Last Sunday I sat for my hour at the Quaker Meeting, thinking, looking around etc.
Eventually I started feeling not just the beating of my heart, but the continual whooshing of the blood up and down and around the whole of my inner body.
How have I waiting all my life to hear what has been there all along? It was so peaceful and real. I feel like saying 'Hallo after all these years!' so I'm doing it now, here.
Showing posts with label Quaker Meeting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quaker Meeting. Show all posts
Friday, 29 November 2013
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
A 12 year old's view of going to Meeting in the Shetlands
"One thing I like about going to meeting in Shetland is that you go to lots of different people's houses. Sometimes we go to this peerie (small) chapel beside Helen and Tom's but that's not very often.
Best of all is Jenni's house. She lives in a croft house with one room. She has a spinning wheel and a box bed, a braaly (excellent) old cooking stove with lots of doors in it. She has a long wooden seat with sheepskins and her window sills are full of flower pots. You can see the sea very near and you can hear it and hear the wind and sea gulls and goats.
Next best is Whalsay where the Dallys live because we get to go there on two long ferry crossings and you can watch sea-birds and islands and cliffs. You can see all the houses in Symbister from their house and the new Leisure Centre is being built next door. In 1992 we might be able to go swimming because that's when the pool is supposed to be finished."
From 'Quakers in Scotland, an anthology of the thoughts and activities of the religious Society of Friends past and present"
Published by The Religious Society of Friends, Scotland in 1989
I have a small role in the Wallingford Meeting, to rearrange the book display in our little library once a month, to encourage people to take books to borrow. I bet you can see where this is leading. I now find that I borrow some of the books each time I alter the display. Scottish independence was in the news when I changed them around last time.
Best of all is Jenni's house. She lives in a croft house with one room. She has a spinning wheel and a box bed, a braaly (excellent) old cooking stove with lots of doors in it. She has a long wooden seat with sheepskins and her window sills are full of flower pots. You can see the sea very near and you can hear it and hear the wind and sea gulls and goats.
Next best is Whalsay where the Dallys live because we get to go there on two long ferry crossings and you can watch sea-birds and islands and cliffs. You can see all the houses in Symbister from their house and the new Leisure Centre is being built next door. In 1992 we might be able to go swimming because that's when the pool is supposed to be finished."
From 'Quakers in Scotland, an anthology of the thoughts and activities of the religious Society of Friends past and present"
Published by The Religious Society of Friends, Scotland in 1989
I have a small role in the Wallingford Meeting, to rearrange the book display in our little library once a month, to encourage people to take books to borrow. I bet you can see where this is leading. I now find that I borrow some of the books each time I alter the display. Scottish independence was in the news when I changed them around last time.
Sunday, 3 June 2012
Bahrain UPR at UN leads me to read Swarthmore lecture 2012
One thing leads to another very quickly these days for me. Only a few days after watching most of the Bahrain UPR on livestream, then watching the UK UPR only 3 days later, guess which book is brought to Meeting the day after publication?
My take aways are: the lunches; the long termism; the 100 or 200 years of work necessary to move on collectively from an injustice; the letting go; and the importance of writing laws/conventions and declarations.
Lunches: They invite only who they wish to and with a specific purpose in mind. Asking 2 people from each regional group makes it easier, no one is literally isolated. A self service lunch is better and when someone chooses to have pudding first the writer knows they are relaxed! (pages 37-44)
Long termism: Workers at Quaker House in Geneva often stay for many years. They have a memory and familiarity with the UN work based in patience. The local Quaker Meeting meets there so the house is always a spiritual centre.
"Sometimes results are obvious but often we work for years with no apparent progress." pages 4-5, I'd like to quote the whole passage really, so much insight.
The 100 or 200 year time scale: I cannot find the right pages, but for example abolition of slavery took a very long time. Abolition of the death penalty is still very much a live issue. (Sorry about the appalling pun, I only noticed it a few days later! This is a family trait, blame my genes.)
Letting go of an area of work: Once a topic has been taken up by several other groups and is accepted as a mainstream issue QUNO relinquishes it to focus more closely on other concerns.
Importance of writing laws and standards which can then be relied upon and used as accepted yardsticks by others in their times of need: 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and think of all those many agreements quoted in the BICI Report by Professor Bassiouni.
Snakes and Ladders - A personal exploration of Quaker work on human rights at the United Nations
By Rachel Brett
The 2012 Swarthmore Lecture
Published 26th May 2012 by Quaker Books
My take aways are: the lunches; the long termism; the 100 or 200 years of work necessary to move on collectively from an injustice; the letting go; and the importance of writing laws/conventions and declarations.
Lunches: They invite only who they wish to and with a specific purpose in mind. Asking 2 people from each regional group makes it easier, no one is literally isolated. A self service lunch is better and when someone chooses to have pudding first the writer knows they are relaxed! (pages 37-44)
Long termism: Workers at Quaker House in Geneva often stay for many years. They have a memory and familiarity with the UN work based in patience. The local Quaker Meeting meets there so the house is always a spiritual centre.
"Sometimes results are obvious but often we work for years with no apparent progress." pages 4-5, I'd like to quote the whole passage really, so much insight.
The 100 or 200 year time scale: I cannot find the right pages, but for example abolition of slavery took a very long time. Abolition of the death penalty is still very much a live issue. (Sorry about the appalling pun, I only noticed it a few days later! This is a family trait, blame my genes.)
Letting go of an area of work: Once a topic has been taken up by several other groups and is accepted as a mainstream issue QUNO relinquishes it to focus more closely on other concerns.
Importance of writing laws and standards which can then be relied upon and used as accepted yardsticks by others in their times of need: 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and think of all those many agreements quoted in the BICI Report by Professor Bassiouni.
Snakes and Ladders - A personal exploration of Quaker work on human rights at the United Nations
By Rachel Brett
The 2012 Swarthmore Lecture
Published 26th May 2012 by Quaker Books
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
Quaker Meeting
I haven't been for several months now, but last Sunday I was in the mood. It is so simple, sitting (somewhat uncomfortably) and being with others who are also just sitting in silence. Sometimes I keep my eyes shut, sometimes I look right out of the window ahead of me.
There has been a change since last time I went, a loud cockerel was crowing every 3 minutes of so. No one spoke, but we never know that until the whole of the hour has passed, so at every shift I go on alert wondering what that person will say, then they just change their sitting position. When I recross my legs or move my cushion I guess that others are waiting for my wonderful words!!
Afterwards we have notices, which is more fun than it sounds, then get up and chat over tea or coffee. It is special because I don't have to believe anything at all, or verbalise agreement to anything, I'm free to just sit in the company of others.
There has been a change since last time I went, a loud cockerel was crowing every 3 minutes of so. No one spoke, but we never know that until the whole of the hour has passed, so at every shift I go on alert wondering what that person will say, then they just change their sitting position. When I recross my legs or move my cushion I guess that others are waiting for my wonderful words!!
Afterwards we have notices, which is more fun than it sounds, then get up and chat over tea or coffee. It is special because I don't have to believe anything at all, or verbalise agreement to anything, I'm free to just sit in the company of others.
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