People of the book: Rob Paton on a club anniversary

‘We began roaming beyond the western/Christian tradition.’

by Rob Paton 3rd October 2025

I remember it clearly: a regular attender stood up in ‘notices’ to give an impassioned plea for others to join in him in reading Waiting on God, by Simone Weil – a modern classic of spiritual seeking. That was in 2005, and the Friends that met in response to his plea… just kept going. Our Meeting already had a book group, so we called ourselves the Alternative Book Group (ABG).