‘We are all participants’: Epistle from Yearly Meeting 2024

‘How can we love those who do bad things?’

An all-age Quaker Community has gathered in Friends House and online. [Zoom] has enabled wider participation, but it can be harder to be aware of everyone in our sessions. Our time has included programmes for children and young people, as well as Junior Yearly Meeting. We have welcomed representatives from other churches and faiths, and Friends from overseas. We have celebrated the 400th anniversary of the birth of George Fox.

Change is a constant in life. As a faith community, we seek to follow the promptings of love and truth. As opportunities open, we try to adapt our ways and processes to meet the needs of living in a turbulent world.

We strive to be a loving body where we all support each other – but we often fall short. How can we open Quaker spaces so that everyone feels welcome? We know that we each have work to do if we are to hear voices that are unlike our own. We seek to be Spirit-led, as our experience and understanding permit. May we be aware of our limitations. May we be open to learn in love. May we be teachable.

How can we love those who do bad things? Loving is different from liking. It is an action, more than a feeling. Younger Friends invite us to say sorry to someone we love, even if we do not feel loving to them at that time.

In the Swarthmore Lecture we heard of people who had committed serious, violent crimes and all those who have suffered as a result. When we come close to people so hurt, there is no easy resolution to their anger, fear, disgust, shame, and despair. Our responses may include those same emotions. If we recognise these as part of ourselves, we may be more able to answer that of God in others. 

As BYM, we have minuted commitments in recent years: to care for our planet, to become an anti-racist church, to make reparations for historical injustices, to welcome and affirm those who are transgender, non-binary, and gender diverse. Much work has been done on these by individual Friends and Meetings, as well as by our staff and committees. However, some have disagreed with the actions and approaches of others. This has been a cause of pain and anguish. We have heard that the strength of a church lies in how it is able to disagree with itself. In Quaker discernment, unity is not the same as unanimity. Minority views may continue to exist. Among ourselves, we need to find kinder ground for our disagreements. Can we find joy? Can we bring joy?

At Yearly Meeting 2023 we recognised the need to simplify our structures to make them more transparent and release energy for practical ministry. We urged ourselves to be radical, courageous, and imaginative. The proposal to meet four times a year for church governance has been deeply tested, then accepted. In our discernment, our business method and the discipline this requires of us have proved robust. We look for the fuller involvement of all in our Meetings. There are no observers in Quakers; we are all participants. Our work benefits when it is carried on by people who bring with them a range of lived experiences and spiritual insights. [Ended with Quaker faith & practice 10.01.] 

Signed by Adwoa Burnley, clerk. Edited (minimally!) for length.

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Comments

Please tell me, where is the .pdf version? How can I download and save The Friend to my hard drive to read when I am in a place without wifi - often the case?

So far, it looks as though the former simple way of receiving and keeping The Friend digitally has now been removed, so that it looks as though I will have to swipe and copy each article and assemble them into a single document. Surely, that can’t be what you intend? 

Please tell me I am mistaken: please tell me how to continue to receive The Friend in a downloadable savable form.

Thank you
Frances Voelcker

By Frances V on 2024 08 13

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Dear Frances V

This is not currently possible. I have pleaded for it to be reinstated to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

I hope you can add your voice

YiF
Ol Rappaport

By Ol Rappaport on 2024 08 15

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