Quaker Week … some events

Raymond Mgadzah reports on Quaker Week activities around the country

All over Britain Friends and Meetings have been engaged in a wide range of activities to promote Quaker Week 2012. Raymond Mgadzah reports on how some Meetings have taken part.

Abergavenny Meeting kicked things off early. Kate Evans said: ‘I think Gill Branch has given us the gift of a most perfect peace of outreach with the opening of her peace garden.’

The opening included: ‘a wonderful mix of people from our local community including people who had never experienced a Quaker-type Meeting before and those who have but who are not current attenders.’ Kate added: ‘Our next step may be to open our next discussion group on deepening the life of the spirit to [seekers]… That group will begin in October – in outreach week!’ 

Brant Broughton Meeting in Lincolnshire held a number of events and activities during Quaker Week, including ‘An Evening of Words and Music’ – with donations going to children in Kenya – and a barn dance with proceeds to the Newark Emmaus Trust.

Chris Rose, of Brant Broughton Meeting, said: ‘I feel very positive about the events. Quaker Week is a good idea as it gives focus to our outreach efforts. We try to do something each year now for Quaker Week.

‘Our outreach efforts this year have largely gone into the town of Newark (six miles from our Meeting House) and we now have a twice monthly lunchtime Meeting there which attracts a dozen people… most of whom are not, or were not originally, members/attenders at Brant Broughton.’

Cambridge Jesus Lane Meeting is doing a ‘Quaker month’. They have asked Friends to sign up to wear an ‘I’m a Quaker: ask me why’ badge for a week at a time 24/7, although it is allowed that you might not sleep in it. After each person’s stint they are to write up what reactions they had (there might not be any) and how they felt about wearing it. This is in addition to their regular stand at Cambridge Regional College during the first week of term.

Clun Valley Meeting held their outreach event early this year with a stand at the Bishop’s Castle Michaelmas Fair on 15 and 16 September. They focused on sustainability, with a poster display and Friends on hand to answer questions.

The event designed to reach out to the whole family. Pat Simons elaborated: ‘Children were asked to write and draw a flag to put on our tree, to say what things on earth were most important to them.’

Glasgow Meeting tries to do something for Quaker Week every second year as the Meeting faces the challenges of dealing with a ‘widely scattered membership and busy friends.’

Barbara Potter of Glasgow Meeting said a coffee morning will held on Saturday 6 October to support the Meeting for Worship that happens monthly in the east of the city, in the church where the Meeting is held.

She said it will be ‘a good opportunity to reach out to people and support our Meeting for Worship there. Quaker Week gives outreach committee an annual push to think about activities and to talk to Quakers after Meeting for Worship about wearing a badge, or having a leaflet in their home or handbag for the times when someone may ask them about Quakerism.’

She added, ‘We try to do something for Quaker Week every second year. In the other year we open for Doors Open Day (DoD) in September, and that means a lot of work for Friends, so we do Quaker Week things in the years when we are not open for DoD.’

Harrogate Meeting gave people ‘a real opportunity to find out what goes on behind the doors of the Quaker Meeting house here.’ Gilly Charters adds: ‘As a Meeting we’ve been rather ambivalent about outreach, so I think that having the focus of Quaker Week has allowed us all to think about what we could do to help people find out about Quakers.’

The flyers prepared by Harrogate Meeting asked people: ‘Have you ever wondered what Quakers do on Sunday? Are you looking for a spiritual home?’ People were implored to ‘Be open to new light wherever it may come from.’

Harrogate Meeting kicked off Quaker Week with an open discussion on Friday 28 September. In addition to Meeting for Worship on Sunday, there was a shared lunch, craft activities, a fair trade stall and a Quaker Tapestry display.

Leicester Meeting held a ‘Meeting for Worship at the Clock Tower, the busy hub of the City Centre on Saturday afternoon. It’s a busy shopping area so there were lots of people going past, a Hare Krishna band in the background and a Muslim Community event right next to where we were standing. It was a lovely, peaceful Meeting despite the busy life around us.’ reports Angela Walker of Leicester Meeting.

Llanidloes Meeting displayed twelve Quaker Tapestry panels in a local art centre between 28 September and 1 October. David Utting said: ‘We hoped to have many visitors from other faiths as the tapestry is well known locally.’ They also held an open Meeting for Worship at 3pm on 30 September.

Ludlow Meeting have had a number of free talks.

On 3 October Patricia Cockrell spoke about her experiences in Russia, the voluntary sector there and her involvement in setting up a hospice movement.

This will be followed by a drop-in evening for enquirers on 5 October, called ‘Living adventurously the Quaker way’.

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