Green Matters
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Brighton Friends News A Monthly Publication of Brighton Quaker Meeting February 2020 www.brightonquakers.net Issue 303 Holocaust Memorial Day 2020 Holocaust Memorial Day in Brighton Meeting House. Last year six of us formed a group to plan what we might do in 2020 to honour the Holocaust and the many other similar atrocities that have happened since. This is a tradition in Brighton Meeting. We often just have a silent Vigil with candles available to light, held on the nearest Sunday to the 27th. January 2020 marked the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz as well as 25 years since the genocides in Bosnia. This has increased the public focus on the issue and made it more important that Quakers host an event. Our plans evolved as we made contact with partner groups. We arranged two main speakers - Anthea Ballam, Co-Chair of Brighton & Hove Interfaith Contact Group, and David Selo, a member of the Liberal Synagogue in Hove, as well as the Interfaith Group. We also invited Maggie Hall from the Humanist Society to read a poem. We felt that some music would enhance the event and we were fortunate that Caroline Kendall was able to come with her guitar. We invited the Mayor and the Lord Lieutenant but neither was able to attend. However, the Deputy Lieutenant, Mrs Maureen Chowen and her husband Michael Chowen were able to be with us. Friends prepared the room, put out tables with candles and adjusted the lighting appropriately in time for the Vigil to begin at 3pm. I arrived at 3.45 and walked into a profound and gathered silence which remained, in spite of people coming and going. Several more people came in when the Vigil ended and the speakers took their places. I began by welcoming everyone and introducing the speakers, then read from Quaker Faith & Practice Chapter 24.24. The Deputy Lieutenant spoke next, reiterating a recent speech by Charles Windsor at the Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel. Caroline played and sang, in Spanish and English, a song called El Derecho de Vivir en Paz (The Right to live in Peace) by Victor Jara, a Chilean song writer. She later sang a prayer, “God help us”, from the Quaker Songbook, the words by Michael Leunig. Maggie read the moving poem by Martin Niemüller, Lutheran Pastor, “First they came for the Communists...”. Then we heard from David about his direct family links to the Holocaust, and heard readings of experiences of Auschwitz by 1 some survivors, as well as the account of Bosnian Muslims. Anthea’s talk stressed the importance of not being complacent. She reminded us that right now there are 40 known wars taking place and that people are being detained right now in UK Removal Centres. She ended by saying that we need to cherish and respect each other, to celebrate each other’s differences in terms of ideas, skin colour, beliefs and enthusiasms...we learn nothing from exterminating each other but we do learn from revering and celebrating life itself. See the whole of her talk by going to www.antbeat.co.uk. We finished with a few moments of silence out of which Caroline sang the Celtic Blessing ‘Deep peace of the running wave to you’. This was a sombre event, very appropriately held in the Meeting House; a significant meeting point for those of all faiths and none in the city. Vivienne Ross and other Friends present on the day 02/02/2020 University of Sussex As part of my role as University Chaplain I run two weekly guided meditations to which all are invited. Experiment with Light on Tuesdays is a guided meditation based on the Quaker practice devised by Rex Ambler in response to his research on spiritual practices of early Quakers, gained from their writings. These sessions are drop-in and can be attended by anyone, and are facilitated by a real human being, not simply a recording. The extensive period of reflection and sharing, common in Quaker Light groups, is omitted at the University for practical reasons of time and confidentiality, but the facilitator is available afterwards to answer any questions or address any issues that came up. Focusing meditation on most Thursdays is a similar guided meditation based this time on the work of Eugene Gendlin at the University of Chicago in the 60s, who asked why conventional psychotherapy was not more effective. He identified a common attitude on the part of successfully treated patients that involved them attending to an ill-defined physical feeling, or "felt sense", that embodied the whole situation in which they found themselves. By carefully listening and inner dialogue with this felt sense, the Focuser can gain insights not available to rational analysis. The meditation presented here provides a taste of this process in a safe framework and is informed by the facilitator’s study towards a Basic Certificate in Focusing with a British Focusing Association accredited trainer. Again, it is a drop-in and the facilitator is available afterwards. Both sessions take place in the University Meeting House chapel from 1.00 to 1.30. All are welcome. Please contact me if you need directions or accessibility information. Jason Evans. University of Sussex Quaker Chaplain FOOD BANK -- Please Remember -- FOOD BANK --- FOOD BANK 2 March – Free will-writing month Information from Pat Norman To have your will written for free, email your full name and address to [email protected] or phone 020 7033 1657 to request a referral. Amnesty International will refer you to the National Free Wills Network who will send you contact details for the six solicitors nearest you. (I suggest doing this asap as there are only a limited number of opportunities and they go quickly. Editor) https://www.amnesty.org.uk/makeawill If you wish to make a bequest to Britain Yearly Meeting or your Area or Local Meeting please go to https://go.aws/2GT9CZj for more information and the required wording ……Friends should make wills in time of health and should obtain professional advice. Wills should be reviewed from time to time, as due to change of circumstances it may be wise for new wills to be made. …. Quaker Faith & Practice 20.65 Fairtrade Fortnight Each year at the Meeting House we mark Fairtade Fortnight, 24th February to March 8th this year. The purpose of the nationwide event is to highlight the lives of the people who grow much of our food and drink, and grow cotton for our clothes. These are people who are often overlooked, exploited and underpaid. This year the focus is on cocoa, and the special role women farmers play in the journey to achieve living incomes for communities in great poverty. As usual we will have a display of materials from the Fairtrade Foundation informing us of the lives of the many people who need our support. The Foundation also has an excellent website full of information about how we can help more. We also hope to have a quilt, made by a women's collective in India, on display and for sale. Please look at the displays during the fortnight and choose Fairtrade produce whenever you can. It does make a difference. www.fairtrade.org.uk FOOD BANK -- Please Remember -- FOOD BANK --- FOOD BANK 3 The Feast of Silence I wrote this poem after attending a retreat where meals were held in silence. The Feast of Silence Fancy a morsel? If you’re a bit peckish, try a bite of stillness ….. There, how was that? A previous moment: a silent bite. Or maybe you’ve not eaten for a while, so enjoy a sharing platter! Enough silence for all But remember please To give a little peace to your neighbour. Still hungry? Here comes the main course: A whole bowl of stillness with side dishes Carefully crafted by each one of us with our thoughts, Warm, dry, sour sweet, bitter, cold, hot, some too spicy for your liking? Mix together these wordless bowls and eat your fill! Leave in your minds no words, just fill your hearts with care! There! The Feast of Silence. And yes, here is a doggy bag of fellowship and friendship to take home for others when we go. Hugh Parrott Global Tots Our last "Global Tots" on 28th December was one of our best attended, with 10 children and 10 adults. Four of these were some of our stalwart helpers from Brighton and Ditchling Meetings. Numbers coming to the ‘Stay and Play’ fluctuate, but there are quite a few regulars now. Our provision for older siblings in the school holidays seems to be greatly appreciated as many groups close completely at this time. We have revised our flyer to include older and younger women, and "Mums needing help with English who are new to Brighton", thus removing any stigma which could be felt with reference to "refugees and migrants" They do seem to enjoy the friendly atmosphere, and while we provide healthy snacks for the children, mothers now often bring home-baked contributions to share. The budget from our last Appeal has so far been sufficient for buying snacks and helping with bus fares, and should not require topping up until next year. We would always welcome more volunteers, even on an occasional basis, because this gives us a better ratio for our English language support. We are most grateful for all those who help set up the room after Meeting on Sundays. Angela Bargawi. 5 January 2020 FOOD BANK -- Please Remember -- FOOD BANK --- FOOD BANK 4 Nontheist Friends Network That’s the spirit! Dimensions of spirituality Weekend Conference, 28 and 29 March 2020, Friends House, London • What do we mean by spirit and spirituality? • Has our understanding of these words evolved? • Are these words useful today? Keynote speakers: • Gill Pennington, former Spirituality Tutor, Woodbrooke Study Centre • Andrew Copson, Chief Executive, Humanists UK • Dinah Livingstone, editor of Sofia (Sea of Faith magazine) £50 including dinner on the Saturday night and lunch on Sunday.