A signpost pointing towards Plumstead Common. Photo: Peckham Friends.
Peckham plucked: Linda Craig on laying down a Meeting
‘Can we be more flexible in our thinking?’
In 2003, a few Friends noticed that a number of Quakers had settled in the Peckham area of south London. They started a Meeting for Worship, monthly, on Sunday evenings, in a home. That Meeting has continued for the last twenty-one years, until Friends discerned this year that it should be laid down. This is the story of Peckham & Plumstead Common Meeting.
It began, as I say, with a few Friends Meeting monthly and sharing supper afterwards. Meeting in the evening was more convenient, and the worship set us up for the week ahead. After a year of this we applied to become a Local Meeting, to be more visible. We wanted to be as low maintenance as possible: no premises, no money, and as few roles as possible (a convenor and shared eldership and pastoral care).
Over the years we grew to have ten to fifteen people at worship. Many had come to Quakers for the first time, or had not found a Meeting at which they felt comfortable. The younger age profile meant that at least nine babies were born to worshippers during the life of the Meeting. We started an additional Meeting in a different home in Plumstead Common, also once a month. We held study groups, walks, picnics, theatre outings, Meetings for clearness and other activities. The shared supper after worship cemented the fellowship and allowed newcomers to ask questions and get to know others.
Our membership was aways transitory, possibly due to the age profile. We held one Meeting for Worship for Business each year, always reviewing how and whether we should continue to Meet. In 2024, deep discernment led us to the feeling that we should lay the Meeting down. Numbers attending in person had not recovered after Covid. The fellowship that we had so valued was more difficult in the blended setting. Work and life changes meant that Friends were no longer able to commit in the way they had. So, with sadness, we laid the Meeting down.
Part of our minute reads: ‘By laying down the meeting formally, we see that we could release spiritual energy by encouraging Peckham and Plumstead Common Meeting worshippers to call a meeting for worship on an ad hoc basis, if and when they wish. We hope that our younger worshippers, fresh from their formative experiences at Junior Gathering, will feel empowered to be part of these arrangements. As the Pan-London merger of the area meetings progresses, we hope that these more flexible arrangements might be an option elsewhere in the capital, especially for seeding new meetings.’
In nature, dying and composting gives space and energy for new life. Can this be the same for our Meetings? Can we be more flexible in our thinking and recognise that what may have worked for Friends years ago, does not work now? Can we adapt? While mourning what we have lost, can we face change with grace and joy?
‘To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted’ (Ecclesiastes 3).
