Quakers at Global Mennonite conference
Friends attended the Global Mennonite Peacebuilding conference in June
Friends took part in a global gathering of Mennonites in the Netherlands last month. The event, which takes place every three years, focused on migration, peace, gender-justice and decolonisation within a peace church context.
Andrew Lane, from the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA), said that a number of Quakers participated in the 27-30 June event, including three members of Netherlands Yearly Meeting, one of whom, Kees Nieuwerth, led a workshop on EcoJustice and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
QCEA ran two workshops, one on ‘Anti-racism steps for white majority churches’ and ‘Engaging governments with practical alternatives to military policy’.
An exhibition of Quaker work included two large quilts made by Loretta O’Brien, of Ireland Yearly Meeting, who was stirred by the European migrant situation. The quilts entitled ‘And only the Birds are Free’ and ‘Tweeting a Cultural Wave of Fake News’ considered the themes of the deaths in the Mediterranean, and the spread of anti-migrant hate speech online.
Jack Curham, of Sussex East Area Meeting, currently on a placement with QCEA, said: ‘The event has been an excellent opportunity to develop relationships with the Mennonite and Brethren historic peace churches. They are involved in innovative and risk-laden human rights and peacebuilding work which has much in common with Quaker work, and often in parts of the world where Quakers are less involved, such as Nigeria. Following this event, QCEA will be able to connect European governments to a wider range of examples of nonviolent and humanitarian activity, making the case for EU funding for these approaches.’
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