Letters - 29 July 2016
From labels to the Quaker way
Labels
I was intrigued to read Martin Pennock’s recent piece ‘Isms and ists’ (8 July). Many of us do wear religious labels, of course, and many of these ‘labels’ are ambiguous, invisible and often controversial.
The last woman to be hanged in Britain was Ruth Ellis in 1955. Ruth was twenty-eight years old. Ruth shot her abusive boyfriend and didn’t deny the charges. However, there is no way that this young woman would have been hung in the Britain of today. Ruth would have been imprisoned, and there she may well have encountered Quaker counsellors who would not have condoned her actions but would have helped her to adjust to her ‘condition’.
So, what has all this to do with religious labels? The queen’s counsel for the crown was the Zen Buddhist, Christmas Humphreys. Humphreys is also credited with introducing Zen Buddhism to Britain. However, just like Jesus of Nazareth, Siddhārtha Gautama (the Buddha) was a man of tolerance and compassion. Both of these spiritual giants taught forgiveness and forbearance. Each understood the angst of the human condition. Each also taught respect for the whole of Creation.
We can wear all the religious labels we care to but when we lose our compassion we lose everything it means to be human; we may even lose the very essence of what we are.
Bill Bingham
Engaging Young Friends
Jeff Beatty’s report from the Meeting of Friends in Wales (15 July) is right to draw attention to the difficulties that many Meetings have with engaging with Young Friends. One reason for this is surely that Meetings aren’t taking up the opportunities to uphold younger Friends and support them in getting involved in Quakerism beyond their local area. One example is the falling attendance at Junior Yearly Meeting; another is the ever-falling number of Area Meetings (AMs) who take up their right to send a representative to Young Friends General Meeting (YFGM).
YFGM is a wonderful community, bringing together Friends aged between eighteen and ‘thirtyish’ from all over the country. Appointing a representative to YFGM builds a valuable link between the AM and the national community of Young Friends, and strengthens the life of both Meetings. I hope that Southern Marches AM – and many others currently without an appointed representative – will consider sending a Young Friend (or even more) to future YFGMs.
Tim Rouse
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