local Meeting talks of ‘attenders and members’, amplifying a sad truth – we and them. (‘Seekers’ is a better word.) These descriptions are, I think, fragmenting Quakers.
Quakers are better together. Meeting for Sufferings seeks to promote inclusion and diversity.
We should listen to what we say and what we mean. We should nurture. Could every minute we write, action we take and every word we say apply this question: ‘How is this nurturing?’
Could this bring us together more, encourage greater inclusion and help us, as Quakers, in ‘speaking out’ to the world?
David Fish
Cornerstones of Quakerism
I welcome the article ‘Not a notion but a way’ by Henry S Thompson (23 November) and am heartened by much of what he has written. However, I am puzzled by one sentence: ‘After all, the single thing we can confidently say unites Britain Yearly Meeting is that we go to Meeting for Worship.’
It seems to me that, metaphorically, Quakerism is an edifice built, not on one, but on four cornerstones. These are, first, that Friends belong to what they themselves describe as ‘the Religious Society of Friends’; second, that, as Henry says, the core of Quakerism is worship; third, that this must mean that Quakers believe there is a deity, however it is described (for example, ‘God’, ‘the Inner Light’, the ‘Holy Ghost’ and many others); and, fourth, that Quakerism is rooted in Christianity.
If you cut off the root to which Quakerism is grafted, then Quakerism will die. I believe that, if one removes one cornerstone, Quakerism will be badly damaged. Remove two or more and Quakerism, as we have known and cherished it, will be destroyed. Is that what Friends really want?
Paul Honigmann
Friends and the first world war
I have waited in silence for some weeks and now the urge to minister cannot be denied. The 30 November edition of the Friend arrived and still there was no letter referring to the wonderful series of articles, in its centenary years, mirroring the duration of the first world war through the pages of the contemporary issues of the Friend.
They gave me a wonderful sense of how Quakers met the challenges of such turbulent times, both at home and abroad, and in their Meetings. We have need now of the patience and fortitude they showed then.
Thank you, Janet Scott, for bringing the articles to us month after month.
Kathy Gollin
Support and nurture
Following Jane Muers’ article on the experience of moving into membership (23 November) the three Friends she mentioned would like to offer some comments from their perspective.
The three of us began attending Meeting within a few months of each other approximately three years ago. We found the approachability of all the members and attenders very encouraging, and several opportunities were made after Meeting for informal discussions.
On our route to membership there has always been a sense of nurture and inclusion, which was life enhancing, and it continues to this day.
Other events that influenced us were the Becoming Friends discussion group, attending Yearly Meeting and a weekend at Charney Manor on membership. Here, the session on applying for membership included requiring the attender to write a letter of application to their Area Meeting followed by a ‘visit’ from Local and Area Meeting representatives.
Like many of the others in the discussion group we felt intimidated by this process. We were therefore relieved to learn on our return that our Local Meeting was considering a new approach to membership as described by Jane Muers.
Approximately a year, later an open meeting was held to discuss membership. The intervening period had allowed us time for reading, reflection and increasing participation in the life of our Local Meeting. All three of us felt ready to ask about becoming members following this meeting, reassured by the unthreatening route we would follow. The resulting sense of affirmation was wholly positive.
Bridget Arregger, Hilary Brocklehurst and Judith Knight
Communing with animals
Over the years I have known a number of Meetings that have regular canine attenders. They come to Meeting with their human companions, greet their friends, welcome newcomers and come into Meeting to their usual ‘seats’.
Once Meeting begins, they close their eyes and settle into the silence. What they understand of vocal ministry we cannot know, but, perhaps wisely, they do not offer canine ministry. Once notices are over, they are happy to take part in the socialising over coffee, ‘chatting’ with those they know best, giving sympathy to those they guess sense support. I daresay there are Meetings with feline members, but have not met any.
I think animals are far more aware than we realise of the nature of God’s wonderful creation. It is we, the human species, not they, who are dangerously threatening the sustainability of our precious planet.
It was in 1988 that Yearly Meeting minuted that ‘the environmental crisis is at root a spiritual and religious crisis… we are called to… keep it so as to reveal the glory of God for generations to come.’
What are we waiting for?
Audrey Urry
Acceptance and encouragement
I was at the Quaker Action on Alcohol and Drugs conference at Woodbrooke in July when we heard that ‘Friends struggling with addiction do not always feel fully supported by their Local Meetings’ (10 August). I’m grateful that my experience has been different.
The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) group that I joined in 1984 met at a Friends Meeting house and I attended my first Quaker Meeting after reading the posters and leaflets I saw there. The acceptance and prayerful encouragement of those gentle Friends helped to restore me to health. I have been a member of two other Local Meetings where I have also attended AA meetings (an article in the May 2012 issue of the Friends Quarterly reported that 156 AA meetings were held each week in Friends Meeting houses in Britain).
Tim Hughes (30 November) says the term ‘alcoholic’ is problematic for someone who is abstinent. I still identify myself as an alcoholic – but one who has recovered from a ‘hopeless condition of mind and body’.
In AA, we say that no matter how long we have been sober we have just a daily reprieve from active alcoholism. I am not an ex or former alcoholic; today, and for the past thirty-four years, I am a non-drinking one. I need to be constantly vigilant, but I have ‘overcome the obsession to drink and become happily and usefully whole’ – thanks to AA.
Anonymous
Name and address supplied
Seeking in Meeting
The ‘Thought for the Week’, entitled ‘Meeting for what?’ (7 December), described so well the experience of the writer. However, I was left feeling that it left out any mention of a purpose other than being with others.
For me, going to Meeting is to seek, both individually and corporately, entry into the divine presence, which is illustrated in the reported saying of Jesus: ‘Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst.’
I feel it is this seeking that is so vital to our spiritual strength and welfare.
Alan Rowland
