Yearly Meeting
of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain
Friends House 173 Euston Road London NW1 2BJ Tel:
02076631000 Fax: 02076631001 Web: http://www.quaker.org.uk Recording Clerk:
Elsa Dicks
The Epistle of Britain Yearly Meeting - Quakers
Loving greetings to Friends everywhere from Britain
Yearly Meeting held in London 3-6 May, 2002.
In this year, seen as the 350th anniversary of the
birth of Quakerism, we meet in grateful remembrance of the Friends, known and
unknown, who have maintained our Society over centuries; we have been reminded,
in epistles received from other yearly meetings, of those who sustain Quaker
witness in other parts of the world. We give thanks for them all.
Since the terrifying events of last September, our
world seems to have grown more troubled and divided. The challenge for us is to
continue working for peace, individually and with others, and to remain
faithful witnesses, searching together in the loving presence of God, from whom
we derive our strength. All is possible if we have faith.
We have been inspired by the words of Dag
Hammarskjold: For all that has been -thanks, to all that shall be -yes. We
must not allow fear to prevent us from engaging in the difficult or the
apparently impossible, but show courage in continuing the bold experiment which
began in the seventeenth century.
We have reflected on the meaning of Gospel Order, an
order 'not of man nor by man' but from God, whose Power gathers, guides and orders
us, at every level. It begins within ourselves as we experience Gospel Order in
our daily lives. In all our work, we should be true to the principles of
integrity, transparency and accountability.
We have been told of radical projects, at home and abroad,
such as Turning The Tide, which
teaches methods of nonviolent protest,
Circles of Support and Accountability working with released sex offenders, and,
in partnership with a local Muslim group, supporting children truamatised by
the war in former Yugoslavia. These strengthen our faith in the power of
goodness and love which transforms people and shows us that there is light in
the darkness.
We have been challenged by our younger Friends to
recognise and confront problems of exclusion in our local communities by
accepting each other as we are and being faithful even in small things. We have
heard many stories of individual work with the disadvantaged of our society,
homeless people, asylum seekers and others. We recognise the on-going nature of
the problems they face. We have been empowered by sharing examples of our local
work, which have surprised us by what we can accomplish.
In our response to conflict, how do we speak peace to
power? What is our prophetic ministry for this time? We can turn the
world upside down daily with the weapons of the spirit rather than the
addictive tools of war. We can all strengthen each other's will to goodness.
We have come together in prayer, celebrating our joy
in relationships, laughing together, openly sharing our spiritual journeys, and
seeking vision and guidance, that we may continue to answer the promptings of
love and truth in our hearts.
With God's grace may we be able to say,
like Isaiah: 'Here am I, send me' and then to persevere cheerfully with the
task laid upon us.
Peter Eccles Clerk
Elsa Dicks Recording Clerk