Quakers pull together on climate crisis

‘We now have monthly climate vigils in four centres, weaving in a lot of Friends.’

Quakers in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset have been working together on a number of climate initiatives.

Friends in the region thanked Pip Harris, local development worker (LDW), for facilitating conversations and connecting people across the region, after she was asked to advise Mid-Somerset Quakers about climate change work.

Kevin Redpath of Street Quakers said: ‘Pip has been great with the networking. We now have monthly climate vigils in four centres, weaving in a lot of Friends.’

Mid-Somerset Quakers have held vigils outside Wells Cathedral. This was partly inspired by Cornish Quaker Meetings held outside during the G7 and COP27, including one on the beach, as well as near the office of local MP George Eustice, secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Pip Harris also supported setting up a West Country lecture, and Friends invited Quaker human ecologist and writer Alistair McIntosh to give a lecture on climate change. This was linked through networks of climate cafés, and West Somerset Quakers Earth Action Group.

Pip Harris told the Quakers in Britain website that, for isolated, rural activists, it is vital to link up with others. ‘It is helpful to break down the idea that “activism” around the climate emergency is mainly to work with Just Stop Oil or Extinction Rebellion. That suits some people, but there are other powerful ways of taking action, such as lobbying your local MP or hosting a climate lecture or film festival.’

Britain Yearly Meeting said that the new links forged between Quakers in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset were made possible by generous grants from the Benefact Trust, a Christian grant-making organisation founded by the Church of England, Bader Philanthropies and WF Southall, which supports Quaker LDWs.

A funder for the Benefact Trust, Ecclesiastical Insurance, has been previously criticised for allegedly resisting and restricting financial settlements in abuse claims because it was too closely affiliated with the Church of England.

Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) was awarded £200,000 over three years by the Benefact Trust while Bader Philanthropies and WF Southall provided grants of £100,000 each over two years.

The Quaker programme received the grant through the Benefact Trust’s Transformational Grants Programme, which offers funding for Christian organisations to increase capacity, reach, impact and spiritual growth.

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