Yellow flags over Pendle Hill
Friends held a Meeting for Worship on Pendle Hill on 6 May
Two hundred Quakers from all over Britain took part in a Meeting for Worship at the top of Pendle Hill on 6 May to witness against fracking. Local anti-fracking activists joined in the national Quaker event which centred on thirty minutes of silent worship. Yellow, the colour of the anti-fracking movement, could be seen on coats, hats and rucksacks, and on large flags and banners.
The event was suggested by local Quakers and supported by staff at Friends House. Those attending included people from: Ashburton, Torquay, Bognor Regis, Sutton, London, Bedford, Cambridge, Birmingham, Market Drayton, Stockport, Manchester, Eccles, Bolton, Huddersfield, Leeds, Hebden Bridge, Lancaster, Kendal, Biggar, and Orkeny, as well as the Ribble Valley.
One participant said that: ‘It was a wonderful place of calm amidst the flapping banners proclaiming our message.’ Another commented: ‘It was really important to join with other people who share our values to make a stand. The beautiful surroundings really brought home to me what we are trying to save.’ A third Friend said the event ‘was very powerful. It showed me that each one of us can make a difference.’
Quakers nationally have called for a ban on fracking and this event was the latest in a range of events designed to draw attention to the anti-fracking campaign.
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