World Plenary 2024 - part three
The Friend reports on the celebration of George Fox’s 400th birthday and the plenary keynote panel of the FWCC World Plenary in South Africa (5-12 August)
Tuesday night was given over to a celebration of George Fox at 400. The host was Gretchen Castle, the dean of Earlham School of Religion (and former FWCC general secretary). She was moved from the start: ‘How exciting to be here! It’s just extraordinary… What a great gift we are to each other.’
Friends began by singing ‘To God be the glory’, after which Gretchen talked of the range of celebratory events that had already taken place.
Then Amy Duckett Wagner, from Philadelphia YM, sang ‘Hill of Vision’, a song about Fox, written by Tim Gee to the Irish tune ‘Slane’.
This was followed by Phillipa Fletcher of Aotearoa/New Zealand YM, with a tune from the Pacific Island tradition. It worked around Fox’s exhortation to ‘be patterns, be examples’, and got Friends moving.
Gretchen then began a talk on ‘the impact Fox had… during a time of great upheaval’, in order to ‘reflect on the impact it has on us today’.
Fox, however, ‘may have received more credit than he was due’. Many people had been part of the founding of Quakerism but Fox did outlive them all. So I think that’s partly why he gets a lot of credit.’ He was ‘admirable and inspiring’, said Gretchen, but didn’t have a good sense of humour: ‘He probably wouldn’t enjoy this evening at all.’
Most importantly, though, he did change, ‘in a very radical way’, the Christianity of his time. This ‘still feels a little radical when I talk in ecumenical circles’. Gretchen was referring to Fox’s belief that revelation continued after the Bible was written: ‘That was new’.
Quakers were huge disruptors, said Gretchen. ‘Polite society was not something they cared about…How would we view this behaviour today?’ she asked. ‘Is it acceptable for a good cause?’ Fox had exhorted Oliver Cromwell to pass laws that would bring forth the kingdom of God. Gretchen quoted Frderick B Tolles’ observation that ‘Fox would have him make England a pilot project for the Kingdom of heaven.’
In the end, said Gretchen, whatever Fox’s faults, ‘We appreciate his inspiration, his being valiant for the truth, his commitment to this new creation’. So, ‘as we step into these big shoes… What is ours to do in this time?’
Gretchen then discussed what Friends from different traditions had in common. ‘We certainly share our story.’ Also ‘our openness to new interpretations of the Bible, our structures and our processes, and commitment to peace and justice… We are Quakers. We can claim these things. And we’re still here’.
To finish, Friends sang Sydney Carter’s ‘Ballad of George Fox’.
‘I hope you’re going to have a wonderful night’, said Gretchen. ‘Enjoy the cake.’
Wednesday afternoon was given over to a Plenary Keynote Speaker/Panel, but began with a notice that was probably less fun than it sounded: ‘You’ll see that there are monkeys on the premises. I know they’re very cute and everything, but please don’t feed them.’
Hezron Masitsa, justice and peace secretary for FWCC, and Samantha Mirasu, a young Friend from Botswana Monthly Meeting, introduced a panel of four people, who would address some questions relating to the plenary themes. Bridget Moix (general secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)), César García (general secretary of the Mennonite World Conference), Joyce Ajlouny (general secretary of American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)), and Esther Mombo (FWCC assistant clerk and theologian) began by speaking to how their work connected to these themes of the session.
Bridget talked of the ‘ordinary extraordinary’ Friends who in 1943, in the middle of a massive world war, knew that there needed to be a voice for peace. She shared how FCNL seeks: a world free of war and the threat of war; a society with equity and justice for all; a community where every individual’s potential may be fulfilled; and an earth restored.
César said that Mennonites wished to become a ‘creative minority’, an ‘alternative to the society of the empire’. They wanted to ‘work for justice in the midst of extreme polarisation’.
Joyce, who is Palestinian, said that what took her to AFSC was the fact that she had ‘lived through apartheid and oppression most of my life’. One example of how AFSC worked in the spirit of ubuntu was by taking the back seat and allowing local people to take the lead.
Esther spoke, she said, from a continent that continues to struggle with the fruits of colonisation. Her role as a teacher involved creating space for young people to be questioning of ideals, even ubuntu itself.
It was when the panellists were asked how the Spirit guides their service that things got most interesting. Spirit means ‘a relationship with a higher order’, said Joyce, ‘a relationship that I need to check in with every day’. She seemed to be ‘checking in’ as she spoke, and it made her throw away her notes. She suddenly wanted to talk about Friends’ reaction to events in Gaza. She had seen some people stand by the cause, but ‘I also have seen… Friends who are treading a little too carefully, not wanting to be labelled as antisemitic’. She said she was ‘asking Quakers globally to unpack what truth telling really is in these situations… When we spoke about apartheid in South Africa, we spoke boldly… Why not now?’
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