Yearly Meeting Gathering 2017: Special interest groups

From Israel and Palestine to nourishing a multi-racial community

Israel and Palestine

Four speakers engaged Friends on 3 August in the interest group about Israel and Palestine organised by the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).

Maureen Jack, of the Church of Scotland, spoke about the importance of giving voice to the voiceless and of speaking for the powerless. She stressed the need to be impartial, ‘not taking sides’ and ‘being neutral’. She said there could not be peace without justice.

Robert Cohen, a blogger and one of the leading dissident Jewish voices on Israel/Palestine in Britain, said that a fundamental basis of building any movement was the need to agree on a bold, single message. He said that the best foundation for progress in Israel and Palestine was to focus on two words: ‘Equal rights’.

Tim Livesey, chief executive officer of Embrace the Middle East, was sceptical about ‘building a movement’ and described the situation as ‘an extraordinarily difficult conflict’ with no simple solutions. The most promising way forward, he explained, was to find ‘a way in’ and, while there were legal, diplomatic, political and religious options, he believed the best one was ‘the moral one’. What really needs to change is hearts.

Finally, Elizabeth Harris-Sawczenko, chief executive officer of the Council of Christians and Jews, spoke from her personal experience of living in Israel and befriending Palestinians in her peace and reconciliation work. She highlighted the value of connecting at a human level, of building trust, of appreciating different narratives, of building friendships, and in sharing a belief that people can ‘find a common humanity if given the chance’.

Radical hospitality

In a workshop on 3 August afternoon Tim Gee and others who contributed to the ideas in the George Gorman Lecture led more than sixty Friends aged fifteen and above in delving deeper into eight recommendations for helping a Meeting be more like a movement.

After a twenty-minute question and answer session about the Lecture small groups formed, each focussing on a different recommendation and exploring specific, tangible ways in which Friends could move forward.

Suggestions and examples included: co-opting Friends for a short period of time to give them insights into roles; enabling micro-volunteering by giving Friends responsibility for things such as making tea or buying biscuits for the Meeting; and providing a sheet of personalised information about the Local Meeting in any welcome packs handed out.

Other Friends reflected that opening up committee meetings could help to demystify them; that there was a need for any ‘Equality Commission’ for the Religious Society of Friends to be undertaken by non-Quakers so that structures and cultures are seen with impartial eyes; and that ‘radical hospitality’ could become Friends’ attitude to welcoming newcomers.

Past, present and future in Europe

At ‘European Quaker Voices’, the event organised by the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) that took place on 1 August, the organisation’s past, present and future work was discussed.

Unsurprisingly, Brexit was an underlying theme. Referendums are ‘a device of demagogues and dictators’, said one Friend, quoting Margaret Thatcher. There were reassurances for Friends about the future. ‘You can do everything you do now as Quakers after Brexit – hard, soft, whatever,’ one Friend said. Another said: ‘It is purely as Quakers that we want to remain…’

A Friend from the Netherlands told listeners: ‘British Friends are very much wanted at the heart of QCEA.’ It is ‘the perfect vehicle to keep us informed about Europe’.

QCEA is ‘worth investing in’, Friends heard. ‘It is pan-European with a right to be heard as a recognised NGO.’ It is in the fields of peace and human rights where it has had the most impact. The emphasis has been ‘quiet ministry in Brussels’ and ‘quiet diplomacy’.

There was laughter when one Friend suggested people ‘sign up to the SPA – the Society for the Prevention of Acronyms’.

Reaching out to Young Adult Friends

‘How do we create a truly multi-age community?’ and ‘Is the Religious Society of Friends fit for purpose for Friends in their twenties and thirties?’ were questions posed to over forty Friends in a stimulating and creative session on outreach and diversification on 3 August.

Three Friends from Young Friends General Meeting and one from the Engaging Young Adult Friends project led the discussion.

Participants were soon up on their feet and spread across the room in response to ‘spectrum exercises’ exploring the subject. For each statement read out Friends moved towards one end of the room or the other according to how strongly they agreed or disagreed. They then shared with the group their reasons for where they had placed themselves. Statements ranged from ‘Young Adult Friends are important in the Society’ and ‘Yearly Meeting Gathering is inclusive of all ages’ to ‘a cheese ploughman’s is a good vegetarian option for a pub lunch!’

In the small group discussions that followed, Friends generated a wide range of ideas for actions that Local and Area Meetings might take to better include Young Adult Friends, steps Young Adult Friends could take to make themselves heard, and what Quakers of all ages might do to reach out to young adult communities generally.

Movement building

There was a joyous and poignant start to the event ‘Movement building with the world Quaker family’, organised by the Quaker World Relations Committee and Friends World Committee for Consultation on 3 August. Cards, gifts, thanks and farewells were offered to overseas visitors.

Sustainability and climate change were particular concerns. ‘We are both the causes of, and the sufferers from, climate change,’ one Friend said. For another Friend ‘sustainability is too vague… as a concept’. He emphasised the urgency of ‘Earth recovery’.

A Friend described the consequences of drought in their country. Families were restricted to two bottles (from three) of water a day between them. Another Friend said: ‘If one suffers, we all suffer. How do we encourage people in the West to recognise the urgency of the situation?’ It was pointed out that: ‘Our lifestyles are making that third bottle unaffordable in another part of the world.’

Friends shared how experiences at Yearly Meeting Gathering had contributed to their sense of movement building. One said: ‘Meeting people and hearing what’s going on makes all the difference.’ Another said: ‘Working together helps us to see the bigger picture.’ One Friend spoke of the need to uphold solitary and isolated Friends and involve Young Friends more. It had been a wonderful week but she indicated that inclusivity still needs to be encouraged. Friends might reflect on how to do this at their own Meetings. ‘Let’s look into our hearts as well,’ she said.

Developing a multi-racial nourishing Quaker community

‘Shocked’ was the word several Friends used when describing the first session at this, their first, Yearly Meeting… in a room full of white faces.

Vanessa Julye, nurturing ministries coordinator at Friends General Conference (FGC) in the USA, provided over fifty Friends with a ‘brave space’ to discuss the lack of racial diversity within the Society at a special interest group on 2 August.

In 2016 eight out of fifteen FGC-affiliated Yearly Meetings in the US addressed the concern of racism and ‘white supremacy’ in some form. Vanessa Julye spoke about the lived experiences of numerous Friends of colour. She explained that ‘white supremacy’ is not just about overt racism, it is also about a mindset and perspective ‘that things should be done a certain way’.

Friends heard a number of epistles and statements. They learned about racism, both conscious and unconscious, in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and heard about the experiences and actions of Quakers elsewhere.

Friends who were attending their first Yearly Meeting talked to the group about the lack of diversity they saw in the composition of Friends in the first main session.

One Friend of colour expressed dismay: ‘I had no idea that as an organisation we don’t reflect the country we live in… I felt like I didn’t belong.’ Another Friend said that she could see parallels with other issues such as disability, class and age.

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