Translators at the FWCC World Plenary. Photo: Courtesy of FWCC.
World Plenary 2024 - part ten
Weaving ‘tapestry’ document: ‘Living the Spirit of Ubuntu’, Johannesburg and online
The 2024 World Plenary Meeting is being held in the context of the challenges in our world, of climate and ecological breakdown and historical and ongoing injustices.
Meeting in South Africa and online, we are united by the spirit of Ubuntu.
Ubuntu refers to the deeply held belief, morality and custom that every person is worthy of being recognised, respected and heard, and that we as human beings are all interdependent.
During our time together we have woven a rich tapestry from the encounters and dialogues within our worldwide meeting of Friends.
We recognise that our three themes of Ubuntu and community, care for creation and repairing historical and ongoing injustice are intertwined and inseparable.
We acknowledge our brokenness and the need for God’s healing power.
‘We dedicate ourselves to let the living waters flow through us – where we live, regionally and in wider world fellowship. We dedicate ourselves to building the “peace that passeth all understanding”, to the repair of the world, opening our lives to the Light to guide us in each small step.’
This commitment in Kabarak in 2012, reiterated in Pisac in 2016, remains central, the basis for our ongoing discernment and commitment.
We are called to tap into the same deep power as did early Friends, to name our grief in the face of climate and ecological breakdown. To face that darkness, but to face it through the Light, with a deeper form of love.
The spirit of Ubuntu, the power of community, can also drive us to dig deep into the pain and trauma of the world, to face up to climate crisis and the ongoing effects of historical injustice.
Without justice – climate justice, racial justice, social justice, economic justice – there can be no true peace.
We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will. Let us be open to God’s promptings moving through us, using our faith and practice, the prophetic and the practical.
We feel compassion for, and are in solidarity with, the poorest in society, who while struggling to make a living may cause damage to this creation we so value. We acknowledge that ecological destruction is disproportionately driven by the rich, who must bear the greatest burden of climate action. We need radical transformative change, towards simplicity and sufficiency.
We need to challenge the corporations and governments which are failing to live up to their international climate and biodiversity commitments.
We value the work of the Quaker United Nations Office, Quaker agencies and other partners in taking our concerns forward. We support and uphold those Friends who take non-violent direct action. We call on Friends across the world to prioritise climate and eco-justice; to map their actions for care for creation, to invigorate and encourage radical action, and to nurture a sense of togetherness.
In expanding our sense of the divine and our understanding of Ubuntu, we can say: ‘I am, because you are, and because creation is.’
We grieve with God for the exponential impact of historical and ongoing injustice. This includes the impact of colonisation, forced displacement, slavery, economic exploitation and racism. We are called to disrupt patterns of oppression and division, to acknowledge offences, to challenge false notions of white supremacy, to repudiate doctrines of discovery, to make amends and to work for reparative and retrospective justice. We are called in our Quaker communities to be patterns and examples, to share gifts and skills, to be brave, to become radically inclusive and to celebrate diversity. Are we all ready to take up these callings?
Healing begins with sharing our stories, telling the truth, and listening deeply. There are truths which are uncomfortable to hear about Quaker involvement and complicity in past and present injustice. We need to build, or rebuild, trust. We pray that in trying to do the right thing, we do not do further damage. We draw inspiration from the Bible and our Quaker values of equality, truth, peace and justice. We draw hope from the examples we have heard, that demonstrate and lead us to recognise, repent, redeem and restore.
‘And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’ (Micah 6:8).
It is a long journey to heal and repair relationships in the light of historic and continuing injustices. Shepherd Jesus, be our guide. We call on Yearly Meetings and FWCC to take up this work. We call on them to begin by examining our own Quaker communities, to engage in dialogue across the FWCC Sections, to centre the voices of those who have endured pain, to take action with and alongside allies, to educate and train ourselves, and to share reports of what Friends are doing so that we can learn from one another.
‘See, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation’
(2 Corinthians 5:17-18).
Ubuntu is about unity in our diversity. Our diversity is what makes us rich and vibrant: we are all equal and beloved in Christ Jesus.
Those on the receiving end of injustice need to be trusted to create changes in the world. Let’s move away from the colonial shadow.
Being Ubuntu is disrupted by gender based violence and patriarchy. Sexual discrimination and disunity over sexual orientation continue to hold us back.
We need to identify and name the underlying causes of injustice in the world. Only then can we work for repair, through prayerful deep listening.
And once we’ve named the issues, we need to listen to that of God in others, and only then speak our truth with humility, in ways which others can hear.
As Friends we are called to action in the world, as individuals and as communities… ‘What canst thou say? What canst thou do?’ Let us be a faith community, different from the kingdoms of this world – through the work of the Holy Spirit.
We are reminded of our brokenness, and we are challenged by the spirit of Christ to take action in the world.
A prayer
God of love and grace, we are a beautiful and broken people, living in a beautiful and broken world. We confess that we have fallen short in caring for each other and for creation.
As a faith community we ask you to forgive us for neglecting creation, and for inflicting grave injustices upon one another.
Give us the courage and wisdom to move forward boldly.
Grant us the strength to seek each other’s forgiveness, and the love and courage to hold both pain and possibility in our hearts.
We ask you to send us on a new journey with our fellow humans and all your creatures in the spirit of Ubuntu.
Amen.
Reporting by Joseph Jones, editor of the Friend, and Elinor Smallman, production and office manager. Plenary sessions can be viewed at https://bit.ly/Quakerplenary24.
