Among FriendsNo 146: Autumn 2019 Published by the Europe and Middle East Section of Friends World Committee for Consultation Exec Secretary: Marisa Johnson, P.O. Box 1157, Histon, Cambridge CB24 9XQ, UK [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)122 347 9585 EMES in the autumn Dear Friends, I am starting to learn how quickly the deadline for Among Friends comes round. It feels like only a few weeks since the last one! Autumn 2019 is proving to be a busy one for me and I thought you would be interested to hear some of what is going on for the EMES staff right now. In mid-November I will be attending part of the Europe & Middle East Young Friends (EMEYF) annual meeting at Quaker House in Brussels. Although EMES is for Friends of all ages we recognise that EMEYF has a particular role to fill for Young Adult Friends in our Section. Visiting the EMEYF annual meeting will be particularly special for me not least Picture of the Old Abbey, Kortenberg because I met my wife at the EMEYF Photo: Michael Eccles annual meeting 20 years ago! I am also looking forward to considering how we can continue 22 Friends will be gathered to consider public witness to develop and strengthen the relationship between and in particular, how we protest. On the Saturday EMES and EMEYF. morning three speakers from the Northern Friends Towards the end of November the EMES Peace & Peace Board, Roots of Resistance and Stop Fuelling Service Consultation is taking place at the Old Abbey War will share something of their experience of protests in Kortenberg, just outside Brussels. This year around those organisations have been involved with, how and why they feel it works and what lessons have been learned for future protests. Inside this issue: We are also beginning to start working on the details CYP weekend in Brussels 2 for the next EMES annual meeting, which will be A Quaker hospice in Switzerland? 3 held in Paris on the 30 April – 3 May 2020, when – Family weekend in Woodbrooke 4 amongst other things – we shall be saying goodbye to Travelling young ministers from Marisa Johnson, our current Executive Secretary. This the FWCC Section of the Americas 5 explains my change of job title to Executive Secretary Goodbye Am’ari Play Centre 6-7 Designate, which was approved by the EMES Executive EMEYF Equality/Gleichwürdigkeit Committee at its September meeting. Watch the #TestimonyTrain? 8 website and your inboxes for more information about Paris Peace Conference report 9 the 2020 Annual Meeting in the coming weeks. QUNO 10 Woodbrooke News 11 Michael Eccles, Executive Secretary Designate, Diary Dates 12 FWCC-EMES Page 2 Entre Amis Bayn Al-Ashab Onder Vrienden Ynter Kerens Среди Друзей EMES Children & Young People’s Consultation Michael Eccles, Executive Secretary Designate, FWCC- EMES, writes: 18 Friends gathered at Quaker House, Brussels for this event facilitated by Annie Janssen (German YM) and Michael Eccles (EMES) over the weekend of the 5th - 7th July. The Friends present represented the following meetings: Europe & Middle East Young Friends, German YM, Ireland CYP participants outside Quaker House, Brussels Photo: Michael Eccles YM, Netherlands YM, Norway YM and older – at the juniors’ request. Older Friends spent Switzerland YM. time considering how we can best stay in touch and One of the first things we realised was that we don’t have keep each other informed of events going on around common terminology (in any language) about what to Europe for juniors. One change we agreed was to use call young people of different ages, often known as the EMES website calendar to advertise activities for Young Friends. We agreed to use the following terms: Friends of all ages, and we are experimenting with • 12-18 year olds would be known as Juniors different ways of identifying these events. (although we later created a subcategory of senior- After our separate meetings, the juniors brought juniors, for those aged 16-18). Sometimes also a proposal for a new event for 16-18 year olds (or known as ‘young people’ senior-juniors). They introduced their ideas, and we • 18-35(ish) year olds would be called Young Adult ended up with a proposal that we all united behind in Friends (YAFs) a worshipful session after our evening meal for an event which will take place on the 27th - 30th December at We then spent time in country groups mapping Quäkerhaus in Bad Pyrmont, Germany. They hope (literally as Friends were asked to cut their sheets of to consider what it means to be a young Friend in the paper into an outline of their country!) activities for world today. Look out for more information on the juniors. There are already a variety of activities going EMES website! on around the Section and quite a bit of intervisitation already going on; many mainland-European Friends We went on to consider a number of other issues, have visited Britain YM, Irish juniors have regularly including a future all-age gathering for EMES, and attended the Yorkshire Holiday School in Britain for whether we should have a children’s programme at many years and there are well-developed plans for a EMES annual meetings. group of Norwegian juniors to visit the German YM If you want to know more about the weekend or any Easter camp in 2020. of this work, please get in touch with Michael Eccles After lunch we met in two groups – younger and on [email protected]. Page 3 Серед Друзів Unter Freunden Entre Amigos Bland Venner Among Friends A Quaker Hospice in Switzerland? Othmar F. Arnold, Switzerland Yearly Meeting, writes: The kingdom of God has little to do with church and religion - serving God is about serving humanity.(Leonhard Ragaz) The project “Old Cheese Dairy” in Tenna is a civil-society initiative based on a leading by an individual Friend, financially supported by Friends from Switzerland, Germany and Canada. New Life for an old Cheese Factory in Safien Valley The Tenna Hospice Association is Photo: Othmar F. Arnold building spirited space for communal- living during the last period of life. as ambulatory nursing and palliative care services. A The entire project is inspired by Quaker and Franciscan 24-hour presence will address human security and the spirituality. The building and the concept of care ills of social isolation and loneliness. embody community, equality, integrity and simplicity. Members of the Tenna Hospice Association develop a The ageing and the dying are valued as unique human high competency in palliative, dementia, and spiritual beings in the image of God. They are not failing bodies care. A network of health professionals will support with multi-morbidity that need to be treated. Each this initiative. The ongoing operations will be self- person is viewed as self-determining and capable, supporting. Residential fees will be significantly lower regardless of changing faculties and agency. And it is than in a care home. A solidarity fund will raise money Spirit-led, an expression of lived faith. for situations of hardship and uninsured care needs. Living well and in dignity to the last breath and The construction project will cost CHF 3.5 Mio. being able to die in peace are universal human needs. 80% of the donations come from people with strong In a remote area it is difficult to age in place. I have ties to the Safien Valley. In order to offer living witnessed - with increasing mobility challenges or space at an affordable rate for everyone, the Tenna failing memory - how it becomes too cumbersome to Hospice Association is still looking for CHF 700’000 live in a 300-year-old farm house on a steep slope. Or, in donations, interest free loans, or legacies. The when a partner dies, it becomes too lonely to remain completion is expected by the end of 2020. at home. With the transition from extended family Friends in Switzerland take a keen interest in this networks to small nuclear families, it is the right time hospice project. The topics of ageing and dying have to create a special care place in this mountain region been on the agenda of several gatherings in recent for those who can no longer manage at home, and for years. Friends also care about the implications of the those who do not want to move to a care institution ever-rising cost of care. This initiative is supported as in an urban environment. a local service project by the Zurich Worship group The Tenna Hospice Association is building a dwelling and Geneva MM. with six housing units that are barrier-free. People For more information (mostly in German) visit our with varied abilities and care needs will form an website at www.tennahospiz.ch, or write to othmar@ intentional community, with continued support, care, tennahospiz.ch. Postal Address: Ausserberg 30, CH and assistance from family caregivers, volunteers as well 7106 Tenna GR, Switzerland Page 4 Entre Amis Bayn Al-Ashab Onder Vrienden Ynter Kerens Среди Друзей Families exploring love at Woodbrooke Solveig-Karin Erdal, Sweden YM, writes: In July, Woodbrooke was somewhat livelier than we imagine it is usually, with children exploring the paths in the garden and making use of the toys and sport equipment. Woodbrooke had a family weekend, with a course on Being a Quaker Parent for parents and some grandparents, and Exploring Worship as the theme for the children who gathered in groups from the very youngest ones to the teenagers. We, one family from the very north and another from the very south of Sweden, went to get more insight into what is particular to being a Quaker parent and let our children learn more about Quakers.