Our Quaker Faith and Practice evening this month on faith and action was a fruitful time of sharing and acknowledging that our social actions are nourished by spiritual experiences.
Keith spoke at the International Day of Peace event in Woking town centre on 26 September. This is an annual event organised by Woking People of Faith: the mayor presented prizes to local schoolchildren for their peace-themed poems and posters, speakers from local places of worship read from the Peace Document, a minute’s silence was observed for the victims of war, and there was live music from local musicians and henna painting.
On 18 July our shared lunch was hosted by Des and Sheila in the garden of their home in St John's. Instead of worrying about rain as in past summers, we were all very grateful for the shade thoughtfully provided.
Our monthly Quaker Faith and Practice listening group focused on Education, looking at chapter 23, sections 71-85. As always, it was an interesting time of sharing, helping us better understand and appreciate each other.
At our shared lunch a local Jewish couple told us about their daily lives and how they are being affected by the recent rise in antisemitism.
We continued with the sections in Quaker Faith and Practice, on social justice, and poverty and housing for our study group evening.
We continued with our monthly study/sharing evenings, this time looking at the chapter on Social Responsibility in Quaker Faith and Practice. As it has 103 sections, we anticipate spending several sessions on it.
On 8 March we had one of our regular shared lunches after Meeting for Worship. We also took this opportunity to discuss the proposed amalgamation of some of the responsibilities of our Area Meeting and others into a south-east regional organisation.
On 4 March we had another visit by a cub scout group to find out about Quakers for their World Faiths activity badges. This time, as this group meet on a Wednesday which is when our only regular users meet, we hosted their visit at the United Reform church.
As usual, the adults were greatly surprised by the children’s ability to sit quietly and listen, and we were impressed by the thoughtfulness of their responses to the material we presented to them.
In January and February our sharing/study group has continued working through Quaker Faith and Practice chapter 26. Some of the paragraphs which at first seemed dull and dry have triggered deep sharing and provided inspiration for our Quaker life.