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25 September 2020 | £2.00 the Friend ‘It must be ours like the air and the sunshine.’ The Quaker call for a universal basic income, 1918
25 September 2020 | £2.00the Friend
‘It must be ours like the air and the sunshine.’
The Quaker call for a universal basic
income, 1918
THE KEITHIAN CONTROVERSY: EARLY QUAKERS AND JESUS
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12 OCT - 21 NOV 2020
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Each week, learners will be introduced to familiar personalities from the Quaker past through the lens of an ancient author. The object of this learning style is to help participants explore the Quaker Way with fresh eyes. Tutor: Ben Wood
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How did the early Quakers understand the relationship between Quakerism and Christianity? What is the significance of the historical Jesus to Quaker spirituality? These were the central issues in the Keithian controversy: a 17th-century dispute where Quaker leader George Keith was accused of focusing too heavily on the historical Jesus in his preaching. This course will introduce Keith, explore the main events and causes of the controversy, and consider its significance today. Tutor: Maddy Pennington
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the FriendINDEPENDENT QUAKER JOURNALISM SINCE 1843
25 September 2020 | Volume 178, No 39www.thefriend.org
NewsQuaker Week, crime and more
Letters
More than a feelingA sense of knowing
Thought for the weekUp the Chardin path
Political animalPandemic joblessness
Universal appealScheme for a State Bonus
Review Disturbance: Surviving Charlie Hebdo
PoemWild Olympians
Friends & Meetings
4Rebecca Hardy
6
8Christine Downes-Grainger
9 Daniel Clarke Flynn
10Adrienne Frazer
12Joseph Jones
14Anne M Jones
16Ann Banks
17
Nationally we have to face up to the fact that deprived areas are distinguished as much by personal as by collective poverty, and that the only way to tackle personal poverty is to let people have more money. More money for some inevitably means
less for others. Are we willing to press for this?
Martin Wyatt, 1986.
Quaker faith & practice 23.49
4 the Friend 25 September 2020
Ready for Quaker WeekGretchen Castle, general secretary of Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) – World Office, has said that Quakers have much to celebrate despite ‘the depths of grief ’, as Friends get ready for Quaker Week 2020 and World Quaker Day (WQD).
‘During this time of distressing news and seemingly endless uncertainty, we go back and forth between feeling the depths of grief and the opening of fresh gratitude,’ she told the Friend. ‘As Quakers, whatever is happening around us, we have so much to celebrate: we have hope through our shared faith and God’s constant presence, and we belong to a family of Friends, both local and global, that assures us we are not alone. World Quaker Day allows us to remember the rich privilege of being together in God’s care. From the West Pacific, to Africa and Europe, to the Americas, we celebrate our precious world, our Quaker ways of worship,
and our lives that speak of love and generosity. What a joy to come together. And this year we ask ourselves: “What does it mean to be a Quaker today? Living a faithful life in a changing world.” This query has never felt so relevant.’
As Friends grappled with how to mark Quaker Week, from 2-11 October, or WQD on 4 October, given the outreach challenges of the times, many have been posting images of themselves or inspirational Quaker figures on Instagram. Using the #QuakerStories hashtag, the posts respond to the question: ‘How does being a Quaker shape your life and actions?’ According to the Quakers in Britain website, the Quaker Week theme ‘has a whole new meaning as Quakers and our communities navigate the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic’.
‘Many of the staff who support Friends to create interesting and exciting opportunities for Quaker Week are currently on furlough,’ it said.
Meanwhile, Faith
Brindle, sustainability and communications support officer for FWCC, said: ‘This year (as you can imagine) will be a slightly different WQD as we can’t encourage physical gatherings, but Section of the Americas (SOA), Europe and the Middle East Section (EMES), and the Africa section are all welcoming Friends to join for a WQD online service. You can find the links to these on the WQD resources page: http://www.worldquakerday.org/resources.’
Winchmore Hill Friend asks for ITA Quaker councillor from Winchmore Hill Meeting is working with a social enterprise to drum up old but still usable laptops to cover the digital divide exposed by Covid-19.
Dinah Barry told the Friend that she was looking for donations to support the company SocialBox.Biz, founded by Peter Paduh, an unaccompanied child refugee who came to the UK from the Balkans.
‘SocialBox.Biz is a Community Interest Company that collects unwanted tech equipment, repairs and updates it, and gives it to people who need it to stay in touch with those they care about,’ she said. ‘The original focus was on refugees and people who are homeless, but during Covid this has extended to people living in isolation, especially the elderly.’
Dinah Barry was asked to make contact with Quaker organisations thar may have unneeded devices to donate. According to Peter Paduh,
the Quaker-managed Breckenbrough School in North Yorkshire has responded to requests after a colleague contacted 1,000 schools from The Good Schools Guide. The school replied: ‘As a Quaker-managed school we always look to recycle and reuse items as much as we can so your project certainly calls out to us.’
Quaker building survives US firesThe grounds of a Quaker Meeting house in California sustained significant damage to water lines after firefighters battled one of the wildfires sweeping parts of the US.
The directors of the Ben Lomond Quaker Center are back onsite after the building was evacuated for three weeks due to the fires in Santa Cruz County.
Co-director Bob Fisher told the Friend: ‘The fire came within a few hundred yards of our buildings but was stopped by the local volunteer fire department with help from CalFire and a small team sent by our insurance company… While none of our buildings have been directly affected, about 1,700 feet of our spring-fed water lines were compromised and about two-years worth of firewood was destroyed. We are very concerned about the probability of serious erosion and possible mudslides in our southern parcel… We’re all struggling with the poor air quality, smoke and ash everywhere.’
The centre may now need to spend ‘tens of
WORDS
‘The facts are the facts.’
California’s governor Gavin Newsom’s stark warning on the climate crisis.
the Friend 25 September 2020 5
thousands of dollars’ on erosion control, fire prevention and replacing the water lines. This will add to a growing deficit, caused by the financial fall-out from the Covid-19 pandemic. ‘West Coast Friends have been very generous in their spiritual and financial support,’ he added. ‘Our concern is that many of these same Friends have faced evacuations and financial hardships as well.’
According to Bob Fisher: ‘Over 970 homes were destroyed, many within a mile or two of Quaker Center. I’m pretty sure that some were within half a mile.’
The centre is hosting an online programme of events, including its first online session: ‘Living Into the Promise’, with fifty-one attending.
At the time of writing, California is battling more than twenty-four large fires, in which at least twenty-five people have died. Donations can be made on the Quaker centre’s website.
BYM backs coalition to halt cycle of crimeBritain Yearly Meeting (BYM) is supporting a coalition including police and crime commissioners that is committed to
preventing young people being pulled into a cycle of crime and crisis. Led by Revolving Doors Agency, the coalition says a smarter criminal justice system would intervene earlier to prevent ‘a revolving door of crisis and crime that destroys lives, families and communities’.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for BYM, signed a letter published in the Daily Telegraph on 21 August saying that 50,000 cautions or convictions handed to eighteen- to twenty-five-year-olds, for low-level and non-violent crimes, like theft, dominate their criminal records in later life. It said people who repeatedly offend now account for nearly forty per cent of all offenders.
The letter says: ‘the preventative measures taken by police and Youth Offending Teams have shown what is possible, reducing the number of children entering the criminal justice system to the lowest levels on record’.
International Day of Peace is markedOver ten Quaker groups joined around 170 organisations in signing an International Day of Peace statement calling
for the international community to ‘mainstream peace in the response to Covid-19’.
‘Peace is under threat,’ the statement says, partly drafted by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) to mark the day on 21 September. ‘The United Nations was founded to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” But the steady progress that has been made towards building, keeping and sustaining peace is now threatened.’
‘Our hearts go out to those suffering today, in the sober knowledge that this may be a foretaste of the disruptions that may arise in the years to come,’ said Andrew Tomlinson, director of QUNO.
‘If we are to meet the challenges of tomorrow, we must recommit to peace today.’
The statement was released as the seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly and High-Level Debate opened. Quaker signatories include American Friends Service Committee, Canadian Friends Service Committee, Friends World Committee for Consultation – World Office, Quaker Council for European Affairs, Quaker Peace & Social Witness, Quaker Service and STOP FUELING WAR.
Oxford Friend is Quaker chaplainAn Oxford Friend has become what is thought to be the first Quaker chaplain of a University of Oxford college.
Historian Suzan Meryem Rosita Kalayci was unveiled as the Chaplain of St Hilda’s College on 20 August. She has also been made the inaugural director of the college’s multi-faith space The Sanctuary, set up last year to cater for its increasingly diverse community. The Oxford Quaker told the Friend that St Hilda’s College’s move from having a specifically Christian chapel to a multifaith space is ‘bold and emancipatory. It is a first in the history of the university and an important step toward thinking about the role of faith in a higher institution in the twenty-first century.’ She added that her appointment is ‘a testimony to the incredible work Britain Yearly Meeting has done for interfaith relations in Britain and the role Oxford Meeting has played in promoting interfaith dialogue’.
Suzan Meryem Rosita Kalayci’s research focuses on silences, with a book to be published by Degruyter next year. She will be working with Tas Cooper, the Quaker Chaplain of Oxford University.
NUMBERS
5,000The number of miles that smoke from the US wildfires
has travelled, reaching Mexico, Canada and Europe.
Fire
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6 the Friend 25 September 2020
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Letters
The Friend welcomes your views,to [email protected]. Pleasekeep letters short. We particularly welcome contributions from children, written or illustrated.
Please include your full postal address, even when sending emails, along with your Meeting name or other Quaker affiliation.In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.
Judy Clinton (1953-2019)We are compiling a tribute book to writer and workshop-leader Judy Clinton who helped hundreds of people, especially Quakers, through her Writing the Spirit workshops, and we are seeking tributes from anyone who knew her.
Judy was a member of Gloucestershire Area Meeting and attended Cheltenham and Painswick. Her workshops were held in many Quaker centres.
Here is an extract she wrote describing when she was six – the start of her intuitive writing!
‘I lay on my back and stared up into the sky. I was six years old. The sky was blue, with white churned-up clouds scudding across it, covering and then revealing the sun. I loved looking at this movie-show and saw pictures forming and dissolving.
‘I remember wondering how many ladders I would have to put, one on top of the other, to reach the top of the sky. Closely linked in my mind then was the urge to write a book.
‘I rushed upstairs, grabbed an old exercise book and wrote. I didn’t know what to write, and I didn’t know how to do it, even if I had the ideas. Somewhere, deep inside, the intention had been
set, and the connection with the enormity of the heavens had been made.’
Contributions, please, to: [email protected].
(Judy’s mentor was Quaker Gillie Bolton who wrote the original Writing the Spirit book as well as many others, and still runs writing workshops.)
With thanks,Patrick Callaghan and Swithin FryAddress supplied
Cadbury BrothersLike Susan Groves of Bournville Meeting (11 September) the killing of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement prompted the trustees and staff of the Barrow Cadbury Trust to examine the origins of its endowment. The Trust has a Quaker heritage and many of its trustees are direct descendants of Barrow and Geraldine S Cadbury.
As a result, I wrote a blog in July for our website and in doing so examined the history of how Cadbury Brothers dealt with the issue of indentured labour or slavery in Portuguese West Africa to which Susan Groves refers. The entire story is set out in a blog by Lindsey Fleming entitled ‘William Cadbury, Chocolate and Slavery in Portuguese West Africa’.
Our conclusion was that although eventually Cadbury Brothers disinvested in plantations that used slave labour, it took some time and this may have been driven by the need to find an alternative supply of raw cocoa. Alternatively, the concern of William Cadbury was not supported by his fellow board members, two of whom were George and Barrow Cadbury.
As trustees we have acknowledged that our forebear’s decisions may have been dilatory at best and morally wrong.
At the Barrow Cadbury Trust that knowledge has helped us to
the Friend 25 September 2020 7
look anew at how we use our funds to challenge racial inequality and tackle racism through our grant making and advocacy.
But it also reminds us to ask how future generations will see our generation’s participation in the inhumane treatment of people in modern times, the environmental crisis and many other pressing issues. And we may be found equally culpable. Erica CadburyChair, Barrow Cadbury TrustCraven and Keighley Area Meeting
There are many books about Cadbury Brothers and slave-grown cocoa and the company message was simple: ‘If we stop buying cocoa we cannot influence labour policy.’ But when pleading failed to end slavery the company did stop buying slave-grown cocoa.David BirminghamCanterbury Meeting, Kent
Changes in lawI write to alert Friends to something which may have slipped our notice with so much else on our minds just now.
I refer to the proposal reported recently that ‘whole-life tariffs’ be introduced for certain murders committed by teenagers, and for those convicted of terrorist offences (this means that those convicted under new arrangements would die in prison).
These are undeniably terrible acts of violence, but to deny an offender any chance of later seeing things differently, of expressing remorse and of making amends is merciless and reciprocally violent.
It is also a sign of the impotence of our criminal justice system and falls little short of the reintroduction of capital punishment; spare a thought for those given the task of caring and ‘containing’ those condemned to live without hope. Prison certainly exists to provide, among other aims, protection for the public, but ‘finite sentences’ allow the
possibility of a second chance to return to the world and make good. Full-life sentences do not.
Such offenders are so alienated from their communities, either by an ideology of conquest or by sociopathic indifference, that no deterrent can control their actions.
It is a further indictment of our Society and one deserving attention from Friends. Finally, ultimate judgement lies neither with the judiciary nor with the public but with God.Barbara Pensom Charlbury Meeting, Oxfordshire
Saint Francis of Assisi I was delighted to read Tony D’Souza’s powerful account of Saint Francis of Assisi’s teaching and self-reflection (11 September).
As the head of a Quaker school and a close follower of Anglican Franciscans, I am often struck by the connections between Quakerism and Franciscan teachings. I have from time to time spoken to students at Leighton Park of the famous quote of Saint Francis to ‘Preach the gospel, use words when necessary’, drawing parallels with the silence and actions inherent in Quaker faith and practice.
But I recently discovered Francis never said such a thing, contrary to popular belief. None of his disciples, contemporaries or biographers have him saying these words, nor can one find them in his writings. The closest he came was ‘all the Friars… should preach by their deeds’ in his Rule of 1221, Chapter XII. Essentially he is saying make sure your deeds match your words.
The famous quote may have a rhetorical power, but Francis neither said it nor himself lived by it.
For Francis used plenty of words in his lengthy preaching and the article clearly reminds us it was by this preaching of the gospel that he had much to teach us all about ourselves and our humble place in
the world around us.Matthew L S JuddHead, Leighton Park School, Reading
Words and what goes onI appreciated the article by Rhiannon Grant on quiet, silence and worship (21 August). A discussion about our use of such words and what goes on during Quaker worship is long overdue.
I understood when I joined Friends that a Quaker Meeting was an act of worship, something that does indeed imply ritual. It is more than just a period of deep, healing stillness with an occasional vocal comment. We gather for a particular purpose and the way we choose to gather, seated in the round, traditionally with a copy of Quaker faith & practice and the Bible – or other holy scriptures – on the centre table, signifies a particular intent, an experience of, or an encounter with, something other, which also relates to the faith histories described in those books.
Silence is simply the means that allows us to find own special way to that experience. Thought interrupts that inner journey. The wonder of it is that in a deeply gathered period of worship there may also come a moment when we sense that our own experience of encounter, of centredness, is part of a group experience too. There is undoubtedly deep stillness but within it there may also be intense fervour and strong emotion, and a desire to give voice. Often in unprogrammed Meetings abroad, though sadly only occasionally here, I have known Friends to then rise and pray aloud or sing. The song of an individual Friend may also be taken up and joined by others.
Such vocal contributions draw the whole Meeting into a profound sense of unity and love.Peter D LeemingKendal and Sedbergh Area Meeting
8 the Friend 25 September 2020
More than a feeling: Christine Downes-Grainger has a sense of knowing
‘I had a new sort of dream – more like a vision. It felt so real.’
At a recent Quaker event someone mentioned ‘alienated Quakers’ – people who have stopped attending Meeting because they feel unwelcome. The Friends in question had experienced what we might call ‘phenomena beyond the individual’.
People experience phenomena in a number of ways – scents, sounds, images or emotions, and some would also say psychometry or a sense of someone’s presence, or being given messages. My first experience of this kind came when I was an awkward young mother, recently moved onto a new estate. A kind-hearted neighbour took me to an evening at her church. It was all new to me. The eleven of us present received a raffle ticket. A strong sense of ‘knowing’ overwhelmed me – I was going to win it. And I did.
My husband Colin died suddenly in 2009. We had stuck together for forty-two years, through many difficulties. About three months later I had a new sort of dream – more like a vision. It felt so real. I was pulled out of my house and round to the shed. There I had the same sense of knowing – Colin was back. He was standing in the greenhouse, wearing a familiar coat. He gave me a warm hug and a smile. Then that world dissolved and I woke up.
I had no idea what to do with my husband’s ashes and kept them at the foot of a tree in my garden. When the tree started filling the neighbours’ gutters with needles I was forced to confront the matter, but there did not seem to be one place that reflected Colin’s unhappy, unsettled life. One morning I woke up humming a tune: ‘La Mer’ by Charles Aznavour. I realised Colin’s ashes could go in more than one place: a portion on his mother’s grave, and a portion in the sea. La mère, the mother, and la mer, the sea. But I also needed a location to represent my own connection with Colin. A week or two later I woke up singing ‘On the Street Where You Live’. Colin lived in the bedroom for many years, restricted by addictions to smoking, prescription drugs and alcohol. An experience we shared was listening to music. I realised I could ask if a portion could go in a nearby Friends Burial Ground.
A few weeks ago Carole Sutton wrote of being ground down by scientific, reductionist views of the world (4 September). I am resisting that while working on a few hypotheses of my own. If everything in the universe is composed of the same elements, and the whole system is based on recycling, why should humans be outside of that system? And if we are outside it, where have the many personalities since the world began, come from?
Maybe consciousness operates on a similar basis to steam, water and ice – three forms of one substance. We are currently in solid form. The ‘patterns of waves of energy’ Friends feel are liquid. Steam describes our spiritual existence. I find it helpful to view death as a transition, from one form to another. Let’s welcome back ‘alienated Quakers’ and have open conversations about the different ways we perceive the world. n
Christine is from North East Thames Area Meeting. Pho
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the Friend 25 September 2020 9
Thought for the week: Daniel Clarke Flynn goes up a Chardin path
‘I feel called by a power greater than me to grow beyond my beginnings.’
I recently wrote something as part of my participation in the online six-week Woodbrooke course ‘European Quaker Voices’. I have called it ‘Personal Reflections Today in Five European Languages’. It is subject to continual change as I continue to grow and see differently. It is a simple summary in six reflections of where I am today on my lifelong spiritual journey of
eighty-one years in this life. For me, it’s more of a poetic statement without
following poetic discipline, similar to one of the Christian mystics I continue to read today, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. He was silenced by the Vatican in his day, but lives on in the hearts and minds of many around the world who continue to read his many inspirational works. In fact, I believe that’s how we may all ‘live on’ after we depart this life, melting back into the Energy of the Universe from whence we came.
‘Remember man that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return.’
Here is the English version of my piece:
I have come to realise that a power greater than my parents or me brought me into this life with a specific genetic and cultural heritage, and maintains me in existence.
I have come to believe that my job each day is to wake up and show up, accepting my entire past and the here
and now without judgment, asking in silent prayer for positive guidance this day. When I do that, I feel called by a power greater than me to grow beyond my beginnings in order to see and do more in thanks for this free gift of life I have been given.
I start the day by gently waking up all four parts of my humanity: my body, emotions, rational mind, and intuitive mind with espresso, inspirational readings from all sources, and stretching and light calisthenics. I listen to my body, emotions, and rational mind.
I then wait in silence for positive intuition, accepting and leaving alone negative intuition. Both come to me from power greater than myself. Intuition, I have learned, is the most neglected part of my humanity. I stop, look and listen, and choose positive attitude and action, leaving the results to power greater than me.
I have come to believe that relaxed, repetitive practice of positive attitude and action in all my affairs on a daily basis has brought me all that I value most today.
By choosing positive intuition, I create a better world for myself and for others this day to the limits of my inherited talents, learned skills, unique experience, and choice of attitude, the basic human freedom. n
Daniel is from Belgium and Luxembourg Meeting. Pie
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‘I have come to believe that my job each day is to wake up and show up, accepting my entire past and the here and now without judgment.’
10 the Friend 25 September 2020
Political animal: the pandemic has affected household wealth as well as health, says Adrienne Frazer
‘If I got my hair cut I would have no money at all for food – for me or Bella.’
Bella is my beautiful three-legged cat. I love her dearly but, because of my finances on Job Seekers Allowance, I may need to let her go. I nursed Bella back to health after she lost her leg and was put in a refuge. We would both be devastated if she has to have a new home.
With that in mind, I wanted to bring to your attention the reality of a situation that so many people are in at the moment, using my own experience.
I’ve been a Quaker for about ten years and am pretty typical of our demographic: middle class, well educated, white, formerly earning a good living, owning my own home, with no debts, and in my fifties. Safe and secure and contributing to our society, one would think.
Through an all-too-long story, in April I found myself unemployed. I had contingencies set up for this scenario, with three types of temporary work in place. They all fell through because of Covid-19. Still relaxed, I began applying for jobs in my profession, locally. I live in the south east because that is where the work is. The process of application, sitting at my computer filling in online forms, tailoring each one to meet the criteria required, took one or two days per application. The response was much slower than usual, with three weeks before I heard anything being common. After many applications, and six weeks without a salary passing by very quickly, it became clear that finding an income was going to be much
more difficult than it was before the pandemic. I started to worry about money.
I contacted the national temping agencies. One told me, ‘Yes, do send in your CV, though I do have employers asking why they would use us when they get fifty applications each day for a job advertised.’ Another response told me that they had had ninety applications, some of whom had previously done the exact job advertised.
With still no income, no sign of a job, and news of the economy worsening daily, I got very worried and began to wonder if I would be unemployed for months, if not years. Much as age discrimination is illegal, it’s still out there. The prospect of the next ten years (before I reach my state pension age) being unemployed was on my mind.
I applied for Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) and council tax reduction. I worked out my budgets and began to shop frugally.
This next section is the shock.For JSA I was given £322 per month. For council tax I
was given a full rebate, which was a relief.I could perhaps have claimed a little bit of Universal
Credit as well, but since they take savings into account and the maximum is £409 per month, it didn’t seem worth it.
My essential bills are £126 per month excluding council tax. I am not expensive to keep. That leaves me with £45.23 per week for everything else – this includes food, car tax and insurance, cat food, grooming, the dentist, optician, birthday presents and any socialising or entertainment and so on.
the Friend 25 September 2020 11
I made myself a budget to see if it was at all possible to live on this. I then shocked my dear and generous friends by telling them that, in all honesty, and very worried, if I got my hair cut (it hadn’t been cut for six months) I would have no money at all for food that
week. That included food for Bella, though she is a good mouser.
I do have my savings. But they won’t last me the ten years until my state pension kicks in. They might last three years if I’m very careful.
I am thinking of putting the car into storage. But then I wouldn’t be able to get to the large supermarkets where food is cheaper, or perhaps to an interview. If I don’t take it off the road, however, then the MOT, tax and insurance will fall due
and I will have to spend at least £230 on it. That is five weeks’ money. Five weeks’ food. I have told the dentist that I will not come for a check up this year. Luckily my teeth are great.
Can you imagine a family member or friend saying to you: ‘I will have no money for food this week’? Please be even more generous than usual, and give to the food banks and to your friends and family. Please don’t wait to be asked. It’s embarrassing and humbling.
I also hope, knowing Quakers are an activist bunch, that you will campaign to get a liveable income for people who need the state’s support, particularly in these extraordinary times. Or, alternatively, to get the pension age reduced so that some of us can leave the jobs that are out there to the younger people who need them even more than me.
I also looked at the amount of the state pension. Currently it is £134.25 per week (£582 per month) for those who reached state pension age before April 2016. This is a lot more than JSA or Universal Credit. I wonder what it is that retired people need that younger people don’t, to justify this discrepancy. But more importantly, with council tax benefit on top, this is also only just a liveable amount.
Without council tax benefit it’s also an unrealistic amount to live on. With pension credit topping this up to £173.75 per week (£753 per month) it does just provide an amount that is survivable according to my own budgets, which include the cat. Pension credit, of course, is not available to people of working age. That’s me.
This is not a cry for help. I have friends and Friends offering help, and I am very grateful to find these people around me. It is a cry for understanding, compassion and particularly for you to do something about it. I don’t ask for help for me or Bella but for the thousands of others in this horrible boat. Of course the world, poorer countries and the environment need your help. But so do ordinary people living among you and whom you know. n
Adrienne is from Abingdon Meeting.
‘Please be even more generous than usual, and give to the food banks and to your friends and your family. Please don’t wait to be asked. It’s embarrassing and humbling.’
Pho
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, cou
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12 the Friend 25 September 2020
A universal basic income is not a new idea: E Mabel Milner and Dennis Milner’s ‘Scheme for a State Bonus’ was presented to a Yearly Meeting committee in 1918. Joseph Jones finds some extracts.
‘It must be ours like the air and the sunshine.’
Britain Yearly Meeting’s Spring letter to the prime minister called for ‘a liveable income for all’ in the wake of the pandemic. This has been a Quaker concern for some time: Friends have been considering national income schemes since 1918, when a country of slums and industrial
unrest was approaching the aftermath of the first world war. Mabel and Dennis Milner’s Scheme for a State Bonus: A rational method of solving the social problem was first presented to the War and Social Order Committee of the Yearly Meeting that year. Although it was never enacted, the scheme was to become very influential in the labour and trades unions movement, and is now recognised as the first modern full-blown proposal for a national basic income.
The proposal begins with a consideration of the social problems of the period, primarily ‘the widespread unhappiness of the poorer classes’. This was causing a ‘prevalence of industrial unrest, leading constantly to strikes and even violence... The shame is that these faults in our system react chiefly upon the children of the poor, next upon all women, and last and least upon men. It is obviously wrong that men who control nearly all material wealth should suffer least from its bad distribution.’
Any solution, said the Milners, must be ‘comprehensive’ and ‘benefit everyone’. ‘The good of all’ took precedence over ‘the interests of any class, however large’ but necessitated ‘fundamental change in our social relationships’. This led them to four key principles:
• ‘Children have the right to life irrespective of the earning capacity of their parents.’
• ‘Industry cannot equalise the burdens between
single and married men, spinsters, widows, etc. Therefore the Community must make some provision for everyone.’
• ‘The Community should help all alike, not only those who have failed to help themselves.’
• ‘No one should be driven by the threat of destitution into accepting work which is underpaid, unhealthy, or even dangerous. Therefore destitution must not exist.’
The essay moves from these fundamentals to the basics of a proposal: ‘It is suggested... that every individual, all the time, should receive from a central fund some small allowance in money which would be just sufficient to maintain life and liberty if all else failed.’ Then, ‘as everyone is to get a share from this central fund, so everyone who has any income at all should contribute a share each in proportion to his capacity.’
The specifics are worth rendering in detail: ‘The first essential of this allowance is that it must be just sufficient to maintain life and liberty. It follows, therefore, that it will have to be based on the primal needs of individuals (which are nearly the same for all), namely, food, shelter, and a minimum of recreation.
‘The next essential is that this amount – whatever is decided on as just sufficient – must be absolutely dependable. Every man, every woman, and every child must have it in their own right; it must be theirs irrespective of the faults and errors of the past, making it possible for the fallen to start out on life again with a new hope; it must be clear of all taxes and legal obligations. It must be ours like the air and the sunshine.
‘On the other hand, it must not be too much, since some are lazy, and if luxury were possible without work, they would be glad of the opportunity to rest. Of course, if many were idle the contributions to the central fund
the Friend 25 September 2020 13
would be reduced and the Bonus correspondingly reduced. It must also be noticed that there would be no inducement to be idle, because the idle would only get their Bonus, whereas those who work would get their earnings in addition.’
The proposal was offered in the wake of the Russian Revolution, and the Milners seem keen to draw a distinction between the ‘moderate communism’ of their scheme and any ‘attempt to readjust the Social Order by methods not sanctioned by public opinion. The
inevitable sequence following upon such revolutionary methods is: weakening of leadership, mob rule, chaos.’
Rather, the ‘state bonus’ proposed here was ‘really a simple and comprehensive insurance scheme, with continuous benefit, so that this sum... will not be transferred from rich to poor, but will be taken from people with fluctuating incomes (all of us) and given back to everyone as a regular fixed weekly payment. Like
all insurance schemes the contributions will be from all, and the benefits will be most felt by people when they are in need.’ It is ‘a simple yet complete profit-and-loss sharing system, giving all a direct interest in the efficiency and productivity of industry... Nor does it involve any disorganisation of existing systems.’
The bonus would have effects beyond the financial, said the authors, arguing that ‘When everyone is secure at least of subsistence pay, we may surely hope to see people less engrossed in their material prosperity, thus the Bonus will release many of the higher and nobler
aspirations, which cannot be valued in terms of money. ... This Scheme frankly acknowledges that in order to produce a healthy race everyone must have access to the primal necessities of life, namely, food, shelter, and liberty. Then, in order to encourage work it will be necessary to offer proper inducements, such as just pay, proper conditions of labour, public opinion, patriotism, and the common welfare. Of course, the best work will still be done by those actuated by high motives, among which must be included genius and a man’s love for his family.’
So for the Milners the bonus was not a handout, or a new dole for paupers. It was the monetary equivalent of the right to life and liberty, paid to all alike – rich, poor, ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’.
The scheme found a ready audience in parts of the labour movement. The Labour Party Conference of 1921 produced a memorandum on the proposal in its report, which noted that it had ‘been before the Executive and approved, and… circulated to affiliated Societies for consideration’. But the Party was preparing, it hoped, for government. Ultimately, the memorandum was critical: ‘The State Bonus Scheme is attempting to do the right thing in the wrong way. All that it raises would be better achieved by the bringing into force of the Labour Party’s existing programme.’ The criticism dismayed the campaigners. Soon after, the Milners suffered some personal loss, and divorced. Inside the Society of Friends, the proposal slipped into a gap between new explicitly socialist groups and those who had switched focus to peace campaigning. But as a record of Quaker consideration, the proposal represents an interesting moment in Friends’ history. It is testament to many of the things we still hold dear. As inspiration, perhaps its job is not yet complete. n
Joe is editor of the Friend.
‘In order to produce a healthy race everyone must have access to the primal necessities of life, namely, food, shelter, and liberty.’
Imag
e: C
laire
Luci
a on
iSto
ck.
14 the Friend 25 September 2020
Disturbance: Surviving Charlie Hebdo, by Philippe Lançon
Review by Anne M Jones
This riveting book, which I discovered by accident in a secondhand bookshop, transcended the rest of my lockdown book pile. Philippe Lançon is the journalist who ‘played dead’ when terrorists burst into the offices of the French satirical magazine
Charlie Hebdo on January 7, 2015. This account is a story of personal survival from grossly disfiguring injuries, as well as an informative close-up of the genius within the medical world that repaired him. It is also a sharing of the variety of mental states that occurred within a massively traumatised man, in between erudite philosophical discussions of French classical literature, art and music – in particular Bach’s ‘Well-tempered clavier’. Religious or sentimental it firmly is not, and yet there are moments of universal spirituality that can be found elsewhere in writings that have an avowedly-spiritual purpose. The writing also contains incidental memories from childhood. My own work was in childhood development – and is now preoccupied by concepts of ‘resilience’ among refugees – and I gained a picture of a secure, contented, affection-held
boyhood. These experiences undoubtedly helped build the strengths that saw the author through recovery (I hope he will forgive my taking this psychological interest because he states emphatically that he is not interested in psychology). So the book ranges across a wide area of interests. It is an extremely important and valuable contribution to our understanding of life from a number of different perspectives.
Back to January 7, 2015, and the fifty-one-year-old journalist for Liberation and Hebdo describes the mundane tasks of preparing for another working day. He notices the untidiness of his apartment
as he closes the door, wondering which of two meetings to prioritise at each workplace. He decides on the latter, locking his bike against a tree outside, a bike that survived untouched, for months afterwards (the book is full of such details, which take on greater significance as the story unfolds). At this point he touches on his reasons for working for these newspapers. They represent freedom of expression in a way that underscores his own beliefs of ‘live and let live’: ‘Freedom reigned there and it was impossible to force anything on anyone.’ Freedom of expression within good-humoured bonds.
At around 11.30am he is about to hurry away to
‘This book is firmly non-religious, and yet there are moments of universal spirituality that can be found elsewhere in writings that have an avowedly-spiritual purpose.’
the Friend 25 September 2020 15
his meeting at Liberation when he pauses – another tiny detail – to show an item of interest in a book to a colleague. This pause saved his life: at that moment the terrorists were entering the building and mowing down anyone in their way. He hears sounds like firecrackers and ‘I thought, but what did I think exactly?... I had probably slipped into a universe in which everything happens in a form that is so violent it is slowed down [and] consciousness no longer has any way of perceiving the instant that destroys it.’ Lançon returns frequently to descriptions of a dual way of thought and perception that have been noted by people under immense stress: ‘naked violence isolates a person from the world and it isolates others who are subjected to it’. He describes the carnage as an observer watching from his position under the table in a pool of blood, the black-clad legs of a terrorist and end of a gun, an image that was to flash by him repeatedly in subsequent months. It takes him a few hours to know and comprehend how seriously injured he has been. His jaw was blown apart and both arms also shot: ‘my face, three quarters intact, had turned me into a monster.’
In the tangle of events that follow – hospital, contacting family, cancelling prior engagements – there are pauses for the tenderness of family compassion. When his parents, in their eighties, arrive he thinks ‘I wanted to console them as much as they were consoling me’, a theme that will be familiar to those of us who have known serious illness as an unexpected bridge between parent and adult child.
Realising there is nothing more demanded of him than that he restore his health, Lançon feels ‘almost the happiness of Captain Nemo in the Nautilus, but without bitterness, or anger’. He references works of great literature in exploring his own thought processes during the stages of his healing in particular – like Proust, whose writing moves in and out of time remembered and time in the present. In the course of his musings he refers to the quiet, dedicated care shown by a variety of nurses and other staff, respectfully evoking their lives, their own personal griefs and worlds. Here, the reader perceives mutual respect, understanding and care.
The book is a pageturner in that one is unsure how he will recover, not least given that his face has been destroyed. The suspense hangs over until near the end, because of the complexities and intricacies of restoring a face via skin grafts from intact parts of his body. It is the work of an artistic as well as medical genius. At the same time Lançon draws attention to the responsibility of the victim, who has to respond as carers and onlookers are hoping. He also records the poignant words of his surgeon: ‘We were so afraid that if it did not work we would all have failed.’
Lançon refers to how he continued writing for his newspapers after only a few days, in spite of the discomfort that it brought, and to the occasional response that showed clear indifference to his incapacitated condition.
His attitude towards the killers is infrequently alluded to, but a quotation from one of his Arab nurses seems to echo Lançon’s own views: ‘He told me he was nauseated
by the imbecility of the acts of the killers.’ During the first days in hospital comes the gradual knowledge that eleven of his colleagues have been killed. Now he has this overwhelming grief to deal with, in addition to everything else. Hearing that two of the terrorists have been tracked down and killed leaves him indifferent: ‘I don’t ask why’. (The words of Hannah Arendt come to mind, the ‘banality of evil’.) Once he is strong enough, he needs major surgery to reconstruct his jaw. The account of this meticulous, complex procedure is breathtaking and artistic in its precision, but not without its secondary difficulties. Little is written about pain as pain, though Lançon muses upon its nature after a friend quotes Nietzsche’s reference to ‘wisdom in pain’. He writes about how pain contributes to the preservation of the human species.
This book contains acts of forgiveness, acts of generosity and acts of compassion – much like those that many of us witnessed during lockdown. It confirmed for me something that has long preoccupied me: that these acts are not confined to a religious few but are the everyday self-expectation within many people.
This is an important, wise book, about survival and everyday heroism that goes unremarked. It is an insight into French life but, above all, a book that says ‘Let us be kind to one another’. n
Anne is from Friends House Meeting.
Poem: Wild Olympians
Ann Banks
Pho
to b
y B
rian
Sum
ner
on U
nspl
ash.
And still they come – in impossible inflatables – The pregnant, the children, men, stubbledAnd hollow-eyed with desperation.Dwarfed by towering tankers, their tiny boatsPitched and tilted, precipitously, by ferries’ careless wakes.
And still they come – in orange jackets –Retching their wretchedness over dinghies’ sides,The nauseous swell of uncertainty, foot-feltThrough the boat’s shifting floor, the only protectionBetween them and the deep.
And still they come – in the hope of last-resort,Braced against another rejection,Under the pitiless media glare, feeding The indolent and indignant curiosity ofThe comfortable at home.
And still they come – The surge of expectationAs the white cliffs loom larger –The rubble of their war-torn homes,The relentless trek over miles of grief and sorrowPales with the last adrenalin rush their exhaustion permits.
And still they come – these wild Olympians –Risking all, dogged, determined, undeterred.Who, in a different context would be feted, cheered,Honoured for their overcoming – insteadReviled for their audacity in coming over.
And now the others come, swaggering in blue uniforms,Bristling with the weapons of privilege,The Border Force, taking rightful control Of pregnant women, children, defeated men,Righteously repelling the invaders of our ungenerous shores.
And more come to fight them off – smugly brandishingTheir hostile environments. Our borders are CLOSED!Yes! Even against the brave and adventurous, the skilledThe willing and the eager to play their part.Corralled in sheds, they wait...
And who will take us in, as our Island dinghyFounders under the burden of its own imagined glory?
O hear us when we cry to theeFor those in peril on the sea!
Ann is from Brighouse West Yorkshire Area Meeting.
the Friend10 January 2020 | £2.00
‘We need more awareness of trauma in Quaker narratives.’‘Radical dietician’ Lucy Aphramor
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Friends&MeetingsMarriagesPeter HART and Linda GIBBONS in the garden at Exeter Meeting House, Saturday 5 September.Members of Devon AM, Linda formerly an attender at Lancaster. Thanks to the many Friends who made the day possible despitecurrent restrictions.
NoticesHEADING TO WARWICKUNIVERSITY? We’d love to hear from you! All students with Quaker connections or interests, graduate and post-graduate, new and existing,are welcome to contact the UniversityQuaker Faith advisor, 01926 490140, email [email protected]
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Ackworth SchoolPontefract, West YorkshireCo-ed 2-1810am Saturday 3 OctoberT: Rebecca Stephenson01977 233621E: [email protected]: www.ackworthschool.com
Bootham School, YorkCo-ed 3-1810.50am Saturday 3 October10.50am Saturday 7 NovemberT: Fiona Ward 01904 623261E: [email protected]: www.boothamschool.com
Leighton Park SchoolReading, BerkshireCo-ed 11-189.00am Sat 26 September (Online)9.15am Tues 13 October (Online)6.30pm Tues 13 October(Sixth Form - Online)9.15am Tues 3 November (Online)T: Claire Elmer 0118 987 9608E: [email protected]: www.leightonpark.com
The Mount School, YorkGirls 2-1810am-2.pm Saturday 10 October 1.30pm-3.30pm Tues 20 Oct (Juniors)6pm-8pm Thursday 22 Oct (Sixth Form)T: Nicky Craig 01904 232323E: [email protected]: www.mountschoolyork.co.uk
Sibford School, BanburyCo-ed 3-189.45am Friday 2 October6.30pm Tuesday 13 Oct (Sixth Form)9.45am Fri 13 November T: Elspeth Dyer 01295 781203E: [email protected]: www.sibfordschool.co.uk
Sidcot School, North SomersetCo-ed 3-18Friday 25 September – Webinars:9am Juniors; 10.30am Seniors and Sixth Form; 1.30pm BoardingLive webinars hosted by the Head and key staff with Q&A. Please contact us for details of future webinars.T: Claire Rundle 01934 845212E: [email protected]: www.sidcot.org.uk
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Please support our adver-tisers by fi nding your next holiday or short break in the Friend!
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Roundhay Quaker MeetingTemporary WardenOur north Leeds Quaker Meeting seeks temporary warden toreside in our Meeting House. As a consequence of the Covid pandemic there is minimal activity at the Meeting House so the wardenship work is greatly reduced. Hopefully when the pandemic resolves the Temporary Warden will wish to apply for the post of Warden.The Temporary Warden has the use of a three bedroom fl at and is paid for 3 hours work per week. Outside employment or studies is no obstacle to serving as our warden. Information and application pack available from Martin Schweiger 0113 440 0736 or email to [email protected] Closing date for applications 14 October 2020.
SCOTTISH ISLES (HARRIS), WIND, RAIN,rainbows, sunsets, seals, otters, walks,eagles, golden beaches, orchids, Heaven!Shorefront contemporary bungalow.Sleeps 2. All comforts, horizon views.www.milbothy.co.uk, 01859 530400.
A WARM PEMBROKESHIRE WELCOMEawaits you in 2 cosy well equippedcottages each sleeps 4. Woodburners,sea views, coastal path 2 miles. 01348891286. [email protected]
WELSH BORDERS. Comfortable, warm,remote and peaceful barn conversion.Sleeps four. Unspoiled scenery, extensivewalks from door. Easy reach Ludlow andChurch Stretton. Contact: Ursula 01588640524 or email [email protected]
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PERSONAL RETREATS, FRANCE. Makespace to refl ect and be still. Beautiful oldfarmhouse in rural Auvergne offerssupportive, nurturing environment forindividual retreats. Simple daily rhythm:meditation; silence; contemplative/artisticactivities. Walking. Organic vegetarianfood. www.retreathouseauvergne.com
ANNE-X PUBLISHINGSmall books of social signifi cance
(and some lightheartedness...)A Child of the Windrush Generation
by Xystus MarcellHow Long must we wait
Work in Calais with refugees since 2015One life in Poems and a few pictures
A life story.Each book £6.50 including UK postage.
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FRIENDS FELLOWSHIP OF HEALINGFollowing in the footsteps of George Fox,the FFH seeks to restore the Quakertradition of healing. 01425 626112 / 07512890768. www.quaker-healing.org.uk
CENTRE QUAKER CONGENIES, southern France, seeks volunteer Resident Friends. Enjoy the region, garden and conviviality of (f)Friends from around the world. Studio fl at accommodation in exchange for: house management; organizing events; running B&B. Ideal for two people, maybe one of whom telecommutes part-time; or perhaps 2 active retirees. One French speaker and one driver necessary. Minimum 2 year commitment. Flexible start, some-time around April, can be earlier or later. Respond to: [email protected]
ECOLOGICAL QUAKER HOME, Scottish Borders, offers fully self-containedaccommodation for peaceful respites. www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/29589794
ROOKHOW, LAKE DISTRICT. Self-catering accommodation. Offer £150 per night/ £750 week for 6 people or 1 household. Tel 07557 919879, www.rookhow.org.uk
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events
ADDERBURY GATHERING 2020An online talk by Richard Wilkinson
3pm Sunday 21 June.
The Inner Level:How More Equal Societies
Reduce Stress, Restore Sanity andImprove Everyone's Well-Being
Banbury and Evesham Quakers inviteyou to join our annual talk, held this year
as an online gathering.
Attendance is free but limited,so please register.
Richard Wilkinson co-wrote withKate Pickett the two books
'The Spirit Level' and ‘The Inner Level’.They also co-founded The Equality Trust.
Register at:https://bit.ly/Adderbury2020
Or call 07967 111338.
for sale & to let
LONDON SW2. Bed/sitting room andbathroom in private home. Use of kitchenand garden. Top of Victorian terracedhouse in quiet friendly garden square.Excellent public transport. Space for bicy-cle. Near beautiful Brockwell Park. Canemail photos. £780 pcm. 020 8674 [email protected]
ESCAPE THE CITY! Ludlow, Shropshire,Church Hall, beautifully converted into4 bed house, two ensuite. Ready foroccupation; no chain. Seven minutes walkto centre, 12 to station, 15 to MeetingHouse. Lovely town in beautiful country-side; lively community; thriving meeting.Further details from agent, 01584 873711;email [email protected]
QUAKER MARRIAGE CERTIFICATESand other bespoke calligraphy. Liz Barrow01223 369776, [email protected]
Pollard & Dickson TrustHardship Grants forindividuals of any ageWe can offer grants of up to £1,500 to members and attendersof Britain Yearly Meeting who are in financial need.
Please send enquiries and applications to the administrator:[email protected] or write c/oJohn Dash, Pollard & Dickson Trust: [email protected]
Quakers & Business GroupAre you looking to develop new skills,build new experiences and work with
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the Friend 25 September 2020 19
the Friend Quaker Week 2019 31
WallingfordMeetingResident
Friend/WardenWe are looking for someone
who will rent our one-bedroomcottage, carry out around 4
hours paid work per week andbe part of the life of our Meeting.
The cottage adjoins our simple18th century Meeting House
with a shared garden. The workincludes dealing with hirers and
enquirers and caring for theMeeting House & garden rooms.
Please ask for further details/express your interest to:
[email protected] 07836 622192
Our small Quaker charity continues to support four primary schoolsin Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Secondary Bursary schemeand peacebuilding work in schools and the community.
Newsletters and more information: www.friendsofhlekweni.org.ukor [email protected]
Donations and support from individuals and Meetings arealways warmly welcomed! UK charity no 1126598
Friends of Hlekweni
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Quaker Concern for Animals AGMSaturday 26 September10am by Zoom and phoneAll members and supporters are welcome. Joining details available from Mart Layton:[email protected]
www.quaker-animals.co.uk
The
Penn
Clu
b NOW OPEN!Central, quiet location,
convenient for Friends House,British Museum and transport.Comfortable rooms tastefully
furnished, many en-suite.Good breakfast.
Discount for Sufferingsand Club members.
21 Bedford PlaceLondon WC1B 5JJTel. 020 7636 4718
offi [email protected]
Kevin and Elizabeth Rolphwww.thedellhouse.co.uk
01684 564448
B&B and self-cateringRelax in this glorious corner of the
Malvern Hills. Peaceful garden,local walks. Private B&B dining room/lounge. 48hr gap between bookings. Chair of Trustees
In extraordinary times, we arelooking for an extraordinary personwho has passion, drive anddetermination. Friends of Ibba GirlsSchool is a UK charity supportinga girls’ boarding school in a rural area of South Sudan. Investing in girls’ education transforms com-munities, countries and the entire world. Girls who receive an educa-tion are less likely to marry young and more likely to lead healthy, productive lives.
We are searching for a new Chair to lead us from a successful start-up into a sustainable and resilient organisation for the next 5 to 10 years. The aim is for the school to become fully self-sustaining, but for the time being it is funded largely by charitable donations. Securing donations remains a key focus for the Chair.
The Trustees welcome applications from people of all backgrounds including from the South Sudanese diaspora. The role is voluntary and the time commitment is fl exible. Further information can be found at www.friendsofi bba.org
For more information and applica-tion pack, contact Julie Lodrick: julie.lodrick@friendsofi bba.orgApplications must be received by noon on Monday 26 October.
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RathboneGreenbankInvestor Day
Biodiversityand business
1 October 202010.00am – 12.00pm
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rathbonegreenbank.com
Register at:https://www.rathbonegreenbank.com/about-us/events/rathbone-greenbank- investor-day-2020
Friends House Moscowis seeking an
Honorary Company SecretaryTo oversee the financial and administrative arrangements of the charity, in collaborationwith the Chair of Trustees and the Treasurer. Elements of the role are negotiable anddo not require a fixed time commitment. Although this role can be an opportunity for insight into life in Russia & Ukraine, our work is UK-based and conducted in English sothere is no necessity to speak Russian or travel to Russia. The most important require-ments are for someone comfortable with spreadsheets and prepared to get involved with the challenges of a charity operating internationally in multiple currencies.
Friends House Moscow conducts Quaker outreach in the Russian-speaking world, andin doing so has become a publishing house. We also fund projects for peace, and for refugees and disadvantaged children, in Russia and Ukraine. We work in collaboration with our sister US nonprofit Friends House Moscow Support Association.
More information about our activities, structure and finances can be found in our latestannual report http://bit.ly/FHMrpt2019 and on our website www.friendshousemoscow.orgFor more details about the Company Secretary role please contact Mary Morris (Chair of Trustees): [email protected], by Friday 30 October if possible.Friends House Moscow UK Registered Charity 1055965 (charitable company no. 3202589).
