To open or not to open

Quakers are divided on whether Meetings should be open or not throughout the latest lockdown period.

Places of worship are exempt under the latest restrictions, expected to last until spring, but faith leaders have expressed caution. While most Meetings have moved online, according to Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), several have not, leading to some tension within the community over the differing approaches.

As London effectively declared a state of emergency on 8 January – with mayor Sadiq Khan writing to Boris Johnson to seek extra powers, including closing places of worship – trustees of Kingston and Wandsworth Area Meeting (AM) produced a minute saying that all Meeting houses in the AM should close immediately for Meeting for Worship and lettings.

Many London Meetings said on social media that they would not be opening. Winchmore Hill Meeting said that it had discerned that it is not safe to meet, ‘not least because our borough (Enfield) has one of the highest Covid infection rates in the UK. We will revert to online worship,’ wrote Rupert Price on Facebook. Watford Meeting and Hammersmith said that they plannedd remain open to respect those who wanted to attend. One Watford Friend said that numbers recently had been very low – usually fewer than ten, including household bubbles – for the size of the building, which could safely house sixteen in the Meeting room.

Meanwhile, outside London, Huddersfield Meeting said that it would stay open.

On social media, several Quakers criticised the decisions to open. Friends debated their differing positions. Simon Best wrote on Twitter: ‘Just because you can, it doesn’t mean you should,’ and praised his Meeting for not opening. One Friend asked how we can support those who can’t access forms of online worship. Jill Segger, from Bury St Edmunds Meeting, which has switched to online-only Meetings, said: ‘It’s to be worked out in each set of circumstances’ and recommended ‘email for those who have it, [and/or] phone calls. We have some who have bubbled with isolated Friends. We have a very active Google group where all kinds of shared ideas and inputs take place.’

More than half of the Church of England’s 14,000 parishes opted to close for Sunday worship. Many Anglican clergy are shielding and other parishes have decided it is not safe to admit worshippers due to Covid-19. Most mosques in London did not open for Friday prayers, according to a BBC report.

The National Secular Society has called the exemption for places of worship, while most shops and leisure facilities have closed, ‘a worrying deference to religious entitlement’.

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