the8 March 2019 | £2.00Friend ‘We are committed to fostering a spirit of loving unity within Quakerism.’ Young Friends General Meeting on gender and inclusion 8 Mar 4/3/19 16:18 Page 1 Subscribe today! Make time for theFriend each week For just £1.73 a week you can receive your own copy of the Friend delivered right to your door. Simply send a cheque for £88 (£120 outside the UK) payable to ‘The Friend’ with your name and address. If you prefer to pay by card call 020 7663 1178, or to pay by direct debit (UK only, £7.40 a month or £88 a year) email [email protected] to request a direct debit form. An eight-week trial subscription for just £5 is available by post or telephone. Email: [email protected] Call: 020 7663 1178 Write: Penny Dunn, The Friend, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ Online: www.thefriend.org/subscribe the INDEPENDENTFriend QUAKER JOURNALISM SiNCE 1843 8 March 2019 | Volume 177, No 10 www.thefriend.org News 4 Hate speech, creativity, and more Rebecca Hardy Letters 6 Transgender values 8 Fostering a spirit of unity Young Friends General Meeting trustees Thought for the week 9 Real community Terry Hobday The life of Benjamin Lay 10 Owning an anachronism Simon Webb Cape Town’s peace centre 12 A new direction Carole Rakodi and Carol Bower Review 14 Telling the Truth About God Abigail Maxwell Review 15 Seen and Unseen Roger Iredale Poem 16 The poet, the prophet and the pilgrim Lesley Morris Friends & Meetings 17 All our senses are given to us to enjoy, and to praise God. The smell of the sea, of the blossom borne on the wind, of the soft flesh of a little baby; the taste of a ripe plum or bread fresh from the oven, the feel of warm cat’s fur, or the body of a lover – these are all forms of thanksgiving prayer. I am sure that it is as wrong to fail to delight in our bodies as it is to misuse them through excess. Bella Bown, c.1980 Quaker faith & practice 21.24 regular ‘myth-busters’, such News as one which said: ‘Many people think migrants and [email protected] refugees are still coming to Europe in huge numbers – but in 2018 new asylum requests dropped back to QCEA launches anti- media companies and the below pre-2014 levels.’ hate speech campaign feeling was that no matter It also acts as a ‘hate The Quaker Council for how much they try, it’s speech tracker’ that aims European Affairs (QCEA) never going to be enough to follow as many MEPS has launched a campaign to moderate hate speech and assistants as possible. aimed at tackling anti- effectively. The general Martin Leng explained: migrant hate speech finding is to try and ‘If we see any hateful in preparation for the moderate unpleasant stuff, xenophobic messages, we European Parliamentary but also to encourage more can respond by posting elections in May. positive conversations.’ links to facts and messages The ‘Choose Respect’ Current polling suggests of positivity. It’s only been campaign was started that up to a third of going a week and it’s after QCEA researched seats in the European going really well. We want anti-migrant speech last Parliament may be won as many Europeans as Forbes Barbara year and found that, by the populist right wing. possible to get involved.’ hearing on 15 April will be according to Martin Leng, Inspired by a Swedish cancelled.’ communication and group called ‘I am here’, Stansted Fifteen’s call The activists’ lawyer, fundraising coordinator which tracks online hate back to court a mistake Raj Chada of Hodge Jones for QCEA, ‘hate speech on speech and attempts to The Stansted Fifteen & Allen, said: ‘At least online comment sections counter it by responding protesters have been told HMCTS have retracted is often unchecked and with facts and positivity, that their summons to and apologised to our this has consequences in the ‘Choose Respect’ court on an aggravated clients. It doesn’t take real life’. campaign seeks to ‘build a trespass case last month away from the misery He told the Friend: more positive narrative’. was an ‘error’. that our clients suffered that one study showed A Twitter feed for the The courts apologised over the weekend. that spikes in online hate campaign encourages to the activists who, More importantly, it is speech often correlated followers to respond according to their lawyer, a temporary reprieve as with spikes in hate crimes to xenophobia used by experienced ‘great anxiety the [Crown Prosecution against migrants in the real politicians on the social and distress’ when they Service are] continuing the world. He said: ‘With the media site. One tweet said: received letters from case and want it hanging European elections coming ‘Anti-migrant hate speech Colchester magistrates over our clients like the up, we realised there is all too common – even court ordering them to sword of Damocles – can also be a correlation among Europe’s politicians’. appear on 15 April for this is not in the public between hate speech online It urges social media users a hearing relating to a interest.’ and how people vote. We to ‘work together to get separate charge The Stansted Fifteen, talked to many social informed’, and includes The protestors received which includes Quaker suspended sentences Lyndsay Burtonshaw, WORDS or community orders an attender at Brighton in February after being Meeting, described the convicted of terror-related letters as ‘devastating’. charges for endangering A spokeswoman for Right-wing anti-refugee the safety of an aerodrome the group said: ‘This when they blocked a kind of legal threat and sentiment on Facebook deportation flight at drawn-out prosecution Stansted Airport in 2017. stretching over years is predicts violent crimes A spokesman for HM a small window into the Courts and Tribunal horrendous process people against refugees. Service (HMCTS) said: seeking leave to remain ‘This case was incorrectly with their families and Karsten Müller and Carlo Schwarz listed and letters sent in communities face at the error. We apologise for hands – and the mistaken in their 2018 study ‘Fanning the Flames of any inconvenience this letters – of the Home Hate: Social Media and Hate Crime’. may have caused and the Office every single day.’ 3 4 the Friend 8 March 2019 the Friend, 11 January 2019 Anti-BP protest on or not BP, which organised NUMBERS anniversary of UK’s the protest, said in The peace rally against the Guardian on 16 February: Iraq war ‘There are memos from Sixteen years on since meetings just before the millions of people marched war where the Foreign 25% Office was very clear that against the prospect of of children in Kenya’s tea and coffee-growing regions are a war in Iraq, Quakers BP wanted access to Iraq’s oil, and indeed once the malnourished, leading to stunted growth, according to joined hundreds of the Fairtrade Association. activists at the British war was over BP was the Museum to protest against first foreign company into its sponsorship by BP. Iraq.’ Quakers at Church and Manchester Friend’s The 350-strong A statement from the Peace gathering ‘biscuit challenge’ British Museum said: demonstration on 16 Quakers from around A Quaker intends to ‘The objects from… February was prompted by Britain made up about half launch a ‘Quaker biscuit [the] collection in [the] the multinational’s impact of the participants who challenge’ in response to “I am Ashurbanipal” on climate change and gathered in Birmingham discussions at the Spring exhibition were collected allegations that it lobbied on 23 February for the Gathering on Sustainability and excavated with the the British government third annual Church and organised by Manchester full knowledge and before the Iraq war in an Peace (C&P) gathering and Warrington Area permission of the Ottoman attempt to gain access to (see photo, left). The topic, Meeting last month. government, who gave the country’s oil reserves. ‘Peace is not a fairy-tale – Around fifty Friends permission for the objects The protest marked the we have to work to make it met at Central Manchester to be exported.’ anniversary of what is happen’, had been devised Meeting House on 16 regarded as the UK’s by C&P in conjunction February to debate climate biggest peace rally when Quaker author gives with the Fellowship of change and what steps they around 1.5 million people workshop on creativity Reconciliation. could take to fulfil their gathered in London on 15 Twelve Friends attended Barbara Forbes, member Canterbury Commitment February 2003. Winchmore Hill Meeting of Central England Area on Sustainability (see Elizabeth Cave, member House on 24 February for Meeting and also the photo, below). During an of Ealing Meeting, told the a workshop with Quaker board member of C&P for afternoon ‘Open Space’ Friend that she protested author Stephen Cox. The Britain and Ireland, told event, which had no pre- at the British Museum debut novelist of Our Child the Friend: ‘An inspiring determined agenda, the because ‘the world has of the Stars talked about and thought-provoking ethical complexities of to give up fossil fuels. BP the link between Quaker talk by Al Barrett, a local eating biscuits at Meetings promote itself as a benign silence and creativity. vicar, set the scene for was raised, as well as other actor through these high He told the Friend: our discussions... which sustainability actions. profile sponsorships when ‘I’m trying to reflect interpreted peace in the Thanos Konstantinidis, it actually does enormous on the links between widest possible sense, who was on the organising damage in Nigeria and the creativity and the Spirit.