‘You have a need that seems to be quite complex to me.’

Lectures, special interest meetings and parallel sessions at Britain Yearly Meeting 2019

There was too much going on at Yearly Meeting 2019 to get to everything. But, with the help of some Friends – and with apologies for what we missed – the Friend managed to get to a range of special interest meetings, lectures and parallel sessions.

Salter Lecture: ‘Solutions for a Divided Society’, Catherine West MP

Numbers were larger than usual for the annual lecture of the Quaker Socialist Society, given this year by the 2017 Swarthmore lecturer.

Partisan affiliations were put to one side as Catherine paid tribute to ‘our friend’ Molly Scott Cato, the Green MEP who delivered the Salter Lecture in 2017. It was an honour to follow her, she said. Catherine also remembered Jo Cox, the MP murdered by a white supremacist, to whom she had dedicated her Swarthmore Lecture. There was a link, she said, between that kind of violence and inequality.

Catherine’s delivery was measured and pragmatic – an antidote to some of the histrionic politicking around Brexit – and she addressed inequality as it appears in three key ways: housing; wages; and knife crime.

Since the 2008 banking crash there has been a 134 per cent rise in rough sleeping, and the Grenfell tragedy had revealed much about the gap between the haves and the have nots. Building more houses was essential, she said. After world war two the need was obvious, she added, but it was no less obvious now, and the response should be similar.

Some of the 2017 Swarthmore themes were revisited in the section on wages. Jobs were available, she said, but they too often failed to provide enough income. In-work poverty is obvious from the rise in food bank use and so a living wage had become critical.

Knife crime rises with inequality, she said, looking at Colombia, where education and the promotion of tolerance had gone a long way to helping reduce crime. But in Britain right now, she said Brexit is ‘too loud in our ears’ and opportunities for change were being missed.

It was a lecture full of progressive ideas, delivered in a calm, unfussy manner. Listeners could only hope for a near future in which government could return to discussing them.

Price of populism

Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) considered the rise of populism across Europe at Yearly Meeting and how Quaker work is seeking to overcome the trend. Andrew Lane, director of QCEA, spoke about the rise of the ‘far right’ in Europe and the increase to €55.9 billion of spending on border control and military research for the next seven years.

He pointed out that the increase was because of the political pressure on governments to subscribe to more ‘hostile and xenophobic’ policies due to the rise of far right parties elected into power, such as in Hungary and the Austrian and Italian coalition governments.

He said: ‘One of the problems is that the evidence of what works is that peacebuilding is more effective than border management, but we are not in the political space where that evidence can get through.’

He cited the work that QCEA has done on challenging the anti-migration narrative with its ‘Choose Respect’ campaign, which aims to debunk migration myths by encouraging people to spread facts on social media. He said: ‘We’ve done this because evidence shows that if you allow [fake news] to go unchallenged on the internet then it spreads.’

He added: ‘Twitter has given us quite a lot of free advertising so we’re about to be reaching one million people.’

He also pointed to QCEA research published on Child Immigration Detention in Europe, which he said is ‘the most comprehensive information on the subject’. He said: ‘Quakers contacted fifty-seven governments and asked how many children are you detaining?’

Andrew Lane also emphasised the special role that Quaker House plays in Brussels. ‘We are trying to bring people together in a different environment to have a different kind of conversation’ and said the work is often about bringing a Quaker method, for example, meeting in a nonhierarchical and informal setting and mixing with migrants or ‘people officials would not normally come into contact with’. He said: ‘There are a lot of people in power who have not met people on the move. We are trying to build relationships with people who are influencing how international politics is going.’

Friends were then asked how can we find hope in all this?

Andrew Lane said it was ‘very much about moving against the current momentum in society and creating a new momentum’ and said that the Extinction Rebellion (XR) movement has been very successful in this. ‘Research shows that 3.5 per cent is the number of the population needed to take part to “make the change”.’

Other Quakers agreed that XR had given them cause for hope, as ‘people are now talking about climate change’. Another Friend said that in terms of shifting the narrative, XR was ‘on the magnitude of the fall of the Berlin wall – that explosion of energy’.

One Friend pointed to the work being done on the development of ‘economic literacy’, while another said that projects done on the ‘micro-level’ to help refugees made him feel hopeful.

Andrew Lane said: ‘One thing that brings me hope is the power to get people together over a meal. I think there might be space for that in Britain.’

One Quaker agreed and said that he had run a stall outside the Meeting house in Manchester offering free tea and biscuits. ‘I met hundreds of people over a year,’ he said. ‘Some poured out their hearts to me.’

Quaker Witness and the arts

Around forty people gathered at the ‘Quaker Witness and the arts’ special interest meeting organised by the Quaker Arts Network (QAN).

As the room filled with painters, writers, musicians and Friends running arts groups, Linda Murgatroyd, artist and one of the founder members of QAN, led a discussion exploring creative ministry and the importance of networking. She started the session talking about a QAN-supported exhibition at Swarthmoor Hall, for which the network is forming a group to discern which art should be shown. Friends also discussed the impact of the Collateral Damage project with one Quaker describing it as ‘visual and tactile witness’.

Linda Murgatroyd commented on how visual arts and music are particularly interesting for younger people ‘and are an important way of engaging’. Artist Anne McNeill Pulati talked about an interfaith art exhibition hosted by Winchmore Hill Meeting House which included work by ten different faith groups. She said: ‘I realised when I looked on the faith websites that they are saying exactly what we are saying, but we never mix. I know from working in a secondary school that different faith groups can be hostile to each other.’

One Friend from the Aberdeen Inter Faith Group agreed and said that ‘we talk about dialogue as a great thing, but [it is] what we do beyond dialogue that is also important, such as sharing meals and art’.

One Friend said: ‘I can remember when being interested in the arts as a Quaker was almost frowned upon. You can imagine a time before that when it was completely forbidden – you couldn’t go to the theatre, you couldn’t listen to music. I think this is a release from that history and we need to explore it.’

The session concluded with one Quaker saying how ‘visual arts can connect people, without words getting in the way’. It’s ‘the universality. As Quakers we share our words far too much and not our hearts.’

Meet Friends from Europe and Middle East Section (EMES)

At Britain Yearly Meeting, there were forty-two representatives from Yearly Meetings (YMs) around the world. Representatives at the Friends World Committee for Consultation EMES special interest meeting were: Thérèse Douglas from Switzerland; John Williams from Belgium and Luxembourg; Bairbre NicAongusa from Ireland; Kris Misselbrook from France; Ville-Pekka Pulkkinen from Finland; Katharina Specht for Germany and Austria; and Egil Mardal Johannessen from Norway.

There was much discussion of the differences between YMs. Some YMs have very small numbers (in Finland, it was said, the Meeting consists of twenty-six Friends) so it was a new experience for some Friends to be surrounded by such a large number of Quakers.

Friends from Germany, France and Ireland talked about the books of discipline in their countries. The titles were similar in the case of France’s Pratique et Experience and Ireland’s Life and Practice, while in Germany and Austria it is called Our Book. In the case of Ireland, this different title reflects the views of some Friends in 2005. Many Friends from evangelical backgrounds felt strongly that written content about the lived experiences of gay people was not part of their faith; hence it was amended to Life and Practice.

Friends told us about the current issues being discussed and dealt with in their Meetings. In Norway they are doing work with the environment and climate issues, while in Ireland they are concerned with the effect of the dwindling number of Friends on the maintenance of Meeting houses.

Arne Springorum spoke about the Central European Gathering, which meets three times a year but is not yet a Recognised Meeting. It encompasses many countries, including the Baltic countries, and reaching all the way to Vienna (which is also part of Germany and Austria YM). One of the biggest challenges faced by the Central European Gathering is the large distances between all the Meetings that are included within it. This can mean that the cost of travel prevents people from being able to attend the Gatherings so bursaries can be issued to enable more people to be able to get there. In concern for the environment, discounts are given if Friends travel by train as opposed to plane and there is also now a Quaker Centre in Prague which hosts weekly Extinction Rebellion workshops.

Friends also spoke of their experiences visiting other YMs (including Ireland, Finland and Sweden). It was commented that at Ireland YM Friends come from both Northern Ireland and the Republic and from both Protestant and Catholic backgrounds.

One Friend said that it had been wonderful hearing about all these experiences from different parts of the world, but that it would be useful to have some technology that would allow these stories to be shared all the time rather than only in sessions like these. Another Friend suggested using the EMES forum as a solution to this.

Zero-carbon Quakers?

Laurie Michaelis, from Living Witness, gave a talk about the climate crisis and the things that Friends can do in their own lives to change it. He explained that, although the government’s Committee on Climate Change recommends the UK be carbon neutral by 2050, this is too late. Laurie says that by 2030 we will be beyond the point of return because, by that time, we will have guaranteed a 2C temperature increase by 2040. There is a serious difference between a 1.5C increase and a 2C increase in terms of the impact on the planet. Extinction Rebellion want the UK to be carbon neutral by 2025.

Laurie pointed out that, even if we do manage to reduce our emissions sufficiently by 2030, we will still only have a 50/50 chance of limiting global warming to a 1.5C increase. He said that it is possible to eventually reduce Earth temperatures back to normal but that it would take at least 100 years after becoming carbon neutral.

He explained that a Quaker approach can be taken with the climate crisis: if every individual accepts that they are part of the problem and the solution; engages in self-reflection, mindfulness and spiritual practice; and answers that of God in everyone. Different people need to start in different places in terms of the changes they make to their carbon footprint. It is important to remember that and to retain a sense of community.

Friends then asked questions and made suggestions about things that could be done. One Friend recommended using an online climate calculator to calculate personal carbon footprints. Another Friend asked how to find good advice on how to modify homes to make them more eco-friendly. Laurie answered that it is best to get personalised advice because people’s houses and situations are different, but that it can be difficult to get access to such advice, and that this could be something to discuss further.

Laurie suggested starting a steering group and asked for people who would be interested in taking responsibility for communications, newsletters, blogs, online Meetings and organising training and gatherings.

Quaker Disability Equality Group

Imagine you are unexpectedly visiting the home of a blind person. When the doorbell rings, they may need to consider not only who is at the door but what time it is, when they last heard rain, can they feel the sun… do you need the light to be turned on? ‘You have a need that seems to be quite complex to me.’

This story formed part of a special interest meeting called ‘Including everyone: disabled Friends speak out’, which was hosted by the Quaker Disability Equality Group (QDEG) and included speech-to-text provision.

Around thirty Friends listened to four speakers as they shared their experiences as disabled Friends and how they have been enabled to participate in the life of their Meeting, as well as the barriers they’ve faced in experiencing full involvement. They spoke movingly of how Friends have been supportive and positive steps that have been taken. However, they also shared the difficulties they have faced and ways in which Meetings could improve.

One speaker with cerebral palsy and a number of additional conditions described how he has attended several Meetings over the years, is a role holder, and has received support for taxis to Meeting and a computer.

Another speaker, whose child uses an electric wheelchair, spoke of how her experience of Meeting has also been a supportive one, but emphasised the difficulties around enabling her child to attend residential events, which can take years of preparation.

A Friend with visual impairments described the process she goes through when the doorbell rings unexpectedly and highlighted that, although sighted people may have the confidence or courage to turn on the light (with or without asking), few disabled Friends feel confident or courageous enough to take or ask for what they need.

The fourth speaker described how a lack of access, after her acquired impairment resulted in her using a power chair, delayed her return to Quakerism as an adult. First due to travel problems, then, after the family moved, she went to the Meeting house… which had a step, ‘it was very easy to avoid Meeting, it clearly wasn’t accessible to me’.

A lively period of questions followed, which also included other disabled Friends sharing their experiences. Friends in Africa sent a question via Facebook and others in the room sought advice about how to improve their Meeting’s accessibility. Recommendations included: speaking to those with disabilities, undertaking an accessibility audit, and contacting Social Services to speak with an occupational therapist.

Parallel session: Exceptionalism

‘Exceptionalism’ is ‘a perception of being somehow special, superior, or different from the norm’ and this parallel session explored how it relates to sustainability.

The session was facilitated by Laurie Michaelis, of Living Witness, and began with talks by: Lindsey Fielder Cook, Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) climate representative; Fletcher Harper, director of GreenFaith via video link; and Anthea Lawson, an anti-corruption campaigner and activist via a pre-recorded video.

Anthea Lawson spoke of how ‘we all like to think that we’re entirely rational’ and rely on logic and facts. ‘That’s a form of exceptionalism in itself… thinking that we are an exception to the human norm of using feelings as well as thinking.’ She argued that ‘in the UK, the way that most of us are still living… makes us complicit in what is happening’.

Fletcher Harper described his personal experience of trying to cut down on nonessential travel, but the quandry he faces in balancing environmental impact with family and professional demands. He told Friends that the ‘mistake is to let ourselves off the hook too easily… the least we can do is wrestle with the uncomfortable questions to show solidarity’.

Lindsey Fielder Cook spoke of examples she sees in herself and those around her, and described the challenges in making changes for a family of four. She asked: ‘How can we help inspire transformation, as we also face our exceptionalism? How can we help ourselves and others to accept our imperfection, and keep trying?’

In paired discussions Friends exchanged ways they felt exceptionalism was at work in their lives and, in worship sharing, spoke about GM crops, the increasing and aging population, veganism, and frustrations with those resistant to change.

One Friend described how ‘spiritual discernment has led me to fail’ after being so stringent environmentally that she had not been able to ‘justify’ buying plasters. The impact on her children led her to relax certain aspects of her behaviour.

Another spoke of making choices – ‘the best you can with what you know… we’re never going to be perfect’.

Meeting houses and sustainability – done simply

The age of British Friends’ Meeting houses was a theme at the special interest meeting on ‘Meeting houses and sustainability – done simply’.

Huw Davies, who is Britain Yearly Meeting’s property support project manager, led a session with around twenty Friends that explored what sustainability means, what steps are already being taken, and what hurdles Friends must overcome.

Of those present, only a handful met in buildings that were built after 1900, around half met in listed buildings or in buildings in a conservation area, and nine had Meeting houses that are over two centuries old. The difficulties of being able to meet ‘in contemporary conditions’, such as having warm rooms in winter, were discussed.

Friends spoke about: secondary or double glazing, energy efficient boilers, insulation, and solar panels. More than half a dozen came from Meetings that regularly offered blankets to those attending. One Friend spoke of how efforts in their Meeting house had spilled into individual Friends’ lives – rippling out to create a much greater over-all impact.

Other practical ideas included: switching to LED lighting, moving to a renewable energy supplier, and making use of resources such as The Green Building Company website and the information, tools and property advice e-group available via the Quakers in Britain website.

But a wealth of frustrations were aired when discussing what had stopped more from being done. Money, time and energy were all thin on the ground. And multiple Friends highlighted how resistance and disagreements among local Quakers were a significant contributing factor.

One Friend spoke of how Quakers are very privileged to have inherited beautiful buildings, but questioned whether it is time to learn to let go of this privilege gracefully.

Simpler Meetings

This event had a packed room buzzing as Jonathan Carmichael, Britain Yearly Meeting’s Simpler Meetings project manager, shared his enthusiasm for the project and the many ideas which are already emerging in different parts of the Yearly Meeting. His big question was: how can we release Friends’ joy in being Quaker and their time for witness in the world (and ‘having a life’) by doing things differently, thus reducing the administrative burdens that Friends and Meetings carry?

He emphasised the positive: There are key underlying Quaker principles, not one immutable Quaker way. Quaker faith & practice is full of permissions, not prohibitions. Restructuring responsibilities so that they fit our different sized Meetings, geographical circumstances and membership patterns brings us together as communities. Technology is an asset, not a master.

Friends were encouraged to think about porous borders. Why not see what roles (such as registering officers, trustees, and treasurers) can be shared across neighbouring Local or Area Meetings?

Over regulation and compliance, Friends were urged not to reinvent the wheel. Seven model policies are already available, five more will be added in the next few months and the programme will continue after that. One could almost hear the gasp of relief at the agonised struggles and time-burdens lifted when all this material is available.

What else? Friends might want to free some of the membership by paying for administrative tasks around finance or property maintenance.

Quakers and humanists, fifty years on

Fifty years ago Quaker Home Service, as it then was, published a slim pamphlet, Humanists and Quakers: An exchange of letters, between H J Blackham, founder and first director of the British Humanist Association (BHA) and Quaker educationalist Harold Loukes. So in 2019 BYM was delighted to welcome Andrew Copson, the current chief executive of Humanists UK, as the BHA is now known, as one of its ecumenical and interfaith guests.

Andrew expressed himself very much at home at BYM and welcomed the opportunity for silent contemplation. Several of the Friends greeting him were also members of Humanists UK, and Quakers and Humanists are working together on reform of UK marriage laws (Humanist marriage has been possible in Scotland since 2005, but is not yet legal in the rest of the UK).

A packed special interest meeting later had the chance to grill Andrew on humanism today. Was it not too human-centric? Friends asked, at a YM when we were much troubled by the human impact on nature. Andrew countered that it was rather religion which ‘placed humanity at the centre of the divine smorgasbord’. What about testing one’s leadings, another Friend asked?

Andrew thought it was a matter of exercising ‘a reflective equilibrium’. And can humanism help to generate community? Andrew gave an interesting answer here, agreeing that some community groups have failed in the past, and groups such as Sunday Assembly may not have taken off quite as hoped – but that new forms of community may be in the process of emerging.

The Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations is continuing to work on its own project on the changing face of faith in Britain, so is interested to hear from those, like Andrew, on the faith/belief border. The next stop on Andrew’s crowded schedule was a conference on ‘Understanding Unbelief’ at the Vatican, Friends will follow the outcome of that with interest.

Friends Historical Society

The Friends Historical Society address was given by Erin Bell, of the University of Lincoln. She looked at the relationship between Quakers and Jews in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries – as well as how both were treated by wider British society.

Friends and Jews were often compared, and ridiculed, in publications of the period. Both were ‘othered’ in a kind of ‘super equivalence’ that gave them a shared experience as second-class citizens.

Erin also discussed works written by Quakers, with George Fox and others advocating for Jews being allowed to return to the UK (often to allow for their conversion). Here the location of the lecture helped enormously, with Friends House Library able to display some of the works being discussed.

The lecture ended on a disappointing note. Perceived anti-Semitism from some Friends threatened the relationship between Quakers and Jews, she said. She believed it unlikely that it would return to the same strength.

QUNO

There was an opportunity to meet staff from the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva when four of the team discussed their work. Jonathan Woolley, director, talked about the opportunities afforded by Friends’ long-term commitment to the organisation. This was not available to most NGOs, he said, and it meant that QUNO could work on important projects outside the news cycle. For example, Lindsey Fielder Cook, the representative for climate change, talked of the unprecedented access they were given to diplomats. They were given the opportunity to take risks, and had the freedom to fail. All this was paying dividends.

The Friend

We ran our own event this year, on being authentic in a world of fake news. We’ll print this soon.

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