Several friends joined with John and his family to celebrate his 90th birthday. John has provided great service to our Meeting and we were overjoyed at being able to celebrate this milestone date with him.
On 11 and 21 November we were visited by local cub scouts keen to earn their ‘World Faiths’ activity badges. As on previous occasions, we gave them a 3-minute silent meeting taster and got them to think about values. As usual, their leaders were staggered by how long they were able to remain quiet and we were all surprised by how profound some of their responses were.
On 10 November Irene laid a wreath of white and red poppies at the Remembrance Sunday event in Jubilee Square. The dedication read, ‘In memory of all the victims of war, including animals. We pray for the day when war is abolished as a method of resolving conflict’. Afterwards a member of the public (wearing an Afghan-style hat) thanked her for laying it.
On Saturday 2 November, we were inspired by a workshop led by The Kindlers. It was on exploring spirituality and we were challenged as to how we experience our spiritual life in everyday activities. The workshop included periods of silent worship, a guided meditation and a short Experiment with Light.
We opened the meeting house for visitors on a Thursday evening and Saturday morning as part of Quaker Week. The idea was to invite our neighbours in Park Road in for coffee and a chat.
We had a mini-display of objects with a Quaker connection (borrowed from our cub scout evenings' memory game) plus dove-shaped biscuits baked by Sheila.
Some of us attended a screening of ‘X Trillion’, a documentary on plastics in the oceans. It was supported by Churches Together in Woking and screened at St Dunstan's church.
The rain didn't do anything to limit the fun and social interaction at a Saturday lunch on 6 July for Quakers and partners, hosted by Des and Sheila at their home in St John's, and the sun eventually came out at the end of the afternoon.
On Saturday 25 May we considered the question, ‘Prison: are there more effective ways of reducing crime?’ We had two excellent speakers to introduce the topic, Alex South, who is an ex-prison officer and author of ‘Behind these Doors’, and Jonathan Ranger, who has been a police officer and has taught Maths and English in prisons.
It was suggested that the fundamental problem is the way we perceive people who commit crime. Some think that we need to make prisons harsher, ruled by fear, with military discipline, yet the statistics show this approach does not work. Ultimately we all need the same things in life. We need to change the discourse of the debate. Politicians are terrified of being perceived as soft on crime, a fear that the media push.
It was suggested that we need to spend more money on children and stopping domestic violence and invest in staff in our prisons.
On 14 April our shared lunch was well attended, with excellent food and good conversation.
On Saturday 23 March the Woking Debate considered, ‘What can be done about the water industry?’, led by three great speakers: Andrew McManus, a local environmental campaigner, Kevin Davis, who has been on the environment group at Woking Borough Council for twelve years, and Angela Shaw, an environmental artist and activist with XR.
There was great agreement amongst speakers and audience on what we need to do. Organisations and people can work together to improve standards and drive issues, we can ask questions at Council meetings, alliance building and continuing to care about these issues are very important. This issue affects us all and we all need to become active and put pressure on the authorities.
The March Quaker Faith and Practice study evening, led by Sheila, was on truth and integrity. It was a small group but we had a most interesting and informative discussion on the three uses of the word Truth, as used by early Quakers, and how nowadays it is generally only understood to mean the avoidance of lies, and honesty when dealing with money, whereas to early Friends 'receiving the Truth of the scriptures' had a transformative power over individuals and in the world.
Several friends were prompted to de-clutter the meeting house and refresh the notice boards. It was good to put new life into the magazine rack and we hope our efforts may catch the eye of some of the visitors using the meeting house during the week.
The flower beds in the garden were also given a good weeding thanks to Sheila, Dai and Julian.
On Saturday 24 February the Woking Debate considered, ‘Will AI do away with work?’ We were fortunate to get a great panel of speakers. The overall feeling was that AI can produce amazing benefits but we need to keep control of it and it needs to be properly regulated. With the benefits come dangers.
How do we get politicians to discuss these issues and care enough about them? We need to join unions and political parties and press these issues within them. We need more politicians with scientific backgrounds.
In February we held our regular Quaker Faith and Practice evening looking at the messages from George Fox about equality. We focused on how the message was still relevant today and in what areas of our lives this challenged us. We may not wear hats to doff ( or not to doff) but how we greet strangers is still relevant and shows our witness.
January 2024
The subject of January's debate was, 'How is Woking Borough Council going to protect vulnerable residents from the forthcoming cuts? It took place at a change of venue for this series, the Woking United Reform Church in White Rose Lane.
The debate was, perhaps unsurprisingly, well-attended: 50 people in the hall and eleven on Zoom. There were five speakers, four Woking Borough Councillors and a teacher and National Education Union member, representing a wide range of local political opinions. Some were focused on trying to do what they could within the spending constraints imposed by central government while others felt that we should protest against them.
At our January Quaker Faith and Practice session we agreed to start a series of evenings looking at quotes from George Fox and how they relate to the Quaker testimonies. The first one will be in February on Equality.
The Woking Debates, which Woking Quakers support, are now in their twelfth year. They aim to encourage active participation in our community by looking at underlying issues facing us. This year six talks have been planned so far on the following subjects:
27 January - How is Woking Borough Council going to protect vulnerable residents from the forthcoming cuts?
24 February - Will A.I. do away with work?
23 March - What can be done about the water industry?
27 April - Why is there still famine?
25 May - Prison: are there more effective ways of reducing crime?
29 June - Why do we allow refugees into our country?
The venue for these talks is different from previous years: they will all take place at the United Reform Church in White Rose Lane GU22 7HA