Quaker news 92 by Quakers in Britain

Quaker News C

An update on Quaker work in the care of Britain Yearly Meeting

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Small steps towards a better world No. 92 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Spring/summer 2015

Contents Small steps towards a better world 4–5 Quaker film challenges militarisation agenda 7 Treasures of the Library at Friends House 8–9 Quaker Equality Week 10 News in brief 12–13 Great Lakes peacebuilders gather in Kenya 14 Cover: Quakers take part in the Time to Act climate march in London in March (see page 12). Photo: © Mike Pinches 2015

Editorial “The life of our Society is made up of the lives of its members. The faithfulness of our Society consists of the faithfulness of each and all of us. And none of us can expect ‘the Society’ to be more faithful, more loving, than we ourselves are prepared to be.” Quaker faith & practice, introduction to chapter 18 As I write, Quakers across Britain are preparing to gather for Yearly Meeting, which this year has the theme ‘Living out our faith in the world’. This edition of Quaker News is rich in examples of Quaker action. We hear about Friends’ engagement with the Westminster general election (page 3), which will take place just a few days after our Yearly Meeting; we also hear about the Sustainability and New Economy Grants (pages 4 and 5), which give financial expression to Friends’ concerns for sustainable energy, alternative economic models and community engagement. On page 6 we have the latest instalment in Quakers’ long-held concern to bring about the abolition of nuclear weapons. We learn of an exciting film project hoping to stem the tide of militarisation in British society (page 7), and hear how activists in the African Great Lakes region are taking forward our vision of a peaceful world (page 14).

Quakers from meetings across Britain joined together in March to mark Quaker Equality Week (page 10), an initiative of Manchester & Warrington Area Meeting – an instance of an idea from a local group of Friends capturing the imagination of Quakers across the country, leading to many examples of Quaker witness on equality issues: poster campaigns, vigils, discussions and letter-writing campaigns. Not all Quaker action is outwardfacing: the care of our meetings and the Quakers in them is important too. A new book, With a tender hand (page 11), explores the role of elders and overseers in our local meetings. And our Library at Friends House, London (pages 8 and 9), houses many Quaker artefacts that connect us to our 360-year heritage and the faithful lives of Friends who have gone before us. Yet another way to tell the story of Quakers living out our faith in the world. Advice 27 calls us to let our lives speak. Together as Britain Yearly Meeting, the life of our Quaker community speaks in many and varied ways. How faithful can each of us be in taking our shared Quaker witness forward? Paul Parker Recording Clerk

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

A magazine about work supported by Britain Yearly Meeting. Britain Yearly Meeting works on behalf of Quakers in Britain, supporting the Quaker faith and putting Quaker values to work in the world. It is a registered charity, number 1127633. Quakers try to live simply and sustainably, promoting peace, equality and truth. Putting faith into action is central to their way of life and they gather weekly for quiet worship, usually on a Sunday, in more than 475 locations across Britain. You are welcome to any Quaker meeting for worship. Find your local meeting, and more about Quakers, at www.quaker.org.uk.

Also available in large print Quaker News, Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ qn@quaker.org.uk 020 7663 1019 Printed by Headley Brothers on paper from sustainably managed forests.

Please don’t throw this magazine away – pass it on to others to read or recycle it.

More than just a vote As Quakers we live out our faith, taking action on the issues that matter to us. So how are Quakers in Britain engaging with the general election?

Jessica Metheringham, Parliamentary Engagement Officer The 2015 general election was officially called on 30 March, but it’s been a topic of conversation for much longer. In January every local and area meeting received a copy of our election guide, which covers over 20 issues arranged into seven topics – peace, community, sustainability and the environment, economic justice, equality, justice, and democracy. For each issue there is a brief overview, suggested questions to ask parliamentary candidates and places to go for further information. You can find the guide online at www.quakervote.org.uk. So how have Quakers in Britain been using the election as an opportunity for action? Speaking to candidates Many meetings have held hustings, alone or in collaboration with others. For example, Quakers in Bath held a hustings focusing on national security, while Quakers in Swindon arranged two hustings as part of Churches Together in Swindon. The newly refurbished Large Meeting House at Friends House, London, hosted two national debates. On 31 March a panel of politicians from the five main parties responded to questions around international affairs. On 21 April the theme was ‘Paying for society’. Warwick Quakers invited all their local candidates to attend a meeting for worship – a simple and touching gesture that helps to create a connection between the meeting and local politicians. Minehead Quakers wrote to their candidates on peace, climate change and economic inequality.

Becoming more involved Westmorland Regional Gathering considered how we might encourage politicians to acknowledge issues such as Trident instead of focusing solely on the economy, as well as how to change the tone of current debates. Quakers in Sussex and Surrey used a political compass exercise to explore the range of views within their own meetings. In Gloucester, Quakers used role-play to explore the reasons behind their concerns. Planning for the future Young Friends General Meeting held a weekend to plan for action on Trident. They created campaigning messages and planned activities for beyond the election. The weekend was held in Reading, so they joined Wheel Stop Trident – a cycle protest to Burghfield, where the nuclear warheads are made. Trident has also been a theme for Quakers in Scotland, who are looking beyond May to the elections to the Scottish Parliament in 2016.

Standing ourselves Some Quakers are standing for Parliament. Being a parliamentary candidate is a difficult process, and not one which is taken on lightly. For Quakers it is an act of witness, living out beliefs and trying to improve democracy. We know of 14 Quaker candidates, but if you are one and haven’t been contacted by us, please get in touch. With the election just around the corner, now is a good time to spark informed conversations about the issues that matter to us. Change takes time, so please encourage others to get involved with the political process. Politics doesn’t stop on 7 May. To find out more you can visit www.quakervote.org.uk, follow @QuakerVote on Twitter and use #QuakerVote on social media. Contact: Jessica Metheringham jessicam@quaker.org.uk 020 7663 1107 www.quakervote.org.uk

National debate at Friends House, 31 March. L to R: Jessica Metheringham (chair), Jeremy Lefroy (Conservatives), Shahrar Ali (Green Party), Gavin Shuker (Labour), Lindsay Northover (Liberal Democrats), Pete Muswell (UKIP). Photo: Michael Preston

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Small steps towards a better world 4

Sustainability and New Economy Grants support Quaker meetings in building a more just and sustainable world. We look at projects supported last year and plans for 2015. Maya Williams, Economics, Sustainability & Peace Network Coordinator

Projects supported in 2014 Exeter Community Energy Members of Exeter Meeting are involved in, and supported a grant application for, Exeter Transition. They were awarded £1,500 to help with the setup of Exeter Community Energy, which aims to reduce local reliance on fossil fuels for energy and build a local economy that is sustainable. The grant enabled the energy co-op to identify and develop a working group with professional, technical and legal expertise and to organise publicity and open meetings to gather support, as well as put time towards fundraising to continue the project. They are now working with community organisations and sustainable businesses to install solar panels on their roofs as part of the community energy project.

Installing solar panels on a roof. Photo: CAT / Flickr CC-BY 2.0

Liverpool burial ground and community engagement project Liverpool Quaker Meeting received a £730 grant to fund the development of their burial ground into a community orchard and wildlife garden. During weekly volunteer sessions paths were cleared, a pond was dug and trees were planted. The trees are being watered by a new water collection system and a beehive has also been installed. The commitment of the volunteers has transformed the burial ground into a wildlife space that is valued by the local community, who came out to support the project at an open day in the summer. Bakewell Green Festival Following a grant of £1,500, a number of other successful funding applications and a dedicated team from Bakewell Quaker Meeting, the Bakewell Green Festival took place in the summer of 2014. Participants contributed talks, poetry, music, goods for sale, and activities, all celebrating sustainable living in the peak district. The festival was a massive success, attracting between four and five thousand visitors throughout the day. Since the festival, members of Bakewell Meeting have also organised a series of evening and weekend activities. Capel Meeting and Llandrindod & Pales Meeting also received grants in 2014. Llandrindod & Pales to develop their meeting house garden, and Capel to create a community orchard in their garden. However, both meetings were able

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Liverpool Meeting’s community orchard and wildlife garden. Photo: Jan Jackson

to find ways to run their projects without spending their grant money, which has since been returned.

Projects running in 2015 Stocksfield Footpaths Programme Stocksfield Quakers have received £1,530 towards a training weekend for Quakers on how to run the Footpaths Community Carbon Reduction Programme. Footpaths was developed by Transition Leicester and is a sevensession programme that aims to help a group of like-minded people consider and reduce their carbon footprints in a structured, supportive and fun way. Stocksfield Quakers hope that each person who gets trained during the weekend will run the course with a group of eight-to-ten people afterwards.

Exeter Pound project Exeter Meeting was awarded £1,700 funding for community engagement and publicity for the Exeter Pound project, an initiative that members of Exeter Meeting are involved in. The Exeter Pound will be launched in autumn 2015 and will be accepted as currency by local businesses. The grant is to support the creation of a film about the Exeter Pound, which will be used in community engagement work with local traders, community groups and members of the public. The hope is that having a local currency will encourgage more custom for local independent businesses, and that through this a more integrated and sustainable local economy will be created. Dorchester Living Lawn Dorchester Meeting has been given £250 for seeds and seed trays to help to transform their garden into a grass-free lawn. The meeting is one of a number of groups and organisations creating grass-free lawns across the town. They will be planting 22 varieties of wildflower seeds to create the lawn. Grass-free lawns retain moisture, attract insects and produce a hardy display of wildflowers for much of the year – and they can withstand being walked on.

Northfield Ecocentre Urban Harvest Northfield Ecocentre, a project of Central England Area Meeting, runs Urban Harvest – a scheme that collects unwanted fruit from gardens and community spaces. Through the project, over three tonnes of fruit has been picked and distributed to charities, schools and food banks or turned into juices and preserves, which are sold to help support the project in the coming year. With the £1,220 grant they will be able to buy the equipment needed for this project rather than hiring it each year, making the project more sustainable.

Apply for a grant

Does your local or area meeting organise or support a project that is working to build sustainability or a new economy? Why not apply for a grant? The deadline for applications is 14 September 2015. We will then work with applicants to develop their project applications before a final decision is made at the end of November. As well as providing grants, Quaker Peace & Social Witness can offer support throughout the year, and can help you develop your project into a form that makes applying for a grant possible. If your project doesn’t need support, we would still love to hear

Urban Harvest is run by Northfield Ecocentre, a project of Central England Quakers. Photo: Northfield Ecocentre

about what you are doing so that we can inspire others and inform them about what is happening in their area and around Britain. If you have any questions about the grants or would like some help developing a project in your local or area meeting, please get in touch. Contact: Maya Williams mayaw@quaker.org.uk 020 7663 1056 www.quaker.org.uk/ sustainability-grants

About Sustainability and New Economy Grants

Dorchester Meeting have been awarded a grant to help to transform their meeting house garden into a grass-free lawn. Photo: Selma Biro

Since 2010 small grants have been available for Quakerbacked sustainability initiatives. Last year this remit was widened to include projects that ‘do economics differently’ by challenging the current economic system and showing the reality of an alternative. Each year we have £5,000 to allocate. A maximum of £2,000 will be given to any one project, and all projects must be either organised or supported by a local or area Quaker meeting. For more information or to apply see www.quaker.org.uk/ sustainability-grants.

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Can faiths lead the way to a nuclear weapons-free world? 6

How we are working with other faiths to help build momentum for an international ban on nuclear weapons. Tim Wallis, Programme Manager: Peace & Disarmament

More than 50 people from different faith communities in Britain gathered at Friends House in London this February for an interfaith conference on nuclear disarmament. As well as Quakers there were Anglicans, Buddhists, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Methodists, Muslims, Pagans, Roman Catholics, Sikhs and Zoroastrians. The aim of the day was to look at the nuclear issue from a faith perspective and to discuss how faith communities can be more involved in the international momentum that is now building for a new treaty to ban all nuclear weapons. Norwegian Bishop Dr Gunnar Stålsett, Moderator of the European Council of Religious Leaders, spoke very movingly about the need to engage people’s hearts as well as their minds on this issue. “The religious communities of the world are in a unique position to do this,” he said. Quakers in Britain have a critical role to play in helping to educate and work with other church and faith communities on nuclear disarmament because of our longstanding position on the issue. On 6 August 2015 – the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima – we will be holding a national interfaith service of ‘Commemoration and Commitment’ for a nuclear-free world. The event will take place at Friends House at 2.30pm. Everyone is welcome and people of all faiths are encouraged to come along. Please come, and encourage others you know of different faiths to join you. To book a place, go to http://forms.quaker.org.uk/ hiroshima.

In the meantime, as the general election approaches, we can all question the renewal of the UK’s own nuclear weapons system – Trident – in our conversations with MPs, parliamentary candidates and the general public. In an open letter to the Foreign Secretary at the end of last year, Paul Parker, Recording Clerk for Quakers In Britain, urged the British government “to demonstrate moral courage and political leadership” in moving forward the nuclear disarmament agenda. Many would argue that spending £100 billion to keep Trident submarines going for another generation is a waste of taxpayers’ money at a time of budget cuts in nearly every government department. But this is not just about economics. This is one of the pressing moral and faith issues of our time. What does it say about us as a country that we are willing

to threaten other countries with nuclear annihilation in order to feel ‘secure’ from them? What does that say to the other 187 countries who do not have nuclear weapons and do not currently feel the need to have them for their own security? At the interfaith conference in February, Religions for Peace UK Executive Director Jehangir Sarosh urged delegates to use their own faith, in principled solidarity with believers of other faiths, to help “end the moral tyranny of nuclear weapons”. Quakers have been at the forefront of that work since the 1950s. There is now an opportunity to bring other churches and faiths with us on this journey to a nuclear weapons-free world. Contact: Tim Wallis disarm@quaker.org.uk 020 7663 1067 www.quaker.org.uk/disarm

Quakers help to encircle the Ministry of Defence in a giant pink scarf as part of the ‘Wrap Up Trident’ event in January. Photo: Maya Williams

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Quaker film challenges militarisation of society A ground-breaking film from Quaker Peace & Social Witness exposes the new tide of militarisation that has developed in Britain over the last six years.

Isabel Cartwright, Peace Education Programme Manager Quaker Peace & Social Witness is soon to release a five-minute film that reveals the government’s efforts to militarise British society. The Unseen March shows this militarisation through images of recruitment advertising at train stations, military presence at sporting events, the new Armed Forces Days, and the growing role of the military in our schools. Quakers across Britain have already noticed increased militarisation creeping into classrooms and other parts of public life. The aim of the film is to kick-start a national conversation to challenge it.

“We’re told that ‘military ethos’ is about teamwork, discipline and duty. In reality it’s about obeying orders without question, removing the barrier to kill and creating a sense of loyalty to an institution.” Ben Griffin Made by award-winning Speakit Films, The Unseen March includes candid voices from the worlds of politics, education and entertainment. Comedian and activist Mark Thomas points out the absurdity of using the military to develop learning. Clare Short, former Secretary of State for International Development, reflects upon the impact of two deeply unpopular wars. Don Rowe, a Quaker who co-founded the Citizenship Foundation, condemns a recently produced government ‘learning resource’ for children aged 5+ about the British Armed

Forces as “little more than a glossy promotional booklet”. Perhaps the most powerful message in the film comes from Ben Griffin, former soldier and founder of Veterans for Peace UK: “We’re told that ‘military ethos’ is about teamwork, discipline and duty. In reality it’s about obeying orders without question, removing the barrier to kill and creating a sense of loyalty to an institution, usually through the formation of a gang mentality.” Since 2011 £45m has been spent on new educational initiatives with a military focus. This includes Department for Education schemes such as Troops to Teachers, provision of school military ethos programmes by organisations such as Commando Joe’s and Challenger Troop, new funding to spread school-based cadet forces and support for the establishment of military-sponsored academies. The government’s military skills and ethos programme has its roots in an enquiry commissioned by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The programme is wholeheartedly embraced by the coalition government, with former and current Education Secretaries Michael Gove and Nicky Morgan its main cheerleaders. According to Gove “every child in Britain could benefit from a military ethos”. Please help us to start the essential conversation about militarism in our society. To see The Unseen March and find out about actions you can take to challenge militarisation, go to www. unseenmarch.org.uk. Share the film with friends, parents, teachers, school governors, and young people – let’s start talking. Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Discovering treasures in the Library at Friends House 8

The Library at Friends House has loaned a rare pamphlet to the British Library for its exhibition on Magna Carta. What other unexpected treasures do the archives hold in store? By Anne van Staveren, Media Relations Officer When William Penn was arrested for preaching his Quaker faith in public, he saw it as being against his rights under Magna Carta. Magna Carta had a strong influence on much that Penn did. In 1687 he produced the first edition of it to be published in America, in his pamphlet Excellent priviledge of liberty and property being the birth-right of the free-born subjects of England. Only three copies of the pamphlet are known to exist, two in America and one in the Library at Friends House. This rare pamphlet is now on loan to the British Library. In 1673 early Friends decided to collect copies of every book or pamphlet written by or against them. So began the Library of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain. Today the Library is one of the most extensive collections in the world of printed works, manuscripts, images and archives about Quakers and their activities. On these shelves are recorded the lives of our forebears, including Luke Howard (1772–1864), the ‘father of meteorology’, who classified and named clouds; John

William Penn’s Excellent priviledge of liberty and property (1687) contains the first edition of Magna Carta to be published in America.

The Great Books of Sufferings record the persecution of Quakers from the 1650s onwards in 44 huge volumes.

Dalton (1766–1844), who developed the atomic theory of the elements; and Joseph Lister (1827–1912), the discoverer of antiseptic medicine, to name a few. It is more than a historical record. The Library is a living link to our forebears, whose love and work is ours. Early Quakers were not allowed to meet by law and preached their message in the face of discrimination and intimidation. The collections contain the records of Quakers who were subject to confiscation of goods, fines and imprisonment for refusing to pay church tithes or take oaths. The ‘sufferings’ of Quakers in Britain, America, the Caribbean and elsewhere were carefully written up in the Recording Clerk’s chamber from the 1650s onwards. They are now kept bound in 44 large volumes, known as The Great Books of Sufferings. Today, the word ‘sufferings’ continues in use in the name of Meeting for Sufferings, the standing representative committee that discerns the priorities for the work of Quakers in Britain, set up in 1675 to seek redress for Quakers in cases of religious persecution and to lobby for religious toleration,

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

particularly through legislation. Records of sufferings are still kept in the 21st century. The most recent entry on the prison and court register concerns Sylvia Boyes of Craven and Keighley Area Meeting, who in March this year was imprisoned for 14 days for refusing to pay fines relating to a protest against the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) arms fair in 2013. One of the most well-known Quakers is the 19th-century philanthropist and friend of prisoners, Elizabeth Fry (1780– 1845). In 2002 when the Bank of England chose Elizabeth Fry to appear on the £5 note, they came to the Library at Friends House for an image to use.

The Library is one of the most extensive collections in the world of printed works, manuscripts, images and archives about Quakers and their activities. Nearly all of Elizabeth Fry’s diaries (spanning the years 1797– 1845) are held by the Library. This fragile collection has been professionally conserved, paid for by a legacy and supporters of the Library’s BeFriend a Book scheme. The Library has also been very fortunate to have had conservation students and volunteers working to preserve and protect its collections. The Library holds early Quaker works translated into Latin, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Polish and Arabic. Serving with the Friends Foreign Missionary Association

(FFMA) in China, Isaac Mason (1870–1939) was responsible for the earliest transmission of Quaker writings to a Chinese audience. Among the rare books is a 15th-century edition of Thomas à Kempis’ De Imitatione Christi (The imitation of Christ). This copy has an intriguing history. Its ownership can be traced back to William Penn, whose signature appears on the final page.

It is more than a historical record. The Library is a living link to our forebears, whose love and work is ours. It was later owned by Joseph F. Radley (1864–1935), who had it with him while he was a missionary in Madagascar. Using Penn’s copy of the Imitation he collaborated with Rabary (a notable Malagasy Quaker) to produce the first translation of the text into Malagasy, which was printed by the Quaker-founded FFMA Press at Antananarivo in 1928. The centenary of World War I has prompted much interest from the media wanting to know Quakers’ response to war. Diaries, letters and photographs have brought alive the dilemma of war, particularly the prison experiences of conscientious objectors, for researchers and documentary makers, as well as for Quakers’ online project, The white feather diaries. Digital technology is opening up the possibilities of making material held by the Library available to online visitors as well as those who travel to London to visit Friends House. Among the six permanent online exhibitions on our website, the most recent is titled ‘Responding with compassion’. It introduces the history and archives of Friends Emergency and War Victims Relief Committee. This committee undertook years of Quaker work for foreign internees in the UK, and for

The Library in numbers l

1 kilometre of shelving of central Quaker archives from the 1650s onwards l 6 permanent online exhibitions on the Library website l at least 100 metres of shelving of periodicals l over 1,000 artefacts or objects connected to individual Friends, families or descendants, or to Quaker meetings l over 5,000 separate manuscripts or collections of manuscripts l almost 6,000 items printed before 1800 in the printed books collection l more than 30,000 visual materials (photographs, prints, drawings, paintings and other artwork) l over 60,000 printed titles in the Library’s catalogued collections.

Extract from Elizabeth Fry’s diary (1815–1821), dated 28 October 1818.

displaced and hungry people all over Europe, between 1914 and 1924. The exhibition gives a brief introduction to the UK work, and to activities in France and Russia. You can view it at www.quaker. org.uk/WWI-Responding-withcompassion. Another way in which the Library is sharing the stories bound up in its collections is through the Quaker Strongrooms blog (https://librarysocietyfriendsblog. wordpress.com/), where you can find more information about many of the treasures mentioned in this article. A lock of hair from Nagaland, a bottle of port, part of an opera score, a horn of teeth from Madagascar, a medal marking the award of the Nobel peace prize to Quakers in 1947... all treasures for another day. The Library at Friends House is open Tuesday–Friday between 10am and 5pm. Magna Carta at the British Library runs until 1 September 2015. Contact: library@quaker.org.uk 020 7663 1135 www.quaker.org.uk/library

Quaker tracts translated into Chinese by Isaac Mason in the early 20th century.

This 1488 copy of De Imitatione Christi by Thomas à Kempis was once owned by William Penn.

Supporting the Library

The Library’s core activities are funded by Britain Yearly Meeting. Special projects are supported by individuals, trusts and foundations. It receives no public funding. You can support the Library by contributing to Britain Yearly Meeting (www.quaker.org.uk/ contributions) and help fund the conservation of the collections through the BeFriend a Book appeal – see www.quaker.org. uk/befriend-book.

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Quaker Equality Week 10

Quakers across the country unite in publicly challenging economic inequality – thanks to one area meeting’s vision and support from central staff Maya Williams, Economics, Sustainability & Peace Network Coordinator More than 80 Quaker meetings across Britain took part in Quaker Equality Week in March, powerfully bearing witness to our testimony to equality in the face of huge and increasing differences in levels of income and wealth in the UK. The high level of economic inequality in Britain goes against Quaker testimonies in a number of ways – destroying people’s hopes, isolating communities from each other and making it extremely difficult to tackle climate change. Quaker Equality Week was coordinated by Manchester & Warrington Area Meeting. They invited meetings across the country to join them in a nine-day ‘week’ of activity from 6–15 March, during which 35 silent vigils were held and there were 8 discussions or talks around the theme of Quakers and equality. There was also a range of other activities associated with the week ranging from letterwriting sessions to community events and displays. The week was timed to draw attention to the

issue of inequality just before the announcement of the 2015 Budget. It was also an opportunity to engage political candidates in the lead up to the general election. Detailed information packs were sent to local meetings across the country to help them plan and develop activities for the week. The packs included Quaker Peace & Social Witness briefings on economic inequality and energy justice, Britain Yearly Meeting statements around economic inequality, posters and leaflets. Quaker Equality Week was supported by Britain Yearly Meeting staff, particularly members of the Economics, Sustainability & Peace Team, who worked with Manchester & Warrington Social Justice Group to plan, develop and coordinate the initiative. Staff also supported the production and design of posters, leaflets and handouts, and publicised the initiative widely. Quaker Equality Week has been a brilliant opportunity to bring

East Cheshire Area Meeting on the steps of Stockport Art Gallery and War Memorial. This was one of five vigils that they organised for the week. Photo: Celia Davies

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Quakers and equality

Quakers believe that there is ‘that of God’ in everyone: that every person’s life is sacred. This means that we are all, fundamentally, equal. Our testimony to equality leads us not only to recognise the equal worth and unique nature of every person, it also impels us to work to challenge and change the systems that cause injustice and hinder true community. This work has taken many forms throughout our history from campaigning for the abolition of slavery to work in prisons and with refugees and asylum seekers.

meetings together, acting on the same concern. It has also been a great example of our new approach to supporting Friends across the country. We want to support a growing network of Friends who are taking action around issues of economic justice and sustainability, and to help develop more local and area initiatives. If you would like to find out more about taking action on economic inequality or sustainability, or if your meeting has an initiative or a project that you would like other meetings to find out about and join in with, please get in touch. Contact: Maya Williams mayaw@quaker.org.uk 020 7663 1056 www.quaker.org.uk/ economic-justice

Helping one another up with a tender hand Why do Quaker meetings need eldership and oversight, and what’s going on when they are working well? A new resource book aims to help Friends serve with confidence.

Zélie Gross, South Wales Area Meeting “Our life is love, and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations one against another; but praying one for another, and helping one another up with a tender hand.” Isaac Penington, 1667 Soon after moving to a new meeting I received a beautiful card signed by the overseers. The fact that I’d recently written about this good idea didn’t diminish its effect on me – I felt genuinely welcomed and included. If we want to understand eldership or oversight we’ll find the answers in actions that simple and that significant. It is common for elders and overseers to feel anxious or burdened by the ‘duties’ outlined in Quaker faith & practice, and so miss the bigger picture: how we nurture our worship and our community and how we are enabled to act in the world.

Those three essentials – worship, community and witness – are the impetus for all the practical detail, which naturally varies from meeting to meeting. With a tender hand, a new resource book for eldership and oversight, aims to help Friends become more alert to their meeting’s needs and recognise the significance of their own contribution – what they can do or are willing to try. It also encourages Friends and meetings to be open to challenge and ambitious in what they aspire to. It invites them to see eldership and oversight not as prescribed ways of carrying out responsibilities but as flexible instruments for freeing the Spirit. The book grew out of a call for a comprehensive, accessible and up-to-date resource to help Friends serve with confidence. It needed to reflect where Quakers have come from and where we are now, and importantly to look forward. How are our meetings and the needs of Friends changing? What are our plans for the future? We can’t know what lies ahead, but we can aid the process of discerning where we are led through learning, exploration and discovery. Rather than provide ready-made answers, With a tender hand offers Friends a toolkit of information, searching questions, ideas, insights, guidance and examples of good practice to support their own enquiry and decision-making. In those respects it reflects Woodbrooke’s eldership and oversight training: we learn best when we bring our own questions to information and guidance we are offered. The timing of our learning

Eldership and oversight

‘Eldership and oversight’ is how Quakers describe pastoral care for the spiritual lives of their meetings – including worship, ministry, people and the community. Quakers appointed as elders nurture the spiritual life of the meeting as a whole and of each individual so that all may be brought closer to God and therefore to one another. Overseers are concerned with the more outward aspects of pastoral care – building a community in which all can find acceptance, loving care and opportunities for service.

is important too; there is only so much we can take in at once. Just as many of us access Quaker faith & practice by leafing through, turning to a section or consulting the index, With a tender hand is similarly designed to be easy to skim, dip into and move around to follow a thread. Drawing on Friends’ experience and a wide range of written sources, the book addresses every aspect of their service that elders and overseers are likely to encounter, while providing easy access to the further material they might need. It doesn’t repeat material available elsewhere but offers many useful references, including to information in the linked online resource: www. quaker.org.uk/tender-hand. With a tender hand is available from the Quaker Centre Bookshop in print and e-book versions priced at £12.50 and £3.50 respectively.

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

News in brief 12

QPSW launches energy justice campaign

Quaker Peace & Social Witness is campaigning for energy justice. We want a rapid transition to an energy system based on equality for people and the earth. How do we get there? Friends are campaigning to end fuel poverty and against the extraction of more dirty fossil fuels, and supporting community renewable energy projects. And much more. Visit www.quaker.org.uk/energyjustice to read our new briefing Energy Justice: towards clean energy and equality of access, control and consumption, and for lots of ideas for action.

Action on climate change: march and lobby

There was brilliant turnout of Quakers for the Time to Act climate march in London in March. More than 50 Friends were present, including 20 under-18s. This is an important year to make a stand for climate justice. In December global negotiators will meet in Paris to try and make a climate change agreement. On June 17 there is an important opportunity for Friends to take action by joining thousands of people for the Climate Lobby – a lobby of Parliament postgeneral election and pre-climate negotiations. This is our chance to join with others to tell politicians what action Quakers want on climate change. To sign up and find out more visit www.quaker.org.uk/ day-climate-action.

Photo: © Mike Pinches 2015

New Quakers in Britain website

Work has started on a new Quakers in Britain website. Our website is one of the main channels for Quakers to speak out in the world. It’s the first port of call for journalists, enquirers and politicians, as well as Quakers young and old. We want all users of the site to find what they need quickly and easily. The new site will be compatible with mobile devices and offer a much improved user experience. We’d like input from as many Quakers as possible, so please do attend our testing sessions at Yearly Meeting in May. If you have a tablet or smartphone you can visit a test version of the site and leave feedback: http://new.quaker.org.uk. Rebuilding a 7,000-page website is a big challenge, but Yoomee – the Sheffield-based company who are developing the new site – are no strangers to such challenges. They have just completed a website for Girlguiding UK, whose membership is half a million. Yoomee is an ethical employer and specialises in co-creating websites with community organisations. If you want to find out more about the new website and how you can get involved in shaping it please contact Jane Dawson at janed@ quaker.org.uk.

Friends House is a Carbon Champion

Friends House, the London offices of Quakers in Britain, has been recognised by Camden Climate Alliance as being a ‘Carbon Champion’ for its work in reducing its impact on the environment and influencing the local and wider community to live a more sustainable life. The award recognises the efforts both of Quaker Peace & Social Witness and of Friends House Hospitality Ltd, Britain Yearly

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Meeting’s subsidiary conferencing and catering company. Despite the restrictions of a Grade II listing, Friends House managed to reduce its carbon emissions by 10% between 2013 and 2014, with an overall reduction of 21% since 2009. In 2014 Friends House joined over thirty Quaker meeting houses across the UK to form a grouppurchase consortium to source 100% renewable electricity. Friends House recycles all waste, sending nothing to landfill. Its restaurant has won numerous awards from the Sustainable Restaurant Association. This latest award comes after years of hard work by Friends, staff and contractors since Quakers in Britain committed to becoming a low-carbon, sustainable community at Yearly Meeting Gathering in 2011.

Animation exposes military propaganda in schools

Quaker Peace & Social Witness and ForcesWatch have created a short animation in response to a government ‘learning resource’ that promotes the armed forces and military values to school children. The British Armed Forces: Propaganda in the Classroom? looks at the learning resource ‘The British Armed Forces’, produced by the Ministry of Defence and Downing Street, exposing it as uncritical, politically-driven and unsuitable for the age range it is supposed to be aimed at. The animation received 1,400 YouTube views in the first week of

release and reached 43,000 people on Twitter. The story of its release was covered by The Independent, TES, Schools Week, Forces TV and several regional BBC radio programmes. Friends seeing the film have been writing to school governors and their political representatives objecting to the learning resource, and encouraging teachers to pursue peace education. We’d love you to watch it, share it and let us know about your own experiences of militarisation: http:// youtu.be/wB9JD6P1RCM. Share your militarisation stories with us by emailing ellisb@quaker.org.uk.

Friends Ambulance Unit personnel records go online

The Library at Friends House has launched a new website that gives access to personnel records of Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) members during World War I. These records have always been popular with library visitors interested in family history or the history of the unit, but until now have only been available in the Library on microfilm. The online records are searchable by name and include photographs, details of the members’ backgrounds and brief outlines of their FAU work. Lisa McQuillan, who led the project, said: “We hope that by making them available online we can widen access to the records, and attract new researchers. There may be scope to add further FAU records online in future.” The website is available now at http://fau.quaker.org.uk.

Edward Tadwell is one of more than a thousand FAU personnel whose records are now available online.

A strong Quaker voice on social media

Over 8,000 people now follow Quakers in Britain on Facebook and Twitter, many of them not Quakers themselves but people who are interested in our values. We post at least five times a week on Facebook, covering stories from the Quaker community, starting discussions and linking with like-minded groups. Our posts, especially those with images, can reach up to 20,000 people. Politicians, journalists and faith groups who are looking for a different perspective on issues of national interest follow our @BritishQuakers Twitter feed. A tweet about our report The new tide of militarisation – exposing attempts to militarise British society – led to an interview on the BBC Radio 2 Jeremy Vine show, attracting seven million listeners. You can connect with us on social media by visiting www. quaker.org.uk/sm. If you have items you think we might be interested in sharing via social media please email socialmedia@quaker.org.uk.

Large Meeting House shortlisted for RIBA award

The Large Meeting House at Friends House has been shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects London 2015 Awards. The space was redeveloped last year to a design by architects John McAslan + Partners, retaining key heritage features whilst improving accessibility and adding a stunning roof light in a vaulted roof. Paul Parker, Recording Clerk for Quakers in Britain said: “We’re delighted that Friends House is shortlisted for this prestigious award. We are indebted to the project architects for fulfilling our wish to create a space which reflects Quakers’ ethos of fairness and equality, a space which speaks about Quakers to the world.” In May more than 1,000 Quakers will pack the auditorium for the first Yearly Meeting in the new space. The Large Meeting House is also let out as a conference venue, under the name ‘The Light’, to generate funds for Quaker work.

Quaker Week resources available now

Quaker Week 2015 will take place between 3 and 11 October. A range of resources has been launched to help Friends join in, including a new set of posters. Our theme this year is ‘Live adventurously’, and the posters are intended to capture the deep connection between worship and stillness and faith in action. Each one features an individual Friend whose experience of the Divine through worship has encouraged them to live adventurously in their daily life, work and witness in the world. There is also a leaflet to help Friends and meetings to prepare for Quaker Week, suggesting ways to engage with the theme and to share what living adventurously means to them. All Quaker Week resources are available from the Quaker Centre – email quakercentre@quaker.org.uk or phone 0207 663 1033. For more info contact the Outreach Team at outreach@quaker.org.uk.

Photo: Anne van Staveren

New blog and social media presence for EAPPI

The UK and Ireland section of EAPPI, which is run by Quakers in Britain, has launched a new blog. EAPPI – the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel – is an initiative of the World Council of Churches that works for a just and sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The blog will feature eyewitness accounts from human rights monitors telling stories of Palestinians and Israelis living under occupation. You can find the blog at www. eyewitnessblogs.com, where you’ll also find links to the new EAPPI Facebook and Twitter pages. Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Great Lakes peacebuilders gather in Kenya to explore active nonviolence 14

Peace activists from Burundi, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo visit a Quaker programme that is helping Kenyan communities nonviolently challenge social injustice. Laura Shipler Chico, Programme Manager: East Africa Since 2010, Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) and Change Agents for Peace International (CAPI) have been collaborating on an active nonviolence initiative in Kenya. Drawing heavily on QPSW’s ‘Turning the Tide’ work in Britain and adapting it to the Kenyan context, we’ve experienced surprising levels of early success. The programme works with community members and offers tools to analyse and nonviolently challenge social injustices. As the programme has gained momentum, stories of its success have spread. Peacebuilders in neighbouring countries were curious about it – might aspects of this approach be relevant in other contexts? QPSW invited a delegation of peace activists from Rwanda, Burundi and Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to come to Kenya to see for themselves. On a warm breezy day in November, seven African Quaker peace activists from the Great Lakes region arrived in Nairobi for a ten-day exchange with the Kenyan Turning the Tide team. QPSW Overseas Peacebuilding Subcommittee member Susan Tomes and I joined them. The first day focused on learning about each other’s contexts. While there are differences between the countries represented, the themes of identity conflict, bad governance, inequality, displacement, and land issues cut across borders. Next, the delegates joined a Turning the Tide workshop. They were energised by this new approach. One observed that it is about “people identifying their own problems and finding their own solutions.”

“In my country there used to be war. We were going in the middle trying to stop the fighting, praying that we wouldn’t be killed. But we never dealt with the root causes in Burundi. Turning the Tide works on durable peace, root causes.” Nduwarugira Oscar We visited campaigns tackling government corruption, women’s property rights, police complicity in the distribution of illegal drugs and alcohol, and more. The Stand Up community group in Nairobi took us to a large piece of land where children were playing. They described how the land had been illegally seized by a private developer and how they exposed the corruption and fought back nonviolently to reclaim the land for the community. They took us to the site of their next campaign: another developer had built a wall across a major road through their neighbourhood, planning to build. “Before Turning

the Tide,” one of the campaigners said, “we would have just torn down the wall [out of anger].” But now, with an arsenal of nonviolent “weapons of the spirit” at their disposal, they are pursuing a more strategic and sustainable solution. While inspired by the successes, the delegates also challenged their hosts: is the change lasting? Are you changing the system or just converting a key person? The learning was rich for all, and the delegates could already see how this approach could be relevant in their own contexts. Nduwarugira Oscar, from Burundi, said: “In my country there used to be war. We were going in the middle trying to stop the fighting, praying that we wouldn’t be killed. But we never dealt with the root causes in Burundi. Turning the Tide works on durable peace, root causes. Our peace committees [have been] working on symptoms.” Contact: Laura Shipler Chico lauras@quaker.org.uk 020 7663 1075 www.quaker.org.uk/east-africa

Peace activists gather at the Change Agents for Peace International (CAPI) office in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo: Laura Shipler Chico

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

How can staff at Friends House help you? Contribute to Quaker work

Serve on a Quaker committee: phone 020 7663 1121, email nominations@quaker.org.uk or visit www.quaker.org.uk/ quaker-service. Make a donation or leave a gift in your will: phone Rosie Carnall on 020 7663 1066, email rosiec@quaker.org.uk or visit www.quaker.org.uk/donate.

Subscribe to Quaker News

Friends House is home to the central offices of Quakers in Britain and is the London venue of Yearly Meeting. Photo: Louisa Wright

Have you ever thought that ‘someone at Friends House’ could probably help you with a Quaker question but not been sure who you should contact? Have you ever discovered too late a Quaker resource that was exactly what you needed some months ago? If so, you are not alone! Feedback from Friends told us that these were common issues and so we are taking action to resolve them. We are developing a ‘directory of services’ that will cover all of the support and resources available from staff at Friends House. Our aim is to set out clearly what’s on offer for Friends and meetings and how to get in touch with us. Following an open recruitment process Simon Newton, a Friend from Kirkbymoorside Local Meeting, is working on a freelance basis to develop the directory. To date he has met with Quakers from around Britain to get their input as to what’s wanted and interviewed a range of staff at Friends House to understand fully what’s on offer. Initially the directory is going to be provided as a printed resource in the form of a number of brochures and copies will be provided free to each local

meeting. In this way we aim to make the information accessible to all Friends. We hope it will become a well-thumbed document, referred to in a whole variety of circumstances – for example, after meeting or during an overseers’ meeting. However, it will also be made available online. The directory project is running in collaboration with the development of our new website (for an update on this see page 12) and we’re aware that for many Friends this will be the easiest route to use the directory. But not every Quaker meeting house (or every Quaker) yet has internet access and we want everyone to be able to easily find out about all the support resources that are available. We also want to find out what you think will make the directory useful and relevant for you. We are running an open survey online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ Y2HMJ56 or if you would prefer a paper version we can provide this – please phone 020 7663 1019 to request a copy. You can also contact Simon Newton directly at simonn@quaker.org.uk.

Subscribe to Quaker News by email, access electronic back issues or read online at www.quaker.org.uk/qn. Subscribe to Quaker News by post, make changes to your subscription or request paper back issues by contacting Leslie Bell on 020 7663 1019 or at qn@quaker.org.uk.

Connect with Quakers in Britain

Phone us on 020 7663 1000, email enquiries@quaker.org.uk or write to Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. Enter your postcode at www.quaker.org.uk/fam to search for a Quaker meeting near you. Find us on Facebook and Twitter: follow the links at www.quaker.org.uk/sm or search for ‘Quakers in Britain’.

Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Quakers: committed to caring for peace and planet 16

Meet Mike Tooby

Quakers share a way of life, not a set of beliefs. Their unity is based on shared understanding and a shared practice of silent worship, where they seek a communal stillness. Quakers seek to experience God directly, within themselves and in their relationships with others and the world around them. They meet together for worship in local meetings, which are open to all who wish to attend. Quakers try to live with honesty and integrity. This means speaking truth to all, including people in positions of power. The Quaker commitment to peace arises from the conviction that love is at the heart of existence and that all human beings are unique and equal. This leads Quakers to put their faith into action by working locally and globally to change the systems that cause injustice and violent conflict. Quakers try to live simply. They are concerned about the excesses and unfairness of our consumer society and the unsustainable use of natural resources. Visit www.quaker.org.uk to find out more about the Quaker way or request a free information pack using the form below.

Request a free information pack: Name Address

Postcode Email Please send completed form to: Quaker Outreach (QN) FREEPOST QUAKERS FREEPHONE: 0808 109 1651 E: outreach@quaker.org.uk Quaker News 92 – Spring/summer 2015

Mike Tooby is an attender at Cardiff Local Meeting. He serves on the Library Committee of Quaker Life, which – together with the Library’s dedicated staff – is responsible for the care and use of our Quaker collections going back to the mid seventeenth century. My professional life is in museums, galleries and making exhibitions. I became a curator because I want to find ways to share the experience of being moved and excited by historic artefacts and art. My enthusiasms in art have always been a duality: simplicity in form, light and space; and art that works in a socially meaningful way. In considering how this connects to spiritual experience, I became aware of artists whose work is resonant with Quakerism. So when my wife suggested we went along to our local meeting, it made sense as well as being a challenge. Finding the experience of light and stillness and the immediacy of ministry, we also found many of the individuals whose work made an impact in our local community and beyond. I’ve been regularly attending Quaker meetings for 16 years, first at Marazion in Cornwall and now in Cardiff, South Wales. I convene the Property and Finance Committee at Cardiff. I’ve found this both demanding and rewarding, but in recognising that some Quaker roles are for longstanding members, it is also

right for ‘where I am’ in myself. Being a Quaker Peace & Social Witness correspondent made me aware of Quaker work beyond our local meeting. I filled in a Quaker Service Information Form, giving my skills and interests, and was nominated to Library Committee. I thoroughly enjoy this. The Library’s blog illustrates the recent flurry of powerful WWI-linked projects. Like the resources illustrating campaigns against the transatlantic slave trade, they are great examples of how the Library collections work in the present. What took my breath away on my first tour of the stores, however, were the massive volumes of the complete run of handwritten minutes of Britain Yearly Meeting since 1672. Their extraordinary physical presence speaks of what it means to retain the past in the present as a platform for the future. If you would be interested in serving on a national Quaker committee, please phone 020 7663 1121, email nominations@ quaker.org.uk or visit www.quaker.org.uk/service.