My World Gathering

In the middle of the Gathering we had an International Dance Night. It was tremendous fun - a chance to watch/take part in all kinds of dancing. One of the early acts introduced himself by saying, "This dance was made famous by our national rugby team" . . .
Jonothan's Haka (Sat night).AVI

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd share this quote with you.

At the world gathering I stumbled into the 'Quaker Queeries' meeting . . . for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transexual Friends. I was touched and impressed at the way these amazing young friends discussed ways of making their presence felt in the wider gathering without offending/hurting any of the other participants. I was also a little shocked to hear some of the things they were having to cope with . . . one had tentatively mentioned homosexuality in her basegroup, only to be told by another Friend that it was immoral and a sin according to the bible. I also found it was a place where I finally started to see some of the diversity at the gathering (the formal presentations were overwhelmingly, and sometimes crushingly, Christocentric and evangelical). I made a bunch of lovely friends there, and joined the email list that was set up. One of the posts to that list included the following quote, which comes from the 'Freedom Friends' website.

Freedom Friends is an unaffiliated, programmed (American I think) Quaker Church that is open and affirming of all people (including and especially GLBTQ).

http://freedomfriends.org/index.htm

"Is it Possible that you might be a Quaker and not know it?"

You might be a Quaker if…

You think listening is at least as important as talking. You think justice means more than just locking up criminals. You are more interested in being like Christ than in being like most Christians. You want to read the Bible but you don't want to be beaten with it. You think the contents of a person's heart is more important than the contents of their house. You are more worried about the Hell that people live in here and now than any Hell they might occupy after death. You think war makes more problems than it solves. You suspect than nobody was ever saved by a ritual. You think mandatory creeds and dogma fit like a strait-jacket. You think the best ministers are often found sitting in the pews. You think investing great leaders with great power is dangerous. You think equality is not so much a goal to be sought, but a fact that is often ignored. You think honesty is not just the best policy, but that it ought to be the only policy. You think that church business should not look like "business as usual". You think that good relationships are more important than good arguments.

Not all of this is 100% a fit with me, but I like the general gist, and love some of the points made. Just thought it might be a good example of what I got out of the Gathering

:0)

"Let us then try what love will do"

Jason sent me this photo of the YFs gathered on Pendle Hill. I didn't actually go on this trip, but I thought you might like to see it anyway because some people at the Gathering felt that it was a really special occurance. I gather that George Fox speaks, in his diaries, of the experience he had on climbing Pendle Hill (pretty much immediately before Quakerism-as-we-know-it sprang into being). He had a vision of a great people gathered together, and the trip up Pendle Hill was supposed to complete that vision.

Those of you who like fantasy books might be wondering, like me, about prophesies and where they lead . . .

What I Learnt at the World Gathering of Young Friends

There are a lot of Quakers in the world! They range from evangelical to atheist to universalist, Christian to anti-Christian, programmed to unprogrammed. Some don’t like the term ‘Quakers’, some belong to churches, some are prophets or mystics or ministers. Young Friends are diverse . . . and there is no common element that binds us together. We don’t fall on a continuum, or even a series of continuums - it’s much more complicated than that!

At the Gathering, participants spoke in different languages. But even within a single language, they spoke with different words. Many people believe that underlying these different forms of expression is a common experience; an essential ‘sameness’. Ideas of this sort were voiced a number of times, especially at the start of the Gathering. This often stemmed from a desire for togetherness and unity in a group that came from different realities. I was touched by the commitment to come together,