Quakers at Manchester Pride
Friends make lively contribution to Manchester Pride
Manchester and Warrington Friends are making a lively contribution to the ten-day celebrations of Manchester Pride this year.
A successful ceilidh was held in Mount Street Meeting House on Friday night. It attracted over sixty guests. Some Friends held an open air Meeting for Worship in Sackville Gardens in Manchester’s ‘‘gay village’ on Saturday morning and those present felt it was ‘a deep and joyful experience’.
Marion McNaughton, of the Quaker Manchester Pride Group, was delighted that Friends also celebrated the centenary of the brilliant mathematician Alan Turing. Quakers from different Meetings in the north of England gathered around the memorial statue to Turing in Manchester to honour his memory.
Marion said: ‘Turing is regarded as the ‘father of the computer’, lived and worked in Manchester, was prosecuted for homosexual acts at a time when this was illegal in Britain, and was punished with chemical castration. He died from cyanide poisoning, probably suicide.’
Marion added: ‘The Quaker events – from the exuberant to the reflective – once again celebrate our solidarity with the gay community and our commitment to equality.’
There will also be a strong Quaker presence in the main parade held on Saturday 25 August. It begins at 1pm and goes through Manchester city centre.
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