This gallery contains 11 photos.
Several of the Clerks visited Zimbabwe in June. Below is a selection of pictures from the blessed time spent together.
The 6th August 2015 will be the 60th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
British Quakers are drawing attention to this date, and are planning an anti-war commemoration on that date.
Local Meetings may want to think of activities they would like to participate in or organize. Visit the Quakers in Britain Hiroshima and Nagasaki Interfaith Commemoration web page to find out more.
Janneke with her regular companion, a cup of coffee!
Dignity: The Essential Role it Plays in Resolving Conflict
by Donna Hicks, Ph.D, (2011)
Forward by Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
Book Review by Janneke Weidema, Pretoria Worship Group — July 2015
I was excited to read this book, because of the title and subtitle of this book, especially the link with resolving conflict. I could relate this to my own life, and being a peace monitor during and after the struggle times in South Africa. This subject also relates to many of the current issues in South Africa, for example, keeping or removing statues of imperial or apartheid leaders, such as Cecil Rhodes at the University of Cape Town. I also think that many white people in South Africa don’t understand or ignore the psychological damage that apartheid did to black South Africans. And black South Africans don’t always acknowledge this either.
The author begins by describing how she discovered the importance of dignity in conflict resolution. She describes this almost as a “crash conversion” to the idea, and her dignity model was born. She defines what she understands as dignity, and she devotes a chapter to each aspect. She also describes how dignity underlies, and can be used, in conflict resolution.
The book is well written. However, it is quite descriptive, and would have benefited from more discussion and analysis. The author also seems at times to overstate the importance of dignity in conflict resolution. While dignity is important, it is not the sole contributor to conflict resolution.
I feel that reading the book would be valuable for most South Africans. It would be good for whites to become more sensitive to the hurt apartheid did to their fellow black South Africans. And reading this book would be a useful way for black South Africans to become more conscious of the issue of dignity, and to face the pain of apartheid. Thus, the book would help the many sides of South Africa.
And for Quakers, we focus on “that of God in everyone”, and the issue of dignity is very relevant to us. We all need to understand that a major source of many accusations of racism is the pain and hurt of apartheid. We need to individually and collectively recognize the importance of dignity and the pain and hurt of those who have had their dignity taken from them if we are to collectively move forward and not remain imprisoned by our past.
— Janneke Weidema
The July 2015 edition of the Southern Africa Quaker News is out, and can be downloaded from this page. It has also been printed and is available to Friends via their Meetings.
The cover of this edition features a photograph of little-known Quaker, William Lidbetter. A British emigrant, he first worked as a cabinet-maker, but transformed his photographic hobby into his main occupation. He was a photographer in Cradock during the first half of the 20th Century. The article about his life is on page 18.
In this edition:
Download the new edition here: SA Quaker News, July 2015
Lucas Makhobela made “Quaker Meeting” signs for the Pretoria Worship Group. Nancy can provide measurements and directions for others wanting to make their own signs.
Questioning the creeping militarisation of schools, this short film from Quaker Peace & Social Witness brings together voices from education, the armed forces and public life. http://www.unseenmarch.org.uk/
One of the Quaker Week 2015 posters
Every autumn, the British Friends hold Quaker Week, a national event in which they particularly encourage meetings to think about outreach and perhaps to organise an outreach event. Whilst many meetings do outreach all year round, Quaker Week offers a time to focus on all the things we do that enable people to discover more about Quakers and the Quaker way.
This year’s theme is Live Adventurously — When choices arise, do you take the way that offers the fullest opportunity for the use of your gifts in the service of God and the community? Advices & Queries 27
To help with planning for Quaker Week events you can visit the Quakers in Britain website, and you might like to download one of the following documents (we provide direct links below for your convenience):
The BYM Yearly Meeting 2015 Swarthmore Lecture is available to on the
Woodbrooke Centre site. It can be listened to on line, or downloaded.
The UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), regulating the international trade in conventional arms
The ATT is the first legally binding instrument to regulate global trade of conventional arms. It entered into force on 24 December 2014 and has currently 67 States Parties, of which 10 are in Africa (Burkina Faso, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and South Africa). A total of 130 States, including 67 in Africa, have signed the Treaty
UNREC has been actively engaged in assisting African States in implementing the ATT and encourages all African States to sign and ratify the Treaty at the earliest opportunity.
To see the whole of the May edition of UNREC Focus, click here: UNREC Focus May 2015
Dear Friends,
Last weekend at Woodbrooke, Friends from across Europe and the Middle East came together for the Annual Meeting of Friends World Committee for Consultation, Europe and Middle East Section (FWCC-EMES). The gathering was enriched by Friends from further afield too, as the Central Executive Committee of FWCC joined us, including Quakers from South America, Kenya, Australia and New Zealand.
Our gathering reflected on the Kabarak call to eco-justice and peace from 2012, and the call for a pilgrimage of peace and justice from the World Council of Churches in Busan, 2013. It also looked forward to the World Plenary Meeting of FWCC in Pisac, Peru in January 2016. The gathering was thus rich with the sense of being on a journey, of trying to take steps towards those lofty goals, and of trying to shape where our journeys might take us.
I wonder whether there are other Friends on the network who might want to share any thoughts or experiences from the gathering – please feel free
For more details, you can find the epistle here: http://www.fwccemes.org/news/epistle-of-emes-annual-meeting-2015
In Friendship,
George Thurley
