Meeting for Sufferings: QPSW work highlighted
A report on QPSW work was given at Meeting for Sufferings
Three main subjects were highlighted for concern and discernment at Meeting for Sufferings on Saturday 6 September.
Meeting for Sufferings was held in the George Fox Room at Friends House and Friends present considered a proposal to change the current procedure for appointing trustees for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, reflected on the recent Yearly Meeting Gathering held in Bath, and responded to a report on the work of Quaker Peace & Social Witness.
It was a slightly unusual Sufferings in that there was no report from Britain Yearly Meeting trustees.
In the afternoon session Charlotte Seymour-Smith, clerk of Quaker Peace & Social Witness Central Committee, gave what she called ‘the first annual report in recent times’ to Meeting for Sufferings.
She began by reminding Sufferings of ‘the basics’. First, she asked ‘What is Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) for?’ before describing it as being ‘about how we live out our faith in the world’. Then ‘What is QPSW Central Committee for?’ Its purpose is to provide strategic guidance to QPSW, she explained.
The report was in two sections. The first asked Meeting for Sufferings to focus on the question ‘Are we [QPSW] engaging with Friends in a way that feels right?’ The second summarised the main elements of QPSW’s work.
Several Friends expressed their appreciation for the work done by QPSW. Others had concerns: that poor communication is preventing Area and Local Meetings from hearing what QPSW is doing; that faith’s role in the work is not sufficiently highlighted; and that some projects are so large-scale that they deter would-be participants.
‘I am very grateful for QPSW’s work but I am always concerned at how little members know of what is going on,’ a Friend said. ‘They were very engaged over the work on Ukraine, but I am at a loss to know of how to keep Local Meetings and Area Meetings abreast and in support.’
Another Friend added: ‘In preparation for today, I asked members about QPSW’s work. The most common response was admiration but a sense of remoteness. Two people asked if there could be more regular report packs sent to individual Meetings.’
The need to report was underlined by a Friend who spoke of the days when correspondents spoke to Meetings about QPSW’s work. He said: ‘The communications system has fallen down. Lots of people prefer talking to social media, even emails. We should go back to the good old ways of actually reporting back.’
Two Friends described examples of local efforts that had been made to strengthen QPSW’s message. One spoke of the annual lectures organised in Hexham, one of which had involved members of QPSW’s ‘Turning the Tide’ initiative. Another explained how her local clerks designated a Friend to talk about the recipient of the weekly collection each Sunday. This left her Meeting, she said, ‘relatively well informed’.
QPSW general secretary Helen Drewery explained that the organisation is ‘wrestling with different channels’ of communications. She added that they are also struggling to ensure that their communications do not repeat news already known to Friends. The October mailing to Local and Area Meeting clerks, Helen said, would draw attention to QPSW information published through other channels, such as Facebook.
Friends also felt that the role of faith in QPSW’s work needs to be underlined. One said: ‘I told some nuns that I was a Quaker. They asked if I was an activist. I said “I guess I can’t not be”. They were surprised to learn that we are still a faith group.
‘We carry the risk of being just more activists. I have looked at QPSW’s report and underlined the religious words. I would like to see more of this, to remind us of why we are doing this. It is not secular. I commend the courage to use these words,’ she concluded.
A Friend said that at his local Churches Together, it was ‘amazing’ how often he brought up faith and that it was ‘essential that we stress that we are a faith group’.
Another Friend described how her Meeting is a very real part of Churches Together, and this year provided the notes for their Lent Study Group, choosing the subject ‘Seeds of War’. She said: ‘Diana Francis [who works with QPSW’s Nagaland project] gave the keynote speech. A member of the United Reformed Church said “It’s refreshing to hear from a Quaker who’s a Christian”. Perhaps this is a reminder for all of us.’
‘It isn’t what we do, it’s the way that we do it,’ said a Friend, who added: ‘QPSW is about tiny attentions to Quaker ways of insight and working. It’s different to how secular organisations do things.’ A Friend said that QPSW’s work seems ‘so big’ and asked whether it could be broken down into smaller chunks.
Charlotte Seymour-Smith agreed that the work of QPSW is often big and also explained: ‘Most of our work is long term. It is not about following a news agenda. It is long term and sometimes quiet work.’
‘We are judged by our fruits,’ a Friend reminded Meeting for Sufferings.
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