Minute on Slavery
Please follow this link for the mnutes regarding work undertaken so far in discerning the right response to our response to repairations
Much of the news in this section is also contained in our bi-monthly newsletter Connections. If you would like to receive a copy of this, please use the Contact form and put 'Connections' in the subject box. We publish these articles in good faith and they represent the views of individual members.
Four hundred years after the birth of Quaker co-founder George Fox, celebrations are planned
throughout 2024 to recognise that Quakers are still working for justice with peace. Click on the links
below to discover more about these events.
https://www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-events/news/celebrating-400-years-of-quakers
https://fwcc.world/event/fox/
We raise money throughout the year to be able to support charities and projects that speak to our testamonies. one of this years charities was S.A.L.V.E. International, an NGO based in Jinja Cit in Eastern Uganda. S.A.L.V.E. works in a variety of ways to reduce the number of children having to live on the streets of Uganda, which all have education at the heart of them. They recently sent us a thank you card and certificate that you can see below. There is also a short video that shows a mothers reaction when her son is reunited with her.
To find more about S.A.L.V.E. International follow this link.
Christians Together in Garstang have been holding lunches throughout Lent at the United Reformed Church, Garstang on Wednesdays from 12 noon to 1pm. A simple lunch of soup, bread and cheese was served with donations being made to Christian Aid.
Each week, a different Church took it in turn to make and serve the soup and on Wednesday 22nd March it was our turn. The event went well with a selection of mulligatawny, vegetable, lentil and celeriac soup being served. A member of the Meeting started proceedings by reading out the words below. This was followed by a short silence before the soup was served.
We’re happy to be taking part in these lunches. I don’t know how much you know about Quakers. You may know that they have no creed, but over the years Friends, as Quakers call themselves, have shared their spiritual insights and experiences. These have been passed on to each new generation in a book, called 'Quaker Faith and Practice'. Some passages date right back to the start of the Quaker Movement in the 17th century, when George Fox had a vision on Pendle Hill, of ‘a people to be gathered’. Fox and his followers stressed that their truths must reflect their own personal experience, and not directed by a priest. This got them into serious trouble - being a threat to the established church - and severe persecution followed. Some of these early writings are still in the book, still inspiring us. But every generation or so, the book is revised to reflect fresh insights and our reaction to new challenges. This edition was published in 1994 and there is currently a committee working on the next edition. It is a long process because any of us can make suggestions - what items should now be removed, and what new passages could be included, how to reflect current life an its challenges, for example same-sex marriage, and climate change. The exercise involves prayerful discernment and can last a number of years. The first chapter is called Advices and Queries, and asks us questions, sometimes very uncomfortable ones and also offers advice on how to lead our lives. I have chosen excerpts from the chapter called Leadings (29:13 and 29:14) which asks us “Where is the Spirit now leading us?”, written in 1987 but sadly still relevant today.
'We have thought and felt deeply about the disgrace that there is poverty in our wealthy country. So long as any one person in our midst can say “I exist but l am nothing” , the longing for a just social order will persist. The truth is that we are all hurt and need healing. There is a spiritual poverty among both rich and poor. If we are to be whole, we no longer ignore the divisions created by idolising wealth, success and power. A key to a deep-rooted response to poverty is to throw away the illusion that the rich alone have much to offer and to grasp the reality that we all have much to gain from one another……Quakers believe that the Gospel im-perative for the church is to serve the people of God, and most specially ‘these least’. The hungry, the home-less, the sick and the prisoners, they all abound in Britain today; the world cries out for justice and peace.'
It is for these reasons that Garstang Quakers are pleased to be able to support this event to raise funds for Christian Aid. We hope you enjoy your lunch.'
We are asked to contribute to the Garstang Courier's 'Voice of the Church' about four times a year. This is our latest contribution.
Advices and Queries begins ‘Quaker Faith and Practice’, a book of experiences, insights and learning from Quakers through the ages. It consists of 42 paragraphs, each containing statements and questions designed to remind us of the insights of the Society of Friends and to challenge and inspire us.
Advice number 27 says; ‘ Live adventurously. When choices arise, do you take the way that offers the fullest opportunity for the use of your gifts in the service of God and the community? Let your life speak.
Those last four words led me to thinking about Greta Thunberg and her constant campaign to educate and remind us of the affects of global warming on our planet and the consequences of our actions and inaction. The rallies, interviews and television appearances are only a part of her life. Greta is one of those people whose life does indeed speak to her convictions through the choices she makes; what she eats, what she wears, her mode of travel. She does not live an easy life. Watching the film about her life clearly demonstrated that as well as dealing with her Aspergers and, at the time, teenage hormonal changes, she is always aware of the effect her life has on other people and the world around her. She has to deal with the press, the constant stream of comments about her, both positive and negative, on social media. She lives under a lot of pressure and constant criticism. She is often deflated and depressed by the apparent unwillingness of governments all over the world to tackle climate issues because of the politics involved.
No matter what your views of Greta, her determination to let her life speak is admirable and humbling. We are not all called to be Greta Thunbergs but we all have the opportunity to live out our faith in a way that speaks to others; how we live, how we treat others, our life choices, speaking out for injustice, being aware of our neighbours especially if they are struggling with poverty, lack of food, housing and warmth. Some of the most influential people in our world started small. Maybe we could do that too.