Manchester Friends drop ‘overseer’ term in push for racial justice
'The question of how to promote racial justice has been prioritised in both our LM and AM Meetings for Worship for Church Affairs.’
Manchester and Warrington Area Meeting (AM) has decided to drop the term ‘overseer’ and to substitute the term ‘pastoral care team/member’ ‘wherever possible’. The move is part of its commitment to promote racial justice within Quaker work.
Penelope Gouk, from Central Manchester Meeting, told the Friend that that they will use the ‘pastoral care’ term until BYM suggests another, pending the outcome of its recent survey into the word ‘overseer’. Other steps, she said, include circulating an expanding list of resources about institutionalised racism and white privilege, and putting the question of how to promote racial justice within Quaker work as a regular agenda item on all AM working groups and committees. Central Manchester Meeting has also agreed to incorporate BLM-related charities into collection rotas. These included Kids of Colour in December 2020 and Equality 4 Black Nurses in spring 2021.
Penelope Gouk said: ‘Over the last eight months our Meeting’s commitment to supporting BLM-related activities has grown steadily, albeit incrementally. Elders and the pastoral care team have worked together to keep things on track, and as a result, the question of how to promote racial justice has been prioritised in both our LM and AM Meetings for Worship for Church Affairs.’
One of the most powerful actions, she said, has been introducing a reading group of nine ‘mainly white’ Friends discussing the book White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. ‘It has confronted us all with the concern that racism is a structure in which white people are complicit. The recognition of how our individual behaviours protect white supremacy has been challenging, and the group has been a space to be honest and to challenge ourselves. The group recognises that we as individuals need to change, and we are also asking how our Meeting might become more inclusive to people of colour.’
Last June the Meeting put up a BLM banner outside Central Manchester Meeting House, which was stolen in December. They are planning to put up a replacement.
