Letters - 29 May 2015
From vocal ministry to the European Union
Vocal ministry
Am I the only one to feel slightly uncomfortable when Friends thank me for my ministry after I have been led to vocally minister during Meeting for Worship? When I feel moved to minister, I always struggle to be sure that what I feel moved to share is not from my ego, but from beyond me (from God, Spirit, Light, Love…).
Of course, there is nothing amiss with wanting to express gratitude for helpful vocal ministry, but perhaps Friends could express it in ways that don’t focus on the speaker. For instance, instead of saying ‘I’d like to thank Gordon for his ministry’, one could say ‘I am grateful for the ministry this morning’ or ‘I found the ministry today helpful’, or, where there have been several ministries, ‘The ministry about such-and-such particularly spoke to me today’. Thus, we could express our appreciation of what has been said without putting the focus on the person saying the words.
In this way we would be acknowledging that the words have come not from the person speaking but through that person from beyond. And so we would be acknowledging the true source of the vocal ministry.
Gordon Smith
Environmental issues
Environmental issues received little consideration in the last election and do not appear to be a priority of the new government. Quakers committed themselves, in 2011 at Canterbury, to addressing the environmental crisis but we see little momentum in the Religious Society of Friends.
Whilst Friends react positively to traditional concerns, we seem to lack awareness that the immediacy of the environmental crisis requires us to conduct ourselves in new ways. It is not a separate issue but relates directly to all our testimonies and demands local and national action.
In East Anglia we have formed an informal group with members from Local Meetings to try and make sustainability more significant in the thinking of individuals and Meetings, and would welcome contact with similar groups.
The scale of environmental damage being inflicted represents a real and present danger to humanity. Its impact is already being felt amongst the poorest and will increasingly impact upon everyone. As the struggle for resources intensifies it will be the source of conflict, and produce a surge of refugees that will dwarf the numbers now fleeing war and famine. Surely, we should make this the highest priority of the Society and reduce other activities accordingly?
Climate change must not be allowed to slip down the agenda. Quakers should act individually and collectively wherever possible, and actively join forces with other groups to strengthen this cause.
Peter Belton, Teresa Belton, Heather Bruce, Paul Davies, Anne Dismorr, Tom Foxe, Lesley Grahame, Edwina Hughes, Diane Sawyer, Andrew Sterling, Luzie Wingen
East Anglian Transformation Group
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