Welcome to Canterbury

Friends come together at Yearly Meeting Gathering 2011

More than a thousand Friends streamed into the large blue big top and, as the evening cooled, the earlier sweltering heat could be forgotten. All was busyness and the sound of bustle and chat when, suddenly, the atmosphere changed and the noise disappeared as if by magic. The clerks had just walked onto the platform and taken their seats. A powerful stillness now filled the impressive space. Yearly Meeting Gathering (YMG) 2011 had begun.

The welcome to all those gathered – young, old and in-between – came in an adventurous audio-visual presentation. The lighting rig and huge screens set behind the stage conveyed the sense of a rock concert, rather than a Quaker gathering.

A story, written by Sally Nicholls and narrated by Roger Cullen – co-clerk with Lesley Richards of YMG – was presented of Ivor the Engine, who had travelled all the way from Wales, to greet everyone at Canterbury. Images of Ivor and Jones the Steam were projected on the screens. Ivor had come, we were told, to something ‘very special and mysterious’. The tone, enhanced by music played on bassoon by Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting, was set. The event was also going to be surprising, stimulating and fun.

We were reminded that a Quaker Meeting is more than a loose association of individuals, ideally searching for truth, and that we had to hold ourselves responsible to the Meeting and to each other to become part of ‘a gathered community’. We were also reminded not to get so caught up in greeting old friends that we missed the new friends we hadn’t yet met. We need to respect the diversity among us as each of us is unique and a child of God.

The theme of the event was introduced: Growing in the Spirit: changing the way we live to sustain the world we live in. The YMG clerks thanked us for being open to changes. Friends had collected plastic bottles, sewed scarves, sat over hot computers, cycled long distances and done all manner of wonderful things. Some had just come and brought their friendship.

Lesley Richards reflected later: ‘So many Friends contributed in so many ways to create the special, wonderful event that is YMG. We have had a strong sense of being upheld, knowing Friends were prayerfully holding us in the Light.’

The evening ended with singing (who says Quakers don’t sing?) with three songs overlapping. ‘This train is bound for glory carrying nothing but a big Quaker family’ blended with ‘When the saints come marching in’ and ‘Swing low sweet chariot’. The singing was rounded off with ‘Dear Friends’ as we sang ‘I love you so’ and the inspiring sound of over a thousand voices filled the massive tent.

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