Quaker heads gather at Friends House
'We have so much to learn from one another about the best ways for Quakers to work together to change the world.'
Quakers in Britain have invited the heads of Quaker agencies to a blended gathering this week to build connections and strengthen Quaker unity around the world.
In a time of great change for many of the agencies, the meeting at Friends House from 6-8 December welcomed new faces as well as saying goodbye to some leaving. These included Nozizwe Madlala Routledge, who steps into the shoes of Jonathan Woolley at the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva; Sarah Clarke, who takes forward the work of Andrew Tomlinson at the Quaker United Nations Office in New York; and Bridget Moix, who will lead the Friends Committee on National Legislation, taking over from Diane Randall on Capitol Hill. Joyce Ajlouny from American Friends Service Committee and Atiaf Alwazir from Quaker Council for European Affairs also attended, along with Oliver Robertson for Quaker Peace & Social Witness and Susanna Mattingly from Friends World Committee for Consultation.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), told the Friend before the event: ‘I’m so looking forward to hosting the leaders of the Quaker agencies next week. They’re a remarkable group of Friends, and we have so much to learn from one another about the best ways for Quakers to work together to change the world. We’ll be celebrating some new faces, as well as the work of colleagues who are leaving after long and faithful service.’
BYM said that they hoped the event will build connections, explore deeper collaborations, and ‘strengthen Quaker work around the world as a single, shared endeavour… working faithfully together to build a world in which Quaker values can flourish’.
The heads have been regularly meeting remotely throughout the pandemic.
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