Yearly Meeting special interest sessions 7
‘You told me that it was okay for me to cry.’
Forty-nine people heard a panel of five Quaker agencies speak on Making change in the world: A global perspective. Leading figures from FWCC, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), QUNO, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) and QPSW explained their work and how they support diversity and inclusion.
m FCNL, said that the organisation was going through an ‘exciting evolution’ with an increasingly diverse and young nationwide network.
Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, director of QUNO Geneva, spoke about a brand new pilot (the Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme) which recognises the role of the economy in creating global inequalities and wars. QUNO reminds international policy makers that they are talking about human beings, whether on climate change or peace and disarmament’, she said.
Panel members agreed that it wasn’t just what they did, but how. Oliver Robertson, BYM’s head of witness and worship, said that working primarily around peace and climate justice, they are trying to bring out the voices of people who are not always heard. He pointed to some ‘decolonising learning circles’ held with, and by, staff. ‘You could hear from everyone equally,’ he said.
Bridget said that FCNL too believed in engaging with people from all different perspectives, and seeking the God in everyone. With the polarisation in the US however, this was ‘increasingly difficult’. It is ‘increasingly important how we hold our Quaker values’.
The second half of the session was dedicated to questions. One Friend asked if there had been any work done against the threat to the Roe v Wade ruling, which deemed abortion legal in the US in 1973. Joyce Ajlouny said that AFSC had put out a statement supporting a woman’s reproductive rights. Bridget said that FCNL has Friends from across a ‘broad spectrum of beliefs’ and that abortion is a ‘challenge issue’ so ‘we have not taken a position’.
Next came a question on how the agencies learn from each other’s experience. Nozizwe told the gathering that Quaker heads of agencies meet every two months. Joyce said staff are ‘collaborating strongly’ and AFSC’s strategic plan emphasises linking with Quakers, particularly in the global south, and ‘we need to do better on that’.
Finally, there was a question on if – and how – the war in Ukraine has changed the agencies’ work. Tim Gee said that there were ‘conversations’ about Quaker Council for European Affairs hosting a grassroots peace conference. Meanwhile, FWCC was ‘questioning very strongly the weapons that are being used’. The war is raising questions about the links between fossil fuels and wars, he added. Bridget said that FCNL is ‘focusing on getting congress to answer the question: what are they doing to end the war?... the conversation has shifted very blatantly to defeating Russia’.
On Thursday the Black, Brown and People of Colour Fellowship hosted a Meeting for Worship. Twenty-five Friends gathered, hearing an excerpt from Uncut Funk by bell hooks and Stuart Hall.
Friends offered ministry from a range of perspectives. One wondered about the purpose of Quakerism and offered: ‘It seems to me that what Quakerism about is becoming fully human.’ Another ministered on the challenging standards set for them by Jesus.
A Friend spoke about the word ‘hate’ that appeared in a quote from Martin Luther King Junior. ‘In Quakers sometimes it feels difficult to express how you feel because you want to feel right, you want to be the right person and use the right words.’ She spoke of the difficulty in choosing love over hate: ‘It’s hard… I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. I want to embrace love, and I am full of love within myself, but for black people it’s a difficult journey.’
At the end a Friend shared a recent conversation they had with their grandmother, who had been part of the Windrush Generation. ‘What I took from that conversation with my grandmother was about managing my expectations… maybe it’s not my portion to change the world… maybe I won’t see a world where everything is OK… maybe my responsibility is just making my own small mark… if I’m able to reach one person and that person changes then maybe that’s enough.’
The war in Ukraine and the peacebuilding response began with an Irish proverb: ‘It is in the shelter of each other the people live.’ This was a sombre reflection on the horrors of the Ukrainian invasion.
In constantly pursuing ‘security’, governments accept, even encourage, rights violations. More than 100 Friends heard about the notion of ‘Lidism’: A boiling pot with a lid kept on tightly leads to a boiling over of scalding contents – this image defined succinctly how the arms race leads to an escalation, not an eradication, of war.
Some Friends have struggled with the Peace Testimony, feeling a ‘pop’ of delight in the military successes of the Ukrainian people. This session gave them hope that peacemaking is possible.
Elder and overseer: What’s in a name? was led by Quaker Life Central Committee and Woodbrooke, and gave an opportunity for participants to consider the use of these words. Friends reflected on the negative historical references imbued in the familiar terms used for those who are responsible for the spiritual nurture of our community. Many felt the term ‘overseer’ should be changed because of its links to slavery and other oppressions and inequalities. Alternatives often referred to ‘pastoral team or group’. One Friend offered ‘bugeiliaid’, Welsh for shepherd. Working together as part of a group, rather than being an isolated individual was thought to be important, whatever words are used.
Friends did not unite on one term, and were reminded that Meeting for Sufferings has asked for experimentation to find words that suit. Will we find unity by the end of 2022? Friends hoped so.
More than thirty friends came to hear Glebe House: The community itself is the therapy. Glebe is a therapeutic residential centre for young men who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour.
Run by the Friends Therapeutic Community Trust, the three-acre site in Cambridgeshire was founded by three Quakers in 1965.
Carol Thomas, a Glebe House trustee, introduced the session, warning that the content could be difficult for anyone suffering trauma in this area. By rehabilitating offenders, the work reduces the number of victims.
Karen Parish, clinical director, said that more than 600 young people have been through the service over the last sixty years. They come from a range of backgrounds, she said, from families, custody and care homes, many with fractured educations. ‘Not all have been convicted’ and ‘that doesn’t link to the severity of their behaviour.’ All of the young people come presenting harmful sexual behaviour. ‘At the lower end, that could be someone who has issues with exposure or inappropriate behaviour in public spaces, through to young people who have committed more serious offences. Others have issues with self-harming behaviour and aggression. We do a lot of work around emotional regulation and managing their emotions in more socially acceptable ways.’
Karen said that the centre had high success rates. A twelve-year longitudinal study by the Friends Therapeutic Community Trust followed Glebe House residents through the service, including two years in treatment and anything up to ten years. The programme had a ninety-six per cent success rate in preventing further convictions. A comparison group showed significantly higher re-offending numbers. The research also showed areas for improvement which has led to new strategies on mental health screening, parenting skills, employment and training, and transitioning support when they leave. The young people now have eighteen months of outreach support.
Before hearing from Glebe House trustees, Friends heard ‘Adam’s Poem’, by one of their former young offenders, saying: ‘You told me that it was okay for me to cry.’ ‘It always makes me a bit choked,’ said Karen. ‘I’ve got it framed at home. That young person went on to college and university, and is doing really well.’
One trustee talked about how valuable the trustee role was and said that without the support, the young men would be highly likely to end up in the prison system. One former therapist said that many of her clients presenting sexually harmful behaviour had abuse in their background.
Yearly Meeting special interest sessions reporting by Alastair Reid, Annique Seddon, Elinor Smallman, Joseph Jones, Laurence Hall, Rebecca Hardy and Sarah FitzGerald.
