21 October 2011 £1.70 the discover the contemporaryFriend quaker way

The World of Joseph Wood the Friend Independent Quaker Journalism Since 1843

Contents VOL 169 NO 42

3 Thought for the Week: United Nations Day Roger Iredale 4-5 News 6-7 Death shall not prevail

Robert Powell CC / flickr IMAGES Photo: USAID 8-9 Letters 10-11 The world of Joseph Wood Pamela Cooksey 12-13 Experiment with Light: Sink down to the seed Jane Holmes 14 A moment in time Dorothy Searle 15 Poem: In everyone 24 October is United Nations Day Kevin Redpath 16 q-eye: a wry look at the Quaker world 17 Friends & Meetings ‘The United Nations, whose membership comprises almost all the states in the world, is founded on the principle of the equal worth of every human being.’ Cover image: A sample of Joseph Wood’s handwriting. Kofi Annan Courtesy of James Wood. See page 10.

The Friend Subscriptions Advertising Editorial UK £76 per year by all payment Advertisement manager: Editor: types including annual direct debit; George Penaluna Ian Kirk-Smith monthly payment by direct debit £6.50; online only £48 per year. Articles, images, correspondence For details of other rates, Tel/fax: 01535 630230 should be emailed to contact Penny Dunn on [email protected] [email protected] 020 7663 1178 or [email protected] www.thefriend.org/advertise.asp or sent to the address below.

the Friend 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ Tel: 020 7663 1010 Fax: 020 7663 1182 www.thefriend.org Editor: Ian Kirk-Smith [email protected] • Sub-editor: Trish Carn [email protected] • Production editor: Elinor Smallman production@ thefriend.org • News reporter: Symon Hill [email protected] • Arts editor: Rowena Loverance [email protected] • Environment editor: Laurie Michaelis [email protected] • Subscriptions officer: Penny Dunn [email protected] Tel: 020 7663 1178 • Advertisement manager: George Penaluna, Ad department, 54a Main Street, Cononley, Keighley BD20 8LL Tel: 01535 630230 [email protected] • Clerk of the trustees: A David Olver • ISSN: 0016-1268 The Friend Publications Limited is a registered charity, number 211649 • Printed by Headley Bros Ltd, Queens Road, Ashford, Kent TN24 8HH

2 the Friend, 21 October 2011 Thought for the Week United Nations Day

have never had any difficulty with remembering In such a vast enterprise, aberrations are inevitable. United Nations Day, 24 October, since it coincides The UN represents governments, and governments with my mother’s birthday! This huge organisation come in all shapes and sizes. Some agencies are more Irambles like a rose bush over the globe, with its many effective than others. All aim to help the poorest and offshoots involved in almost every aspect of human most vunerable. life in every corner of the world. Some, like UNICEF, The General Assembly and the Security Council are do outstanding work with children and mothers in central to the UN. The latter is an absurd historical slums and deserts, while others come to the aid of anomaly, with France and Britain occupying permanent the beleaguered Gazans, or struggle to keep peace in seats – while India and Brazil have to take their turn the vast recesses of Central Africa. Friends have been with the rest of the world. able to make their influence felt through our offices in Does this jealously guarded status quo contribute to Geneva and New York the belief of the British political classes that they have The organisation was born of the idealism of the a right to fight other people’s wars? Did Tony Blair’s eccentric pacifist Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson military adventures arise from Britain’s self-importance and his Bloomsbury circle, who began to create the because it sits beside China, the USA and the Russian League of Nations even before the First World War Federation at the top table? Is it fair that this small ended. While that organisation failed to prevent the island can wield such influence over global decision next war, it created many agencies later inherited making? Indeed, is it right that any country, particularly by the UN and provided a template for the present the USA after it misled the General Assembly on Iraq, structure of seventeen elements, including UNESCO, can veto crucially important world events? Everyone the International Monetary Fund and the International agrees that there is a need for change, but then the Atomic Energy Agency. It is a pacifist concept born of Tower of Babel takes over. a profound objection to war as a means of resolving So, we have this valued, ubiquitous entity embracing disputes. That it is empowered to sanction military the globe and trying to spread flowers of peace in action in response to emergencies is a constant source dangerous places, tackling poverty, refugees, health, of tension and contradiction. agricultural, economic, cultural, scientific, financial A political organisation with an intergovernmental and social issues. dimension, the UN inevitably attracts the power Though it works from a script that was written struggles and egotism that characterise politics. I have some sixty years ago, in a very different world, it was talked with a chief statistician whose job was threatened conceived by people of peace and it remains the only because of her unwillingness to distort the sensitive sane barrier to the opposite. literacy statistics of an influential member state. I have unknowingly worked with an official who was secretly employed to follow the Cold War rivalries within one of the agencies. And I have seen the scrawled, defiant Roger Iredale file notes of an autocratic director-general, written in Roger is a member of Mid-Somerset Area Meeting. pursuit of some private agenda, countermanding the His work has involved close collaboration with UN considered judgments of a senior colleague. agencies across the globe.

the Friend, 21 October 2011 3 News Quakers to help ‘hidden homeless’

FRIENDS HAVE BEEN URGED to sleeping on friends’ sofas or floors, guarantee to protect landlords, as rent out their spare rooms to single sometimes moving frequently well as giving advice and support. people at risk of homelessness. between different people’s houses. All potential lodgers will have been Quaker Social Action (QSA), The situation is likely to worsen assessed by QSA. who made the appeal, say there in January, when single people ‘Becoming homeless wasn’t are thousands of people who under 35 will no longer qualify for my fault, but it makes you feel are ‘vulnerably housed’ but not housing benefit if they occupy a very unsure and vulnerable. It’s technically labelled as homeless. privately rented flat on their own. demeaning,’ explained Leon, a man Single people are often at the The age limit is currently 25. who last week moved into a spare bottom of waiting lists for social QSA is appealing to all Friends room as a result of the Homelink housing, as they rarely meet the with spare rooms in the London scheme. He explained: ‘I was also criteria to be a high priority. The area to consider renting them afraid what employers would think phenomenon known as ‘hidden out via their ‘Homelink’ project. as I couldn’t even put an address on homelessness’ can involve people This helps by providing a bond application forms.’

increase as a result of cuts. Meeting for Sufferings, the Christmas shelters begin national committee of British Quakers, agreed this preparations month to speak out against the coalition’s proposed cap on housing benefit. The Institute for Fiscal Studies warned last week that QUAKER HOMELESS ACTION (QHA) have begun poverty is likely to rise in the UK over coming years. to recruit volunteers for their annual Christmas They predicted that median income next year would shelters. be seven percent lower than in 2009. The news was A number of charities and campaigning groups, described as ‘devastating’ by the Child Poverty Action including QSA and QHA, have warned that the Group (CPAG), a charity that was set up with Quaker economic policies of the coalition government could support. CPAG’s Alison Garnham said that ministers result in a considerable increase in homelessness. QHA were ‘in denial’ about the impact of their policies, said in August that they had already seen homelessness which are ‘making the poor poorer.’ Michael Lyons loses appeal

A MEMBER OF THE NAVY who changed his views an ‘unlawful order,’ as it was designed to trap him into on war has lost an appeal against his conviction for either being arrested or abandoning his conscientious ‘wilful disobedience.’ Michael Lyons is serving nine objection. His request for discharge was later turned months in an armed forces detention centre because down by the Advisory Committee on Conscientious he refused to use a rifle. Objection (ACCO). The appeal court last week decided to uphold the ‘Michael has been extremely courageous to act on conviction made at a court-martial in July and refused his conscience and remain consistent and dignified to reduce the sentence. They have not yet given their throughout this whole process,’ said Emma Sangster of reasoning, which they will publish shortly. Forces Watch. In the course of the hearing, the judges questioned She insisted: ‘The simple injustice of Michael’s the lack of clarity around armed forces procedures treatment illustrates how the government and the allowing serving soldiers who change their views to Ministry of Defence repeatedly fail to recognise apply for discharge due to conscientious objection. conscientious objection in practice.’ Forces Watch, a group that explores ethical issues The court requested that the Navy publish details around the armed forces, say that this right exists more of their procedures for handling applications for in theory than in practice. discharge due to conscientious objection. The Michael Lyons had asked, last year, to be kept procedures appear only in armed forces regulations. on non-combatant duties while his application for Groups such as Forces Watch and the Peace Pledge discharge was considered. Instead, he was ordered to Union have long called for them to be written into an attend a rifle course. His barrister argued that this was act of Parliament.

4 the Friend, 21 October 2011 [email protected] Photo: npmeijer / flickr CC Photo: npmeijer / flickr

Quaker presence at financial protests

QUAKERS HELD A MEETING strong pacifist strain throughout’ as camped outside the cathedral, FOR WORSHIP near the London people participated with an ‘equal while similar protests continue Stock Exchange on Saturday voice.’ She compared this with the globally. Alia Gee, a Friend living as nonviolent protests began current political system, which in New York, told the Friend that at financial centres around the ‘doesn’t really give people the she has been taking food and world. The police refused to allow chance to get their voice heard.’ supplies to protestors camped demonstrators to approach the Ben Jarman, also of Westminster in the Wall Street area since the exchange, confining thousands of Meeting, said he witnessed day the occupation began. Anna them outside St Paul’s Cathedral. aggressive police behaviour on Sharman of Wandsworth Meeting Several other Friends turned Saturday night as campaigners has begun to do the same in up on Sunday or later in the were forcibly removed from London. week to join in the ongoing the cathedral steps. He said the Larissa rejected the allegation protests. Hundreds of people are atmosphere improved on Sunday, that the protestors do not share now camped in the area. The after Giles Fraser, canon chancellor common aims and will be demonstrators are protesting with of the cathedral, asked the police ignored. She pointed out that the the slogan ‘We are the ninety-nine to leave and invited protestors into campaigners had agreed on nine percent’, a reference to the power services. key points by Sunday, despite the and wealth of the richest one ‘There is a very strong emphasis large numbers and differences of percent of the population. on consensus decision making,’ opinion. ‘Direct action is a really Larissa Hanford, who attends said Ben. One police officer powerful way for people to get Westminster Meeting, said the told him that he wished every their voice heard,’ she said, ‘Don’t protests were about the struggle demonstration he had policed had underestimate it.’ for ‘global democracy that works been this well-organised. for everyone.’ She said there was ‘a Hundreds of people are now Symon Hill

energy sources. ‘Biomass’ refers to solid organic matter Anti-biofuel protest that is burned in power stations to generate electricity – generally from wood pellets and woodchips. THE CAMPAIGN GROUP Biofuelwatch is launching ‘Bioliquids’ refers to liquid fuel that is blended with a demonstration on 22 October to call on the petrol or diesel where it is burned in power stations to UK government to stop subsidising biomass and generate electricity. ‘Biofuels’ refers to liquid fuel that bioliquids. The demonstration will be held outside is blended with petrol or diesel in vehicles. the Department of Energy and Climate Change in Emilia Hanna, a Biofuelwatch spokesperson, said London. the demonstration is being held amid a growing use of Campaigners say that land that could be used to biomass and bioliquids in the UK. Although there are grow food for people is instead being used to grow currently eight operating biomass power stations in the biofuels. Some also argue that biofuels contribute at UK, there are another forty-two in the pipeline. least as much to climate change as more conventional Raymond Mgadzah

the Friend, 21 October 2011 5 Witness Death shall not prevail

Robert Powell reveals the background to a song close to the hearts of the Norwegian people

n 22 July, exactly three months ago, Anders and creative part of my life. When I heard it being sung Behring Breivik, a thirty-two year old after July’s tragedy I felt compelled to learn more about Norwegian, set off a car bomb outside it and translate it. Ogovernment buildings in Oslo. It killed eight of his fellow countrymen. An hour and a half later, dressed Grieg was a controversial figure who lived in troubled as a policeman, he landed on the small island of Utøya times. Born in 1902, he was brought up in Bergen. He where the Norwegian Workers’ Youth League was studied at the University of Oslo and, for a short time, holding a summer camp. There he shot and killed at Oxford. He interrupted his studies to work as a sixty-nine more people. His victims included fifty-five seaman on a cargo boat that took him first to Australia teenagers. and then home via the Suez Canal. This experience, and the conditions in which his shipmates were obliged A few days later, one of the journalists outside the to serve, left a lasting impression on him. Further courthouse in Oslo is reported to have told Breivik’s adventures followed. He travelled in Europe, to China lawyer to ‘tell (his) client to burn in hell.’ However, the during the civil war, to Moscow for two years, and reaction of thousands of other Norwegians, especially then to Spain during the civil war there – all the time young ones, was altogether more interesting and working as a war correspondent or gathering material typically Scandinavian. They came out onto the streets for novels and plays. For a time he was Chairman of the and sang. Norwegian Friends of the Soviet Union.

In the days that followed the mass killings, the When the Germans invaded Norway in 1940, Grieg world’s press descended on Oslo. The backdrop to their volunteered for service in the army. But it wasn’t long reports almost always seemed the same: streets filled before he made his way to England. He became a with crowds of people, sometimes carrying candles, war correspondent again, but this time as part of the sometimes holding red roses in the air, sometimes military and with the rank of captain. In 1943, while holding each other closely in their grief, but almost reporting on a raid on Berlin, his Lancaster bomber was always singing, and singing one song in particular. shot down. He and all his crewmates were killed. There was, in all the sorrow, through all the tears, a thread of defiance. You could see it in their faces and Til Ungdommen has become an anthem for social and you could hear it in the way they sang: ‘Døden skal popular democracy in Scandinavia, and for pacifism. tape!’ – ‘Death shall not prevail!’ Yet its author was, amongst other things, an apologist for Stalin’s show trials in the 1930s. How do you Til Ungdommen (To Youth) was written in 1936 by explain the contradictions in the life and work of such the poet Nordahl Grieg (a distant relative of Edvard a talented and complex man? The best I can come up Grieg). It was then set to music in 1952. It has become with is that poetry, like ministry, can be very surprising. a modern classic throughout Scandinavia. For me, it was part of the soundtrack behind a wonderful, happy Robert attends Yealand Meeting.

6 the Friend, 21 October 2011 Til Ungdommen (To Youth) a poem by Nordahl Grieg translated from the original Norwegian by Robert Powell

Surrounded by enemies, The human race is noble, your time has come. and the Earth is rich! Now, in this deadly storm, If want and hunger are to be found, take up the fight! then it’s down to fraud. Perhaps you are fearful, Stamp it out! For life’s sake, out in the open and with no cover. injustice shall fall. What will you fight with; Sunshine and bread and spirit where are your weapons? belong to all of us.

This is your sword, The weapons of war will lose their power and this is your shield: and be brought down. a belief in life We shall build respect for humanity and in humankind’s worth. and we shall build peace. For the sake of our future, If in your right hand seek it and nurture it. you hold something precious, Die if you must, but you cannot raise your arm make it grow and make it strong. to kill.

Steadily down the line This is our shared promise, the cannon shells surge on. each to each: Stop their deadly drive. we will bring blessings Stand up to them! to the people’s land. War is contempt for life. We will take care of beauty Peace is creative: and we will take care of warmth, throw yourself into it. as when we gently carry Death shall not prevail! a child in our arms.

With your dreams, love and enrich everything that was great. Embrace the unknown future and wrest from it the answer. With spared lives and daring minds, go out and build the unbuilt power stations © Robert Powell 2011 & Gyldendahl and the unknown stars. Norsk Forlag AS 1947

Utøya island Photo: Henrik Lied, NRK

the Friend, 21 October 2011 7 Letters All views expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Friend

Swarthmore Lecture 2011 not as flexible in service as a diesel bus. This was the There is an intimate correlation between Pam Lunn’s reason most of them were withdrawn in the fifties and thought-provoking book and our economic situation. sixties. They got in the way of motorcars, but as we are National debts, and ours in particular, represent an trying to discourage private vehicle use in urban areas inordinate addition to the destruction of the earth’s I do not see this as a disadvantage. resources and, in particular, fossil fuels with carbon David Simmons emissions and resultant global warming. Thus, paying Malvern Meeting off our debt will make a vital contribution to reducing our destruction of mother earth and the sooner it can Tax and conscientious objection be achieved the less the damage that will be caused. My first day at Meeting for Sufferings in the mid- Debt is so destructive. It destabilises a country but eighties was a day of considerable suffering. The also destabilises the international money markets Meeting was not in unity. We were told that some and induces and adds to poverty today – note the members of Friends House staff had asked for the seriousness of the increasing child poverty we now defence percentage of their PAYE to be withheld. have in Britain. This is caused by the resultant cut- Many Friends would not agree to Quakers doing backs in services, the additional tax burdens (both anything illegal. Many Friends were sympathetic to direct and indirect) and by the sheer waste of so much the consciences of our staff. One Friend, a magistrate, annual debt interest, which this year will be at least 60 said she would resign. My mother had taught me that billion pounds. But the worst impact will be its effect obedience to God comes before obedience to Queen upon tomorrow, when the national debt now running and Country. (For this reason I was not allowed to into trillions of pounds has to be repaid, which at the become a Brownie!) present rate could last for decades. The outcome of The matter went uncomfortably round and round. this is that we shall have to live on, say, 350 billion Eventually, it was agreed that we would withhold the pounds per annum, which is half of our present annual tax and test the law. The clerk and one other agreed expenditure of 700 billion pounds. to represent us at increasingly higher law courts over This is the reality we face. Far too many millions several years. The inevitable outcome was that the and billions of extraneous monies, in addition to core money must be paid, but we had aired our case. It was essentials, are still being spent by government. The then agreed that we would withhold the proportion application of basic and spiritual living could provide a (twelve percent?) spent on the military by the staff real contribution, if not solution, to the future facing us. who made the request. It would not be willingly Alan W Smith forwarded to the Inland Revenue but put aside for Swanage Meeting them to collect in person. Swanage Centre for Fiscal Studies Does this still apply? Joy Coe Making buses more efficient Leigh on Sea Meeting I was pleased to see Noel Staples’ article about wastage of fuel while buses are idling (9 September), a practical After you’ve gone approach at last. Unfortunately, trust has been taken How many of you carry a donor card? What do you away from the people who do the work and given think of the proposed ‘Opt-Out’ Act? Should embryos to a bunch of technocrats who introduce all sorts of have stem cells taken? Did any Meeting take Jackie control mechanisms, few of which help fuel efficiency. Leach Scully’s 2002 Swarthmore Lecture of ‘Genetics, There are plenty of developments that are being used Ethics and Spirituality’ any further? She begins her final to improve efficiency on private vehicles, mainly of the chapter with ‘What might a Quaker approach to ethics large and expensive sort, that can be adapted for public in genetic manipulation be like?’ transport. We had a discussion on this following a recent I have no doubt that the bus manufacturers have Meeting for Worship, with fifteen present, mainly many of these developments under consideration. We attenders. We were diametrically opposed. Some have the technology, but do we need it? Modifications wanted to give everything after death and others felt such as these would improve what we have got but the it was not right to give anything. There were strong introduction of electric vehicles would be better. While feelings on both sides. We faced conflict. Was this all being fast and efficient, trams and trolley buses do not right for Quakers? We had someone there who had use significant electricity when stationary and their never been to a Quaker Meeting before. He clapped us braking systems generate electricity, which is fed back at the end! into the power supply. They do not cause pollution Jill Allum at point of use. Their main drawback is that they are Beccles Meeting

8 the Friend, 21 October 2011 [email protected]

I found a recent BBC episode of ‘Wallander’ interesting, will not see the twenty-second. There are people out in that it contained the idea that dead bodies could be there seeking a spiritual home. They want more than put through a compactor (a giant waste material mincer a clubhouse, they want someone to help them redefine and, dare I suggest, composted?). The episode was the rules and help them to hold on to them. Weight concerned with crime but the idea seems to me (aged Watchers is a good corporate example. Please tell me eighty-three and a fifth-floor balcony allotment holder) Friends, in a few words, how can we express what The attractive, as it practically eliminates the use of land for Religious Society of Friends has to give? graves, and the use of energy for cremation and could Jenny Mathieson reduce much of the money wasted on the outward Ferndale, Highgate, Forest Row, East Sussex show of funerals. A better way would be the donation RH18 5BA of bodies for organ transplant, medical research and eventual disposal by the NHS. Funeral practices More things in heaven and earth embrace an important emotional element, and a lesser Marriage and motherhood meant that I lived in religious element for most people these days. Both of Somerset for over twenty-five years. During that these would be better expressed during the lifetimes of time, one of my increasingly desperate attempts to those approaching death, rather than when it is too late, become a countrywoman – none of which actually after the event. The money used on funerals would be succeeded! – resulted in my keeping two hives of bees better devoted to community improvements in memory for several years and being handsomely rewarded of the deceased. The Quaker practice of informal with a golden harvest, season after season. In the ‘Memorial Meetings’ is good, but whether they benefit end I had to abandon the venture because I became the deceased is an open question. increasingly allergic to the stings and could have died Changes in the law of the land would be needed – had I exposed myself to further risk. However, it seems there are strict regulations covering disposal of the dead I was not forgotten by the bee world. Years later, on the by cremations and burials (including those at sea), but stunningly hot July day on which I left that Somerset laws are made by people and can be changed by people, house for the last time, a swarm of bees suddenly if the tide of thinking moves from past conventions appeared out of nowhere, hovered above my head for a to twenty-first century needs. Our bodies are vehicles short time, and then departed – all the while emitting for the spirit. Bodies are discarded as they become that unmistakable and indescribable thrumming sound, unserviceable. The spirit moves on. Are we open to which sometimes seems to be almost in harmony fresh light on this? with the vibration of the spheres. Folklore has it that Leslie Fuhrmann ‘a swarm of bees in July is not worth a fly’ because, Worthing Meeting so late in the season, it has little chance of developing into a viable colony. But for me, that particular July Faith mixture? swarm – bringing its imagined and heartening message Think of that large bottle of medicine absolutely of farewell – felt like a gift beyond price; moving me guaranteed to harm no one. But what is it meant almost to tears and remaining in my memory for the to cure? Does it have any substance? What are the rest of my life. If bees can even attend funerals (Eye, ingredients? If you had such a bottle with only the 7 October), is it any wonder that the ancients believed knowledge it was harmless would you be able to give it they have a mystical connection with the human soul or away? Would even the youngest members of the family that Mohammed decreed that bees should be admitted bother to give it shelf space? into Paradise? In this I see an uncomfortable parallel with Jill Inskip Quakers. Forget for the moment the achievements of Uxbridge Meeting the nineteenth and twentieth centuries or where we still keep a toehold in international affairs. Here in The Friend welcomes your views. Please keep letters Britain the numbers of Quakers are dwindling at an short and include your full postal address, even alarming rate. Just look at the Faith Mixture. Just look when sending emails. Please specify whether you at the Quakers. The bottle is religion – which should wish for your postal or email address or Meeting be a large and sustaining part of our life. However, name to be used with your name, otherwise we will all we seem to be offering is an hour of silence and a print your post address or email address. Letters tolerant support of all races, creeds, ages and genders. are published at the editor’s discretion and may What sustenance is there in our faith? What are the be edited. Write to: the Friend, 173 Euston Road, ingredients in our Faith Mixture that can aid people in London NW1 2BJ or email [email protected] Remember if you are online that you can also finding a better life? If we don’t come up with a sensible comment on all articles at www.thefriend.org list of ingredients fit for the twenty-first century we

the Friend, 21 October 2011 9 History The world of Joseph Wood

Pamela Cooksey considers a fascinating Quaker archive

he publication this month of a full and unedited vigorous spoken ministry that was a feature of Quietist transcription of the large and small notebooks worship. After a Meeting at High Flatts he recorded: of Joseph Wood, a Yorkshire Quaker, will Tprovide a significant new resource for those with an ‘a weighty exercise came over my mind and interest in Quaker history and genealogy. soon after I sat down therein the word was as The hundred notebooks, written between 1773 and a fire in my bones and I was constrained 1821, together with 647 letters and miscellaneous to stand upon my feet.’ printed Quaker papers, are now known as the Joseph Wood Archive. The archive, kept in the Wood family Joseph Wood’s writings are of particular interest for over six generations, offers a revealing portrait of a because they fully reflect the faith and religious Quaker and his time. convictions of his day and as well as his personal perspective on these. They provide a detailed insight A Quaker Quietist into the beliefs and behaviour of ordinary people who were Quakers and offer a detailed guide to the many The notebooks, written in a firm and consistent aspects of faith, religious thought and practice of hand, contain daily memoranda, detailed accounts of ‘Quietist Quakerism.’ journeys undertaken, Meetings attended, letters both written and received and selected Quaker writings. The spiritual life They offer the reader an intimate and revealing portrait of Joseph Wood, of Newhouse, Birdsedge, Reading the 228 letters in his twelve ‘Letter Books,’ one near Penistone, and a member of High Flatts Meeting. is aware of his overwhelming concern for the spiritual A true Quietist Quaker and a Minister of the life of individuals and the destiny of their souls. Gospel, having been given ‘the unity and liberty of his Letters of support, advice, encouragement, approval, Meeting,’ he travelled extensively throughout England disapproval and admonition were written to those and Wales for forty-eight years. In that time he became whom Joseph wished to succour. a greatly valued friend to all who knew him, a well- respected and hugely influential person, and a tireless ‘My earnest desire is that thou may not worker in the cause of spreading Quaker truth. read it as a matter of little concern but solidly Acknowledged as a powerful preacher, when weigh the truths contained therein standing in Meeting, his testimonies were part of the in a disposition of mind to improve thereby.’

10 the Friend, 21 October 2011 Joseph described the life of those belonging to a community of Friends and their relationships with members of neighbouring Meetings. Many of the organisational and administrative features the Society of Friends, being created at the time to unify members, were also detailed.

Hospitality

Included in the records of Joseph’s numerous journeys are the names of the many people he met – the majority of whom were Quakers. He frequently noted the names of those who offered him hospitality. They welcomed him into their homes to ‘breakfast, dine, sup, take suitable refreshment’ and ‘to lodge.’ He recorded those who, when he was setting out

on one of his journeys, were his ‘companion this Walton courtesy of Caroline Wood, of Joseph Portrait day’; those who, when assisting him to hold one of his numerous ‘publick meetings’ went ‘to procure and prepare a place’ and ‘inform the inhabitants thereof’; those who ‘brought their intentions of marriage’ to the Meeting for Discipline and those who ‘stood in Meeting in testimony, in prayer, in supplication, in exhortation or in prayer and praises to the Almighty.’ Joseph also noted where people lived and the Meeting to which they and their families belonged. Another extraordinary feature of the notebooks is Within the detailed accounts of his daily living, Joseph that ninety of them have covers made from different provides us with information regarding facets of life in contemporary wallpapers and decorative papers. A Georgian England. unique archive in itself!

In 1815, when travelling through Warwickshire, he The collection noted: In November the Joseph Wood Archive is to ‘came to Lymington [Leamington] a village be gifted to the Special Collections, Brotherton about 2 miles from Warwick which is amazingly Library, University of Leeds, where it will then be increased of late with very grand and stately available to scholars, students and the general reader. buildings to accommodate the company who Copies of the transcription, with accompanying resort thither in great abundance to bathe searchable CDs, will be available in Quaker libraries and drink the waters, we stopt there a little and libraries in a number of colleges and universities to view the Baths and Pumprooms which are that offer Quaker and eighteenth and nineteenth very grand buildings.’ century studies.

Joseph understood rural poverty and was outspoken in Pamela will be speaking about Joseph Wood on 25 his condemnation of… October at 6.30pm in the Quaker Centre, Friends House. Visit www.quakerhistory.org.uk/quakerhistory to register ‘the present mode of inclosing of common for a free place. land’ and the ‘greedy freeholders who deprive our fellow creatures of their right Quaker Journals: The Large and Small Notebooks of without a just compensation’ for ‘the poor Joseph Wood (1750-1821), edited by Pamela Cooksey, being depriv’d of their just and eqitable right costs £10 and is available from Quacks Printers, 7 Grape whereby many have been assisted in the Street, York, YO1 7HU and the Quaker Centre Bookshop, support of their families; and the little 173-177 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ (0207 663 Farmer being reduced by these things, 1030). High Flatts Quaker Meeting is the sole beneficiary are obliged to fall upon the Parish for relief.’ from sales.

the Friend, 21 October 2011 11 Experiment with Light Sink down to the seed

Jane Holmes reflects on her experience of Experiment with Light

hen Cockermouth, in Cumbria, was flooded by Isaac Pennington: ‘Give over thine own willing, give in 2009, our house was one of the first to be over thy own running, give over thine own desiring to filled with silty water. I was flooded at the know or be anything and sink down to the seed which Wsame time with emotional muddle and confusion. At God sows in the heart, and let that grow in thee and be first it was simple and we all got on with coping. After in thee and breathe in thee and act in thee; and thou a bit, the casual destruction by those responsible for shalt find by sweet experience that the Lord knows clearing up and the numerous decisions about total that and loves and owns that, and will lead it to the unknowns, overwhelmed me. That was when Allan, inheritance of Life, which is its portion.’ my husband, and I began to experiment with the Light together. There are three vital parts when meditating with others. First, confidentiality is paramount. Complete Allan had been in a Light group since the beginning trust is essential. The experience of other people must of the year and I had been on the initial training remain theirs. It is OK to share your own experience courses with him. The experience had an immediate outside the group but only your own. Second, other effect. I found out how to remain independent from people’s experiences are unique to them and comment the pressures of the loss adjuster and to guard against or discussion about them must never happen. Threads the culture of greed that surrounds the whole flood and parallels will often crop up, and can be enjoyed, recovery process. The Experiment with Light routines but advice must never be offered. Third, as Quakers became so useful that I slowly evolved my own ways of we are comfortable with silence and silence is such doing it. a powerful part of the whole thing. After the formal meditation is complete the twenty minutes of silence Sometimes I use the disc with the long meditation (with coloured pencils and pens and paper available) read out by Rex Ambler himself. At other times I before the worship sharing comments is vital. use the four stage process mentioned in the training programme: I have joined a newly formed Light group too. The worship sharing at the end is a chance to Mind the Light actually hear my own thoughts and in so doing they Open your hearts to the Truth are transformed. Hearing others’ internal dialogue Wait in the Light encourages a deep honesty and generates love between Submit to the Truth the members of the group. It is so important that it needs guarding and treating with care. When I am on my own, I often use a routine based around the paragraph in Quaker Faith & Practice 26.70 Jane is a member of Cockermouth Meeting.

12 the Friend, 21 October 2011 Photo: Kevin Dooley / flickr CC / flickr Dooley Photo: Kevin

Dwelling in the light, there’s no occasion at all of stumbling, for all things are discovered with the light. Thou that lovest it, here’s thy teacher, when thou art walking abroad, ’tis present with thee in thy bosom, thou need’st not to say, lo here, or lo there. And as thou liest in thy bed ’tis present to teach thee, and judge thy wandering mind, which would wander abroad, and thy high thoughts and imaginations, and makes them subject; for following thy thoughts thou art quickly lost. But dwelling in this light, it will discover to thee the body of sin, and thy corruptions, and fallen estate where thou art, and multitude of thoughts. In that light which shows thee all this, stand; neither go to the right hand, or the left. George Fox

the Friend, 21 October 2011 13 Reflection A moment in time

Dorothy Searle appreciates a mellowing beauty

t is Monday, 3 October, at 8.30 in the morning, and wraps me in a sense of ‘rightness’, of serenity and and I am hanging out my laundry. I have a small peace. I am at one with my surroundings and with whirligig line placed in a bed of low-growing all that is beyond my comprehension, as if I were in a Ialpines – plantaholics like me don’t have room for a gathered Meeting. I am in the right place, physically, lawn – and I am surrounded by apples, some still on emotionally and spiritually, just for the moment. the trees, others waiting to be picked up or left for the birds. There is little noise; the distant traffic, with its There are flowers everywhere, not in patches of emergency vehicle sirens, and the planes taking off bright summer colour but scattered about in ones and along the river don’t seem to intrude into the feeling of twos, as if they were part of the scene in a medieval stillness. I am aware of natural sounds: robins singing painting, just the right setting for a unicorn. Tiny their tentative autumn songs, sparrows chirping, the blooms of white ivy-leaved toadflax spill over the edge calls of rooks, a wood pigeon and a green woodpecker, of the bed in front of my feet, and there are primroses and the chattering of a small child three gardens away. and cyclamen behind me, the last of the beautifully There is a smell of maturity, of over-ripe apples and scented summer cyclamen and a few left of the fungi, and I feel the touch of the damp air on my face unusually advanced autumn species, together with the and the texture of the wet clothes on my hands. first of the winter ones. Diminutive autumn daffodils and snowdrops are just appearing, and blue and white The mist, which is thin here but much thicker in crocuses are getting ready to open in the sunshine. the valley below, has turned the low sun orange and The occasional violet peeps from under its leaves, the light golden. The light is warm and comforting although most will be maturing from bud to seed pod without opening, and little black self-sown pansies still bejewel the rockery. There are a few large summer flowers left, but even these seem less garish than they did, beginning to blend with the muted tones of autumn. Fragile rose buds are still developing and hardy fuchsias flop over the path, while the begonias are having a final fling before being taken under cover for the winter. Photo: Dorothy Searle Photo: Dorothy Perhaps I am at the right time in my life to notice and appreciate this mellowing beauty and to sense the interconnectedness and orderliness of all things. Seasons are cyclical, running into each other – there is no real start or end to a year. I know that there will be cyclamen flowers for every month and that bulbs will be constantly emerging from the soil, ready to produce flowers in due season before dying down to renew themselves for next year. I am aware that, at bottom, all is as it should be, that disasters and tragedies happen on the surface and that, overall, ‘all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’

An autumn flowering crocus from Dorothy’s garden Dorothy is a member of Southampton Meeting.

14 the Friend, 21 October 2011 Poetry In everyone

I don’t believe we are a sick society I don’t believe we are a broken society. I believe we are a complex society, a fragile society, a beautiful society. CC / flickr Photo: mckaysavage I believe we are capable of deep self-healing. I believe in the father who spoke so eloquently after losing his much loved son. I believe in the armies of broom holders, rubble clearers, and tea makers. I believe in all the unwitnessed acts of kindness and compassion that bind communities together. I believe in that of God. Kevin Redpath, Street Meeting

the Friend, 21 October 2011 15 a wry look at the Quaker world [email protected]

Ben Okafor at Sidcot School Rain on the roof

THE NOISE OF RAIN on the roof is an abiding memory in a new book, which tells an oral history of Watford Quaker Meeting: (Mostly) After the Tin Hut. The (Mostly) of the title refers to Photo: Tom Photo: Tom Kirrage the fact that the recollections and reminiscences were mainly from when the current Meeting House was constructed in the early 1950s. It replaced the ‘Tin Hut.’ Richard Jennings, of West Weald Area Meeting, was an early reader who appreciated not only the way ONE OF THE LIVELIEST EVENTS in Quaker Week was the visit to the stories were told but also the Sidcot School in Somerset of the singer and activist Ben Okafor. presentation of the material. Quaker Week is one of the biggest collaborative events in the He writes: ‘Being an oral history, school’s calendar. It not only brings the school together, but is also the book consists of interviews an opportunity to put on many imaginative events, and to bring in with over eighty present members interesting visitors. Ben Okafor is a prolific performer and advocate and attenders of Watford Meeting. of social justice, a passion that grew from his own involvement as a It is divided into chapters such as child soldier in the Nigerian/Biafran war. Meeting for Worship, Old Building, On Wednesday, 5 October, Ben performed for the whole school New Building, Spiritual Journey, and on Thursday did a song-writing workshop with students. The Quaker Activities and What is aim of the workshop was to compose and produce a song that reflects special about Watford Meeting.’ one of the Quaker testimonies. The song was performed on Friday Richard, who comes from a afternoon just before the closing Meeting for Worship. Ben, who has printing and bookselling family, toured with bishop Desmond Tutu, was captured in performance (see endorses the book as a ‘good read photograph) by year 12 student Tom Kirrage. and worthy of a place on every Bev King, director of music at Sidcot, was hugely enthusiastic Meeting’s library shelves.’ about the success of the event. She said: ‘The song-writing session To purchase a copy, email: with Ben Okafor was inspiring. The group of year 10 and 11 GCSE [email protected] or music students – all working on lyrics about peace and child soldiers send a cheque, payable to ‘Watford – made for a pretty intense morning. Now the lyrics are written, Ben Quakers’ for £10 (inclusive of post is going to come back and work with the students in our recording and packing) to: 7 Barnsway, King’s studio to make it a great song. Watch this space!’ Langley, Hertfordshire WD4 9PW. Romford Reunion

NORA KELSON GOT IN TOUCH with Eye to tell us about the day of celebrations Romford Meeting House held on 1 October to mark Dicks Photo: Oliver the Meeting’s fiftieth anniversary. Friends from throughout the Meeting’s history came together for a reunion and the children of the Meeting marked the occasion by burying a time capsule in the garden. Happy anniversary Romford! Friends gathered together to mark fifty years of Romford Meeting

16 the Friend, 21 October 2011 Ad pages 21 Oct 18/10/11 14:14 Page 3

Friends&Meetings ENNEAGRAM: EXPLORING QUAKERS IN THE CHILTERNS Marriages SPIRITUAL PATHS An introduction Quaker Family History Society to the guidance tool. New Jordans Meeting at Jordans Meeting House, Edward KIRTON-DARLING and Programme Retreat Day: Friday Beaconsfield, Bucks, on Saturday Polly ROBERTS were married on 11 November (10am-4pm) with 29 October, 10.30 – 4.00, with four 24 September 2011 at Bradley Judith Priest. Advance booking speakers and a tour. Details at House, Wiltshire. Current address: required, £35 or what you can www.qfhs.co.uk 6 Avenell Road, London N5 1DP. afford. Contact: 01494 876594 or [email protected] Meeting up Diary INTO CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS SINGLE? WANTING TO MEET Easter gathering at the Findhorn THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE? BUILDING RESPONSIBLE Foundation, 7–10 April 2012. To share, Use the Meeting up column! BUSINESSES Applying Quaker meditate, celebrate and become a Single entry £17.60 incl. vat for 35 values of the past to today’s businesses. channel for Christ Consciousness in words. 3 entries £40, 6 entries £69. Speakers Mark Reckitt ‘Smiths our changing world. 01309 691653. Box reply service included using Group’ and Deborah Cadbury www.findhorn.org/intochrist 1st class post. Send all entries and ‘Chocolate Wars’. Quakers and consciousness Early bird discount replies to: The Friend, 54a Main St, Business Group Day Conference, expires 31 October! Cononley, Keighley BD20 8LL. 16 November, Friends House. Prog- ramme/booking: www.qandb.org JOSEPH WOOD, YORKSHIRE BEAUTIFUL QUAKER FEMALE, QUAKER, 1750-1821 Quaker Aromatherapist, British Punjabi, 42, EARLY QUAKERS AS MYSTICS 3: History Meeting, 6-8pm Tuesday wanting to meet professional EArly Quaker Women led by Elaine 25 October, Quaker Centre, Friends Quaker male 40-50. Similarities: Hobby, with Lynn Morris performing House. Pamela Cooksey speaks on Respecting, warm, loving, affection- the Elizabeth Hooton Play. Saturday Joseph’s life, ministry and travels ate, communicative, cooking, travel- 12 November, 10 for 10.30am - 5pm. from her transcription of his note- ling, walking, lifelong relationship, Friends House, London. No booking, books. Free; booking essential: be my best friend. Replies please £10, pay at door, a Kindlers Event, www.quaker.org.uk/josephwood Box 947 c/o The Friend Ad. Dept. www.londonquakers.org.uk 0207 663 1030/1031.

New baby in the family? OLIVES AND BARBED WIRE Let everyone know with a notice 6-8pm Wednesday 2 November, in the Friend! Quaker Centre, Friends House. Thoughts, experiences, visits, meet- ings, conversations, challenges. Notices on this page Patricia Cockerell on her experiences Friends & Meetings notices should in Palestine and Israel. Free; booking preferably be prepaid. Personal essential: 0207 663 1030/1031. entries (births, marriages, deaths, www.quaker.org.uk/olivesbarbedwire anniversaries, changes of address, Ifield Park etc.): £17.60 incl. vat. Meeting and Residential and Nursing Home charity notices (changes of clerk, OUTDOOR MEETING FOR Crawley, West Sussex new wardens, alterations to meet- WORSHIP Speakers Corner, Marble ing, diary, etc.) £14.66 zero rated Arch,London. Sunday 30 October Ifield Park is set in 3.5 acres of for vat. Max.35 words. 3 Diary or beautiful grounds on the edge of Meeting up entries £40 (£33.33 2-2.45pm, and on the last Sunday of Crawley. We offer a permanent zero rated); 6 entries £69 (£57.50). each month in 2011. Come and join home to 72 residents in two resi- Add £1.70 for a copy of the issue other London Quakers! Details from dential and one nursing home. We with your notice. Cheques payable Jez Smith, tel. 07915 407344. also provide palliative care, respite to The Friend. and short stays. In addition, Ifield Entries are accepted at the editor’s QUAKER SOUTH ASIA Park has recently opened a new discretion in a standard house style. INTEREST GROUP. Annual wing caring for dementia. A gentle discipline will be exerted to Gathering Saturday 22 October, We offer high quality care within a maintain a simplicity of style and 10am-4pm, Westminster Meeting homely atmosphere, to enable resi- wording that excludes terms of dents to maintain as much inde- endearment and words of tribute. House. Visiting Speaker: Jennifer Kavanagh. All welcome. No charge. pendence as feasible, with a busy Deadline usually Monday morning. and varied activities programme. The Friend, 54a Main Street, Enquiries: Convenor Stephen Petter Cononley, Keighley BD20 8LL 0117 972 8054. Join the group by To visit, or for more details, Tel. 01535 630230. emailing: QSAIG_Discussion- just call Louise Steward on Email [email protected] [email protected] 01293 594200.

the Friend, 21 October 2011 17 Ad pages 21 Oct 18/10/11 14:14 Page 4

Classified advertisements George Penaluna, Advertisement Manager, 54a Main Street, Cononley, Keighley BD20 8LL T&F: 01535 630230 E: [email protected]

OVERSEAS HOLIDAYS ALTON QUAKER MEETING where to stay Self-contained, one bedroomed flat adjoining Meeting House, available for GUESTHOUSES, HOTELS, B&BS WOLDS EDGE HOLIDAY LODGES rent from November 2011. Applications Two lovely lodges in the beautiful village from interested Friends or Attenders of Bishop Wilton at the foot of the would be welcomed. Apply Richard LONDON: B&B IN CENTRAL, quiet com- Yorkshire Wolds, near York. Call Ruth and fortable family homes. Double £26 pppn. Santos Tel. 01420 87409 or Clive on 01759 368 490. [email protected] Single £39 pn. Children’s reductions. www.woldsedge.co.uk 020 7385 4904. www.thewaytostay.co.uk FAIRFORD Two bedroom character OVERSEAS HOLIDAYS cottage in centre of Cotswold market Selling your home? town. Offers around £230,000. Telephone 01285 712083 for details. OKOROMAI BAY, AUCKLAND, NZ. Try an ad in the Friend! B&B, beautiful coastal setting adjacent Shakespear Maritime Park. Access to Auckland by car or ferry. On route to room wanted Northland/Bay of Islands. Contact Janis: [email protected] +64 0942 47612. MATURE WOMAN WRITER seeks modest www.shakespearbandb.co.nz room in home living Quaker values, London area. References. [email protected] for sale & to let 07587 109914. BRAMPTON, HUNTINGDON, CAMBS notices 3 double bedroom detached house, with en suite granny flat, lounge, dining room, family bathroom/conservatory. Spacious plot/gardens, carport. Near Village Green. QUAKER FRIENDS OF ISRAEL Excellent school. Train station serving Join our new network. London/North. Huntingdon Meeting Details Sarah Lawson: House. Guide price £300,000. Agent: [email protected] 01480 414800.

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENT ORDER FORM Do not use this form for Births, Marriages & Deaths - see p. 17 Classified advertisements should be prepaid and a minimum of 12 words long. Send to The Friend, Advertisement Dept, 54a Main Street, Cononley Keighley BD20 8LL Tel/fax 01535 630 230 Email [email protected] Please enter my advertisement in The Friend times, under the heading, starting with issue dated I want it to appear: weekly fortnightly monthly on specified dates attached Irequire a box number: Yes No Box number £2 extra per entry. I also want it published on The Friend website at an extra £1 per weekly entry I enclose £...... Please make cheques payable to The Friend Please use BLOCK CAPITALS.

Name Address Postcode Rates per entry: standard linage 52p/word; semi-display format 80p/word. VAT included in rates. Series discount: 5-9 insertions 5%, 10 or more insertions 10%.

18 the Friend, 21 October 2011 Ad pages 21 Oct 18/10/11 14:14 Page 5

miscellaneous

COUNSELLORS SOUGHT for MA research into therapists' perceptions of the role of their personal religious beliefs/practice in their secular therapeutic work. Interviews (in person, or skype) to be recorded Nov/Dec. Contact [email protected] for more information.

QUAKER MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES, partnerships, commitments, notices and other calligraphy. Liz Barrow 01223 369776.

SUSTAINABLE BEECHWOOD FOOTRESTS Make meetings, studying... just sitting... more comfortable. Beautiful, handcrafted footrests, for home, Meeting House and Conference Centre. Made in England. A variety of heights and finishes available. Portable, stackable, easy to wipe clean. As used at Woodbrooke. Contact Denise Ede [email protected] 01422 373705

YOU’LL WALK CHEERFULLY with a copy of the Friend under your arm or in your bag! Subscribe today.

the Friend - Welcome to the Quaker way 24-page, full-colour Outreach issue for use right through 2012 - just £1 a copy post paid! For those who missed the pre-publication offer and for those who want more copies, these are available at £1 each, UK post paid, in units of 10. Don’t miss out on this very well received Outreach resource Order your copies as soon as possible! the Friend - Welcome to the Quaker way, 2011 Outreach issue Number of copies you require: 10 20 30 40 50 60 80 100 Cheque payable to The Friend for: £10 £20 £30 £40 £50 £60 £80 £100 Or debit my card no. ______/______/______/______Card expiry __ __/__ __ Security code ______(Maestro only Issue no. __ __ or start __/__) Your name...... Meeting/Group...... Address for delivery...... Postcode...... Day tel...... Return to: Penny Dunn, The Friend, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. Copies subject to availability.

the Friend, 21 October 2011 19 Ad pages 21 Oct 18/10/11 14:14 Page 6 vol ADVERTISEMENT DEPT EDITORIAL 169 54a Main Street 173 Euston Road Cononley London NW1 2BJ Keighley BD20 8LL T 020 7663 1010 No

T 01535 630 230 F 020 7663 11-82 42 E [email protected] the Friend E [email protected] Outreach issue

Copies of the full colour Outreach issue are still available. Please use the order form overleaf. The Ethical Investment issue is also available at £10 for 10 copies post included.

Quakers in Britain Charney Manor Head of Communication Conference Centre and Services RESIDENT Annual salary: £48,623 rising to £55,795. Based at Friends House, London. 35 hour working week, ASSISTANT with some evening and weekend work required. Charney Manor, our beautiful Are you the innovative leader we need to head the newly- thirteenth century Cotswold manor, is a residential conference formed department of Quaker Communication and Services? and retreat centre owned by the Have you got experience in communications, fundraising, Society of Friends. It is used by event management, provision of membership services or a wide range of groups including governance? Can you get the best from our talented and national charities, educational trusts and religious groups. committed team? The person appointed to succeed Would you like the opportunity to use your skills to serve Quakers the retiring resident assistant will, in Britain, an organisation committed to peace, integrity, as well as being a residential simplicity, sustainability and equality in all its dealings? presence at the manor, work as part of an enthusiastic small team Communication is a vital function and your role will be to embed under the manager to ensure the smooth running of the centre. As it in our working culture and vision developing a service contact with the guests is impor- culture which supports all our work. You will be a member of tant we are looking for someone the Management Meeting, accountable to the Recording with people skills as well as an Clerk. You will need outstanding personal communication and ability to help, and be responsible for, a wide variety of tasks. management skills. Can you demonstrate experience of successfully managing change, creating robust systems and For further details and application developing creativity and leadership skills among your staff? form contact the manager: Gill Peaston, Charney Manor Closing date for applications: 16 November 2011, 5pm. Charney Bassett, Wantage Oxon OX12 0EJ. Interviews: 1 December 2011. Tel. 01235 868206 [email protected] Further details and application pack are available at www.quaker.org.uk/jobs Closing date for applications: Wednesday 9 November 2011. Registered Charity No. 1127633.