Location

Angela Ormrod writes about location and Quakerism

Historically, Quaker Meetings were formed and Meeting houses built or established by groups of Friends for worship together and mutual support. They were obviously located close to where the Friends lived and very likely where they also worked.

Over time populations have moved and changed. In towns once prosperous districts have often become run down and others, previously slums, have been rebuilt and are now fashionable and expensive.

In rural areas there have been big movements of populations as people have sought work elsewhere. Now, with the decline in numbers, there are fewer Meetings and they are often situated far away from the homes of members and attenders. With Friends coming from a wide area, is it reasonable to expect the Meeting to be involved in the community where it is situated?

I would suggest that it is much more useful and appropriate for Friends to involve themselves in their own communities where they live and work, and where they are known, to let their lives speak. The Meeting offers a resource of support, space to recharge, to be open to new light.

If this is to happen it is obviously essential that time is taken by the Meeting to learn about the particular concerns of each individual, and to give prayerful support where needed.

Before I retired and moved to Mid-Wales to be nearer family, I lived for twenty years in an urban city housing estate officially classed as an ‘area of social deprivation’. There was a lot of unemployment and people around in the daytime with nothing to do. Across the road from my house was a row of shops, some of which became disused. With some other residents I started a community ‘drop in’ café in one of the empty shops. It is a long story, but we kept it going for eight years and made a real impact on the community with our insistence on inclusion and care for everyone regardless of circumstances. A local evangelical church was interested and provided some volunteers.

The Quaker Meeting was in the city centre – four miles away. The Meeting was an enormous support for me and was interested in what I was doing. Some of the members made generous financial contributions and some visited. I felt upheld, and Meetings for Worship were an important resource for me. The theology of the evangelical church I did not find helpful.

I didn’t attract any new recruits for Quakers! But I did have lots of conversations about faith with people struggling to make sense of life and I saw what simple acceptance and valuing of a person can achieve.

It seems to me that if Friends can bring individual concerns to their Meeting and be upheld and supported, as I was, this must be a good and valid function of the Meeting. It is sad that our anonymous Friend, writing about his or her concern over the subject of Friends and their relationship with the community within which their Meeting is located (12 May), doesn’t seem to feel supported in this way.

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