Bath Quakers express visions of equality in today’s all-age meeting for worship. 

Bath Quakers shared an all-age Meeting for Worship today, on the theme of equality.

By way of background: normal weekly meetings for worship are unprogrammed. They’re almost entirely silent, except when Friends are moved to contribute ministry. The Childrens’ Meeting then normally leaves after 10 minutes, to do storytelling, craft or other activities separately downstairs.

Sometimes it’s good to bring the two meetings together, which is what we did today. We had two readings on the theme of equality (see eg below). Then anyone who wanted took part in a craft activity, making sheets of a tapestry representing themes of equality. Finally we had silence in the format of our normal Meeting for Worship, except that there was so much Ministry it was almost constant and the Meeting overran by 15 minutes.

Thanks to Aliya and all helpers for making our all-age meeting such a success.

Craft brings us together for our all-age worship meetings. 

—

on Social Justice

Our gracious Creator cares and provides for all his creatures. His tender mercies are over all his works; and so far as his love influences our minds, so far we become interested in his workmanship and feel a desire to take hold of every opportunity to lessen the distresses of the afflicted and increase the happiness of the creation. Here we have a prospect of one common interest from which our own is inseparable, that to turn all the treasures we possess into the channel of universal love becomes the business of our lives…

Oppression in the extreme appears terrible: but oppression in more refined appearances remains to be oppression; and where the smallest degree of it is cherished it grows stronger and more extensive. To labour for a perfect redemption from this spirit of oppression is the great business of the whole family of Christ Jesus in this world.

John Woolman, 1763