Quaker activists gather

Activists gathered at Friends House

Almost ninety Quaker activists met at Friends House on 15 November for an event hosted by Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW).

The conference brought together activists with a very wide range of concerns – from ethical finance to peace education. It began with three Friends describing their campaign experiences and what prompted them to become activists.

Celia Davies of East Cheshire Area Meeting described her campaign to produce peace education packs for schools. She had been moved to act on learning that sports activities required by her granddaughter for a qualification in physical education were only available to members of the cadet forces.

Chris Walker spoke of the silent vigils held at the British Museum in protest at BP’s sponsorship. He described the power of nonviolent protest.

Lynne Richardson told Friends how Nottingham Quakers joined with other faith groups to run a ‘Week for Peace’. They hope to organise a similar event in 2018.

Participants chose from a selection of workshops. During the workshops, some Friends discussed the need to understand how other people see things in order to make their own point. Others looked at the obstacles to being a Quaker activist, sharing their thoughts on what they saw as the main characteristics of Quaker activism.

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