Southern Africa Yearly Meeting
Jane Dawson writes about a recent visit to South Africa
Astarter for ten: how many countries can you name in Africa? Here’s another one: how many countries make up Southern Africa Yearly Meeting? And for a bonus, name them. I’m sure you refrained from checking the internet. The Good Shepherd Retreat Centre in Hartbeespoort, South Africa doesn’t have wifi. So, for my geopolitical understanding of the Yearly Meeting (YM) I attended at New Year, and I used an old fashioned map.
South Africa is the largest and wealthiest country in the Yearly Meeting. It is made up of Monthly Meetings covering six countries. South Africa usually hosts the gathering. But many black Quakers, particularly, face an arduous journey from their Monthly Meetings. In advance they apply for a visa, with documents in hand, they may travel, but at the border, for them, bribery is rife. One young mother from Zimbabwe, travelling with her seven-year-old daughter, was refused entry until she borrowed money for a bribe. Overcoming such obstacles shows the importance of Yearly Meeting for Southern African Friends. ‘YM is like going to a petrol station to fill up on fuel for the energy to keep going,’ said one.
Southern Africa Yearly Meeting (it recently dropped ‘Central &’ to reflect its geography) is going through a resurgence. While the politics of the region is a far cry from the UK, the YM themes were similar to Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM): what connects us in our diversity; what it is to be a Quaker in the world; finance and stewardship; nurturing young Friends; and, the reason I was there, speaking truth to power through effective communications.
These threads appeared in worship, business, and conversations. ‘Communication is a dialogue, not a vent to ease our anger.’ ‘To be heard, we need to listen.’ ‘We communicate well when we put ourselves in the shoes of those we want to reach.’ ‘Quakers communicate with respect, even when we disagree with the politics.’ To reach African influencers Friends know they need to speak with one voice. They drew on the speaking out policy of Yearly Meeting to discern governance for communicating. Before the week ended, Friends had the basis of a communications strategy. To reinforce the theme, the YM launched its first internet café. Younger Friends guided older ones in practical communications skills.
We worked and played hard. Starting with exercise at six in the morning, we ended the day in silent worship. The dark silence accompanied by the thrilling sounds of an African night, jackals and baboons. Between sessions, we cooled down from temperatures in the high thirties with dips in a pool with vistas of lake and mountains. The spirit was at work amongst the 100 Friends of all ages who made up the gathering. Sharing grief and the pain of violence, we grew close to one another. Difficult discernment took place on sweaty chairs over the noise of fans. We sang and we prayed.
The Quaker Peace Centre, Cape Town, once a hub of resistance to apartheid, now focuses on advocacy and activism, rather than peace work. The Yearly Meeting decided to sever its historic links with the Centre. It plans to sell buildings and the word ‘Quaker’ will go.
With Friends from Botswana, Cameroon, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and contributions in many languages, the Yearly Meeting felt international. It seemed appropriate it extended an invitation to hold the 2023 World Gathering in South Africa. Gretchen Castle, Friends World Committee for Consultation, received it in person. If accepted, you too could have a chance to step into different shoes and see how things look from the other side of the world.
