Quakers continue at St Pauls
Following the eviction of the Occupy camp, Quakers will continue to meet weekly at St Paul's Cathedral
Quakers will continue a weekly Meeting for Worship on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral despite the eviction of the ‘Occupy’ camp. In an epistle produced on Sunday, they pledged to seek ‘new ways to speak truth to power’.
The epistle followed the first Quaker Meeting since the eviction of the camp, which saw Quakers removed by police as they prayed. The Meeting for Worship is in its nineteenth week.
Friends declared that ‘the Occupy movement resonates with our Quaker testimonies’. Their epistle challenges Quakers to be active, open and ‘not afraid to engage in positive conflict’. Quaker worship at the camp has led to enquiries and media interviews. They say: ‘Our worship can and should be brought out of our Meeting houses and into the world where it is relevant’.
The epistle refers to problems for the Occupy movement, such as drug abuse and male domination of discussions. It attributes these to ‘the social and economic system which they [Occupy] seek to change’.
Friends have supported Occupy camps in Bristol, Exeter, Sheffield and elsewhere. Quakers in Britain formally welcomed the Occupy movement weeks after the camp began outside St Paul’s. The protesters had been prevented from camping closer to the London Stock Exchange.
At least four Quakers were among a group who prayed at the camp during the eviction, following a call from Christianity Uncut. There was surprise when riot police removed people from the cathedral steps, some of whom were kneeling in prayer. The eviction order did not cover church-owned land. The cathedral chapter is facing calls to clarify whether police were given permission for the removal.
Anglican activist Siobhan Grimes told the Friend that she was deeply upset at being removed from church premises while praying. ‘Christianity is not about using violence against people seeking economic justice,’ she said, ‘It’s about responding to the needs of the world around us.’
The Quaker epistle suggests the cathedral authorities made a ‘choice to stand closer to the City of London authorities, those who in Jesus’ time were the moneychangers’. It adds: ‘We believe Jesus would have chosen differently.’
The cathedral chapter have not yet commented on the issue of the removal of people from the steps. In a statement after the eviction, they said: ‘We wish to acknowledge fully that the Occupy movement is helping to raise issues of social justice in the national and international consciousness.’
Friends will meet for worship on the steps of St Paul’s at 1pm every Saturday.
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