Newsletter

Hello from the Editor

Reflections - Vienna

Conscientious Objectors

A C.O.’s story

Northern Friends Peace Board

Peace, Justice and the Environment

Risley Meeting for Worship

A Quaker Congo link

Announcements

Newsletter

Manchester and Warrington Area Quaker Meeting

June 2008

Hello from the Editor

Welcome to the June 2008 edition of the Manchester and Warrington Area Meeting Newsletter.

I have been thinking about the structure of the Newsletters since the success of the last

edition, so the March and September editions will be the platform for focusing on news from

Local Meetings and Groups within Area Meeting and the June and December meetings will

be more open to wider reflections and news.

So this edition is packed with photos, poems, news and reflections, all contributed from

people across all the meetings and beyond! Thanks again to Joseph McGarraghy for designing

the cover page and some of the wonderful photos shown throughout this edition. A PDF

version of this edition is available upon request. If you have anything you would like to include

in the September edition, simply email me your thoughts or articles at:

sarahalldred@yahoo.co.uk

Finally, over the past few months I have been re-reading a book by Nicola Slee on prayer

and would like to share with Area Meeting this blessing she wrote about Love.

Peace and Friendship

Sarah Alldred

So many kinds of awesome love

Live Adventurously

Contents

Central Manchester - Eccles - Sale - South Manchester - Warrington

There are so many kinds of awesome love
I bless them all:

Love of kindred for their kin
Love of lover for their mate
Love of country for the native
Love of land for the explorer

Love of labourer for his work
Love of scholar for her truth
Love of the artist for the muse
Love of the preacher for the word
Love of the disciple for the way
Love of the mystic for their God

There are so many kinds of awesome love,
We need them all:

Love of brother, sister, father, mother
Love of parent, grandparent, uncle, aunt
Love of the beloved, love of the friend,
Love of the stranger, love of the needy

Love of the woman for the man
Love of the man for the woman
Love of the woman for her woman
Love of the man for his man

There are so many kinds of awesome love,

Why must we set one above the other,
Say some are worthy and others base?
Why must we choose one love
When we need all the kinds we can get?

There are so many kinds of awesome love:
The love that knocks you off your feet
and sets you to desperate things
The love that is gentle and kind
and swells the compassionate heart
The love that is joyous and life-giving
and keeps you singing for days
The love that is steadfast and loyal
and sits out long nights of pain

Young, jocular love
Old, wise love
Rich, extravagant love
Poor, pitiful love
Strong, encouraging love
Vulnerable, wounded love
Passionate, sensual love
Free, filial love
Fiery, prophetic love
Self-emptied, contemplative love

There are so many kinds of awesome love,
I bless them all.

Nicola Slee

Our Garden Party
2006,

In the grounds of
Sale Friends
Meeting House,
Ashton-on-Mersey.

Reflections

‘FUR das KIND’ Vienna
March 14th 2008

Audrey B Insley

It was with a great sense of privilege and
gratitude that as a Quaker, I went as a
guest of the Jewish Community to the
unveiling of a sculpture in memory of the
Kinder Transport in Vienna on the 14th
March 2008. The sculpture by Flor
Kent, was of a young boy sitting on a suitcase.
The young boy, Sam Morris probably 7 years
old at the time of sculpture, is in fact a great
grandson of one of the Kinder Transport and
who gave a very composed speech ‘in thanksgiving
for his great grandmother’s safety in
England or else he would not be there with us
today’. The ‘Unveiling’, was performed by the
Austrian Federal Minister of Transport, at the
Westbahnhof, the station form which the
Kinder left their homeland.

There was a sizable crowd of Jewish people,
from all over Europe, Israel, Venezuela and the
UK. Five friends were present including Kurt
Sehmid from Vienna and Jalka, Clerk to Austria
and German YM., Wiglef Puerschel a
Quaker from Germany and my husband and
myself plus the many commuters who stopped
to watch the ceremony.

The occasion was particularly poignant for me
because my Quaker parents along with other
members of The Society of Friends were involved
with the reception of the children and
the more mundane but critical business of fund
raising.

The refugees from Austria in the Kinder
Transport, arrived at Liverpool Street station
London and from there were sent to various
parts of the country, in our case Manchester.
Here the children were places with families
who had sufficient space, at least temporarily,
before making an onward journey to a permanent
safe haven. The age of the Kinder was six
to sixteen years of age. The British Government
had agreed to allow the children free of
charge, into the country, if accommodation
could be found for them. Not only accommodation
had to be found but also considerable
amounts of money had to be raised for the
Kinder as they were only allowed to travel
with one small suit case which they could
carry.
I personally became aware of the Kinder when
a child would arrive mysteriously overnight at
Yealand School where I had been sent as a
five year old evacuee. After a time we children
prided ourselves in greeting our new school
friends in their own language as they appeared
at breakfast.
So it was with more than a passing interest but
with a great sense of humility that we accepted
the heart felt thanks of the Jewish community
on behalf of The Society of Friends for Quakers’
efforts on behalf of their Refugees during
World War 2.

Photo source:
http://www.britishblogs.co.uk/categories/flor-kent/

International Conscientious Objectors’ Day
Sunday, 18th May 2008

In ancient and medieval history, slaves and feudal
peasants were sometimes forced to become foot
soldiers in private armies. Later, in Britain, there
was ‘press-ganging’, where men were forced or
bribed to join the Navy.

Conscription was first used after the Revolution in
France in 1793. In Britain, during the First World
War, there were not enough volunteer recruits to
match the increasing number of troops being killed
and so conscription was introduced in 1916. The
Military Service Act 1916 gave the right to refuse
conscription to anyone on grounds of conscience.

Despite this provision, conscientious objectors
(CO’s) often faced harsh treatment and some were
refused their rights during the tribunals which
tested the sincerity of their objections. If they refused
to obey, they could face brutal treatment under
the military and some died in prison. In Greece
conscientious objectors could face execution even
as late as 1949.

The right to refuse military service is now recognised
under the European Convention on Human
Rights. However, in many countries prison is still
the fate of conscientious objectors in many countries.

Manchester’s recognition of International Conscientious
Objectors Day ceremony in St Peters
Square consisted of a keynote speech by Bruce
Kent, songs, peace poems, the laying of flowers
dedicated to individual conscientious objectors,
and a two minutes silence,. Here Tom Peters reflects
on his impressions of the day:

International Conscientious Objectors Day proved
to be a huge success, taking place between
1 and 2pm in the Peace Garden, S t. Pe t e r s
Square.

It was a day full of lovely surprises. We
woke to a warm sunny morning, most unexpected
after the previous day of cold, wet gloomy weather.
I arrived early at the site in case there was a need
to do some cleaning up. But no. The site was very
clean and tidy, not at all expected after the rioting
that had taken place in the area earlier in the week
(the Manchester football riots).

The ceremony was made more special this year due to
CO’s and relatives of CO’s travelling to be present at
the ceremony. The Ladies Choir gave us some concern,
at ten past one there was no sign of them in the garden. However they soon arrived and when they sang it sounded just wonderful and surprisingly could be heard above the Metro and the Council vehicles.

Bruce Kent speaking in Manchester.

Bruce Kent gave a very good short speech and as each
CO’s name was read out by Tom Jackson, a white carnation was placed on the stone plinth in honour of
them. It was very moving. Much interest was shown by
passers by and many young and old joined in the ceremony. Sadly, as we were running to a timed programme it was not possible to allow time to any individual to make a speech.

Many photos were taken by Joseph McGarraghy and
Philip Austin, which I am sure will be a good record of
the very eventful day.

Best wishes to all who contributed in any way and
special thanks to Clare and John Whitehead of
Manchester and Warrington Quaker Peace
Group.

A Conscientious Objectors

Story

Eric Robinson

In January and February of 1948 I was on leave of

absence without permission from my studies in London

University. I was Young Prisoner YP7810 in

the B block of HM Wormwood Scrubs prison, the

only Quaker on the block . I was serving a sentence

of 3 months for failing to obey a court order to submit

to a military medical examination.

This was a standard procedure from the 1939 Act

onwards. A CO who had been denied by tribunal

the exemption he had sought was summoned to the

colours first by an order to take a medical examination.

If he refused this a court order was issued requiring

him to take one. It was a civil offence but by

defying this order the CO remained beyond the

reach of the army and military law. The Central

Bureau for Conscientious Objectors (CBCO), a voluntary

body, normally advised this response by

those who wished to persist in their objection. This

provision in the law was part of the price paid by

Chamberlain’s government for Labour support for

conscription legislation. A number of MPs in 1939

who had been COs in the Great War succesfully

secured amendments which protected COs in the

next war from many of the excesses perpetrated by

the Army between 1916 and 1918 (most notably the

attempt to execute a score of COs as deserters after

secretly sending them to France – an attempt frustrated

by Fenner Brockway who subsequently

founded and led the CBCO).

I was lucky: for this offence I was liable for a sentence

of up to 12 months which I found to have been

the misfortune of one of my fellow CO prisoners. I

was lucky too because I had the support of family

and friends, not least in my home church in Lancashire

and in the Society of Friends in London, where

I was an attender. One of my happiest memories of

prison was of the regular visits I had from a senior

London Quaker, Barrington Whitlow, whom I had

not previously met. His wisdom proved immensely

helpful to me. In contrast my fellow prisoner (of the

12 month sentence) had nobody in support.

I was in love at the time with a fellow student from

whom I had a daily letter. Furthermore I enjoyed the

benevolence of both the university authorities and

the Lewisham school in which I was doing teaching

practice as part of my course. After my release

they allowed me without question to resume my

Studies.

Compared with most COs, I had a very easy time.

Nevertheless it was a dreadful experience but one I

am glad to have had. I learnt something of the filth,

the squalor, the misery, the degradation and the

hypocrisy of our criminal justice system, which has

changed all-too-little in 60 years and which I can

never forget or forgive. I learned much about myself.

I realized that compared with most of my fellow

prisoners I was very lucky indeed.

The experience of cells in magistrates courts, the

black marias crawling between the London prisons,

the humiliation of strip and search, the several days

“on remand” (quite unnecessarily, because I was

prepared to appear on demand, as they knew; and

improperly described by one magistrate as “giving

him a taste of prison to be getting on with”) were

miserable.

But given the appalling physical circumstances I was

generally well, sometimes even considerately,

treated by the police and prison staff. This was paticularly

commendable because at that time virtually

all of them were ex-servicemen, many of whom had

had bitter war experiences. My impression was that

the level of education amongst the prison staff was

low and amongst some of them was a feeling of insecurity

in dealing with men they perceived as being

of high social class. I remember a “red band” prisoner

who was treated by the staff with great respect

– he was a convicted “hold-up” man who had been a

sub-lieut in the Navy with gambling debts. He advised

the asst governor not to list me for an arithmetic

class because I had a university maths degree;

the asst gov remained unconvinced until it was explained

to him that this meant I had matric: apparently

he did not know what was meant by a university

degree, or by mathematics!

I had a charmed and rewarding existence as one of

the librarians, along with 2 other COs. We were left

alone in a cell for most of the day and had unlimited

access to the books, most of which were no doubt

conceived by well-meaning donors as improving

literature for bad young men, but had little appeal

for the men themselves. But it gave me access to

many of the classic novels of English literature,

more of which I read in 2 months of long sessions of

much-prized solitary cell confinement than in the

whole of the rest of my life up to that point.

My experience of this library gave me some insight

into the education and state of mind of the young

prisoners. It left me in no doubt that the level of

education amongst them was very low indeed, many

were totally illiterate, many more semi-literate, and

that many were seriously mentally disturbed. This

came, not only from talking to them but, sometimes

more dramatically, from reading what they had written

on the fly leaves and margins of many of the

books. One of the most scandalous features of

prison was that writing materials were almost unobtainable

and those provided were accompanied by a

warning that nothing original was to be written!

There was a desparate need for educational and

mental health effort in this prison. The provision of

both was negligible.

Former COs have made many efforts to improve

prison conditions but we have not done nearly

Enough.

I was given special release from prison after a tribunal

decided to grant me registration as a CO on condition

that I found work in farming or hospitals. As

I was about to become a qualified maths teacher and

there was at the time a desperate shortage I arrogantly,

decided that this was absurdly perverse and

vindictive. I ignored several summonses to take up

farm work, took a temporary job in teaching and was

then prosecuted for not being a farmer. For this I

was sentenced to one day’s imprisonment which I

spent in police cells in Woolwich. I took a permanent

teaching job and one year later I received a letter

granting me unconditional exemption from military

service – on my wedding morning.

I have no regrets. I am grateful to many predecessor

COs who made my life so much easier than

theirs, hoping but doubting that, faced with their

circumstances I would have been as courageous as

they were.

Eric E Robinson

8 Roundwood Avenue, Reedley, Burnley,

BB10 2LH

01282 447320

eric@eerobinson.wanadoo.co.uk

19 May 08

Eric E. Robinson May 2008

Northern Friends Peace
Board: Building peace by
tackling racism

(article about the NFPB conference on 15th
March 2008, first published in The Friend, 21
March 2008)

Susan Robson of Huddersfield Meeting reports on
Northern Friends Peace Board efforts to work
through ‘complex realities’

West Yorkshire: location of racist murder, suicide
bombers, child abduction, schools with seventy-one
languages, active interfaith councils with seven different
faiths, networks to help asylum seekers, a City
of Sanctuary and a police section to counter hate
crime against any minority. All of this was brought
into the Building Peace – Tackling Racism conference
hosted by Northern Friends Peace Board in
Huddersfield on 15 March.

The room was packed out, even though some participants
were absent and a keynote speaker was prevented
from attending by family illness. The great
and the good in anti-racism circles in Yorkshire and
Lancashire were there in large numbers. The acronyms
of organisations and policies flew thick, fast
and mystifyingly. It was a great relief to hear someone
say 'I don't belong to anything – I'm just curious'.

The main formal input came from Philip Lewis, a
lecturer at Bradford University's Department of
Peace Studies, who told us much about the detail of
Muslim organisation and history. His main message
was that complex realities cannot be squeezed into a
box called race or class or religion. We have neither
a safe space, nor the vocabulary, to talk responsibly
about race or class. His analysis was bleak, but he
argued that this is necessary before we contemplate
the way forward. However, positive points were: in
the UK religion is still part of public life; Muslim
youth is developing responsibly and we need to listen;
there are innovative courses on citizenship in
Islam and Muslims are moving into mainstream public
life, for instance as chaplains.

Philip explained that Muslims need to learn
more of their own complex history and that
Christians need to rediscover the narrative of the
Christian life, which does not need an enemy
and can react without hostility. Each faith needs to
'quarry' its own tradition, to dig deep until it discovers
the common seam.

Individual contributions came from a white agnostic
teenager, a fifteen-year-old Muslim member of Huddersfield
Inter Faith Council, an ex-member of the
BNP, a trade unionist, a Quaker from Uganda, a museum
worker exhibiting cultural stories and a police
officer who has responsibility for dealing with racist
Crime.

In parallel to the conference was a gathering of half a
dozen young people aged eleven to sixteen, who heard
from speakers and went to a local mosque. The
mosque, which is usually uncomfortable about hosting
mixed-gender visits, received the group and talked to
them and fed them.

The group of young people who met in parallel sessions
has asked if they can get together again. Local
Quaker Claire Whitely, who was with them all day,
said 'we adults have a lot to learn from their understanding
of both racism and peace'. This was reiterated
throughout the day – the future is in the hands of the
young and we need to listen to what they are saying.

The event was filmed and will be produced as a DVD
available at Britain Yearly Meeting. Meetings will be
able to use it as a jumping off point to examine their
own contribution to tackling racism. However, there
are many questions still unanswered. On the homeward
journey one Friend said she still wanted to know how
to respond to casual racism at work – the day had been
too 'professional' for her needs. Perhaps it is in the relative
privacy of small groups in Meetings that such issues
can be addressed. The study guide with the DVD
should give some guidance about how to do this.
Susan Robson

A Ballad for Carnivores

Chris Lukey

The cow looks at me.
She is aware
Of what she can see,
But can only stare.

She looks cute and flicks an ear.
Even if I said what I think
It would bring her no fear.
She would scarcely blink.

What I think is that she
Should not be.
The planet and we would fare far, far better
If diners and farmers shunned meat, milk and butter.

Quaker Peace and Social Witness
Annual Conference 2008
‘Peace, Justice and the Environment’
28th-30th March
Hayes Conference Centre,
Swanwick, Derbyshire

The journey to Swanwick was interesting in
itself; two of us met at Piccadilly Station, adding
a third at Sheffield as we changed trains and
a fourth at Derby as we waited for the coach
laid on by QPSW. Finally, with sixty or so
other Friends, we escaped Derby’s Friday rush
hour and were brought to the Hayes – an old
house with numerous extensions, new buildings
and vast grounds.

Even with some previous idea of the work of
QPSW, we were impressed by the range of
work undertaken by this part of the Society. In
particular, the achievements of international
projects such as Quaker United Nations Office
and the joint work with the Ecumenical Council
for Corporate Responsibility gave me heart as I
saw that there were ways in which concerned
people could bring their voice to large international
groups and influence their decisions. Tim
was impressed by a thread running through
them all: Quaker ways, incorporating tolerance,
intelligence and quiet patience deliver results in
situations where 'conventional' approaches
might not. Conflict is embraced and transformed
rather than feared and wrestled with -
lessons for daily life!

The Conference fell into two parts; the first
consisted of a series of presentations to the
whole conference, the second of workshops
focusing on particular projects both in the UK
and abroad. Everyone attending was also assigned
to one of a number of base groups, made
up of about twelve people, which met three
times. These were designed to mix people up
and give them the opportunity to meet people
from other areas of the country while discussing
aspects of the conference and what was coming
up for them. Our experience of the groups was
that they were truly mixed; newer and more
established friends, people from all parts of the
country and even some of those running the
Workshops

In the first conference session, Gwen Schaffer
gave us an overview of QPSW, beginning with
how its work is determined. A national committee
meets five times a year and, through spiritual
discernment, decides on new areas of work
and monitors existing ones, deciding to continue,
hand on or finish them. For instance, Circles
of Accountability, which works with sex
offenders, has just been handed on to an independent
organisation. The committee also receives
ideas from individual Meetings and reports
back nationally, encouraging and supporting
local work. Smaller groups, with a committee
member as link person, are set up to start
new projects.

We also heard from Marigold Bentley, who
runs the Peace programme, and Helen Drewery,
who runs the Social Witness work. Marigold
told us of the ‘Turning the Tide’ group of activists,
Sustainable Security – which looks at how
to achieve security without armaments – and
work in Uganda, South Africa, former Yugoslavian
countries and South Asia. Helen clarified
that the Social Witness work is all based in
Britain and includes peace education work in
schools – including peer mediation for pupils as
well as lessons – work in prisons, assessing the
impact of economic policy on us all, a bursary
system for Quaker schools and the Quaker
Housing Trust. Both women emphasised that
there are many connections between the two
main programme areas.
The session was opened and closed by Kevin
Franz, who gave more direct insight into the
ethos of QPSW, describing it as ‘a way of expressing
what is the life of Friends together’.
Another phrase that stood out for me is ‘quiet
processes and small circles’. He concluded by
giving some of the bases of QPSW;

  crossing frontiers and building bridges to the unlike

  having a common source for all the diversity
       of the work

  being edgy rather than safe and taking risks

The next speaker was our own Jonathan Dale,
whose talk (all bias aside) was one of the highlights
of the Conference. ‘Growing from Testimony’ gave
some clear insight from Jonathan’s reflections on
his own lifestyle as well as his work on QPSW’s
Testimonies Committee and elsewhere. With major
changes in the planet’s ecology established and accelerating,
how do people justify continuing to perpetuate
them? Cheapness, convenience, consumerism
and comfort outweigh concern for the world in
many people in the economically richer areas of the
world, and the wealth and power enjoyed by Governments
and multinational companies mean that
they have a vested interest in keeping us that way.
Individually – and with others when we find them –
we can both be spiritual and live with the materialistic
world. The key is to find our spiritual core,
which will enable us not to be so attached to possessions.
A phrase that stood out here for me is
‘nothing now is neutral’.

Speaking from his own experience of realising that
his own behaviour – owning a house, driving a car,
flying, the food he bought – contradicted his beliefs
on environmental impact, Jonathan emphasised the
importance of ‘centring down’ as a key to examining
parts of our lives to see if we are living in the
way we believe in. It is all ministry, as it answers to
the spiritual. Once you start and allow yourself to
make changes, your awareness and actions will
grow and continue to grow. Also important is realising
that you don’t always have to be at the cutting
edge, just to be responsive. As Tim put it “our attempts to 'live right' can be a rewarding journey
and that the joy can grow as we attempt to embrace the testimony of simplicity. This, and his point that we
should examine our lifestyles 'bit by bit' was helpful
to me because, by nature, I am inclined to feel overwhelmed by the scale of such
big social problems.”
Jonathan also outlined how other agencies are linking
concerns linked to climate change with social
justice and equality. We and many other richer
countries are exporting our environmental problems;
our economic system encourages more consumerism - it is anti-simplicity. We need to create a Quaker community of response, worked out individually through reflection.

The next speakers told us about the Human Security
project and its advocacy work with corporations,
Governments, the International
Monetary Fund and The World Bank. They
seek to make others aware of the links between
environmental degradation, economic injustice
and violent conflict and how addressing one of
these can positively affect the others.
Alistair and Paul attended a workshop on the
Quaker Housing Trust. QHT was set up in the
1960s as a response to the lack of affordable
and appropriate housing. It works both as a funder
of projects and research (such as feasibility
studies) and environmental assessments. Projects
must be charities, provide housing and be
meeting an identified social housing need.
These can be newly-built houses, refurbishing
or renovations. They also recognise the need for
gardens and other associated amenities, providing
homes not just houses. All income for QHT
comes from donations, scheduled giving and
recycled loans to projects in the scheme, so income
can vary.

Paul and Tim attended a workshop on strengthening
non-violence in South Asia. Paul reported
‘The focus of the recent work by QPSW
has been to help conciliation work amongst the
Naga people. This involvement has arisen from
years of non-violence work in the region, ranging
from involvement with the Gandhian movement
to a long running peace project in Sri
Lanka between the Tamil Tigers and the government.
These links have placed QPSW in a
position where they have the respect and trust
required to fulfil such a role. They also discussed
the workshops they have run for the
South Asia Peace Alliance and the work of the
SAPA itself.’

Tim also attended ‘Dinner Table Diplomacy -
Quaker work at the UN’. Oliver Robertson was
an engaging speaker, recounting his experience
on placement to QUNO in Geneva. QUNO
commits to very long-term campaigns (some,
such as Conscientious Objectors, having run
since 1950) organised by three departments:
Peace, Economics and Human Rights. The
authority of their research papers and their participation in UN meetings command wide
respect.
Their regular informal lunches can break down
barriers between diplomats from adversarial
nations and sow seeds of peace and justice into
UN work. Again, the quiet voice has great
power. Alistair also attended ‘Making a Difference to
Global Rules’ run by Geoff Tansey. Geoff has
been working with Quakers on the environment
since 1992, and has become a Quaker in the
process. He told of how the Quaker United Nations
Office provides a more neutral, less-stressed
place for people to meet and discuss
matters. This has already led to some changes
to United Nations documents on biodiversity,
food security and intellectual property.

Geoff has a particular interest in ensuring that
global food rules are fair; he explained how the
current food system is based on industrial processes,
a war economy and competition and that
the key trends now are economic competition
(fewer players controlling more of the market)
expanded (global) markets and control through
science, technology and laws, rules and regulations.
As there is a limited demand for food
(people can only eat so much) so the system
pressures the industry to expand by diversification
such as prepared meals, special products
and wider ranges of each product.

Recent Quaker focus has been on the laws,
rules and regulations (in whose interest are
these made?), modern biotechnology (who will
benefit?) and intellectual property rights and
their relationship to biodiversity. Geoff pointed
out some anomalies; most United Nations conventions
and so on have delayed, soft penalties
and can be got round – particularly by richer
countries – whereas the World Trade Organisation
has a harder, usually sanction-based punishment
system. They also affect other attempts
to make things fairer; their rules on pharmaceuticals
have held up the implementation of the
Doha Declaration.

One very positive outcome of Geoff’s work has
been working alongside the ‘International Affairs
Programme’ set up in 2000 by a small
group of Ottawa Quakers. Geoff and a Canadian
colleague have just published a book ‘The
Future Control of Food’ that can give more insight
into his work. While this approach to
working with global organisations is not for
everyone, it is one way in which international
conventions and agreements have been affected
in a way that benefits more people. The lessons
are that in order to influence you need access,
effective networking and to be consistent. Applying
plain-speaking by asking questions like
‘who will benefit?’ and ‘what difference will
this make?’ also helps.

The conference brought me for the first time
into a large gathering of Quakers from across
the country; my previous experience had been
local, regional or smaller national groups.
While most of the whole group work (apart
from the Sunday Meeting for Worship) was
formal, there was plenty of opportunity to meet
and talk with people at meals or between sessions.
Finally, my time in the base group was
very enjoyable; it genuinely developed over the
weekend and I would have liked another session
to be fitted in somehow! Talking with people
such as an experienced activist from the
South-West, an organic market gardener from
North Yorkshire, a newer Quaker from Lancashire
and an experienced Young Friend gave
me insight into their beliefs and motivation to
be at QPSW, which provided more of the human
aspects of the work.

Alistair Gault, Tim Bull, Paul Dodwell

Cont. -

My relationship with Risley prison began
almost twenty years ago. As a recently bereaved
mum with three young children, I
found myself somewhat unexpectedly ‘at
home’ caring for my children and looking
for intellectual stimulation. A friend working
at the prison suggested that I applied to
join the Board of Visitors (BOV) at Risley.
The BOV was, at that time, an independent
‘Watchdog’; set up by the government to
monitor conditions for inmates and employees
in the prison and was looking for
’young professional women‘ to join the
board. Back then, Risley was a Category A
Remand prison, with the highest levels of
security. Our weekly routine included visiting
every Cat A and every Rule 43* prisoner,
to ensure that their human rights were
being addressed. (*Now known as rule 45,
which enables vulnerable prisoners to be
segregated from the other prisoners for their
own safety). My duties included following
up any complaints made by inmates or by
staff, visiting the kitchens (to inspect the
food), the educational facilities (to monitor
inclusion and the content of courses) and
also sitting on internal adjudication panels
(to deal with any internal disciplinary issues).
It was a wonderful way to get to
know a prison inside-out.

Life changes and once the children were all
attending school I needed to get back to
full-time work and pay the mortgage! As I
could no longer dedicate the full day each
week needed for the BOV work, the governor
at the time, Brendan O’Freil, who knew that I was a Quaker, asked if I had considered
working on the chaplaincy team. He
commented that ‘it would be a shame to
lose all your experience within the prison.’
So I began visiting the prison on Sundays
with John Sheldon who was the Quaker
Prison Minister at the time. We met wherever
we could, usually in a borrowed room
on the vulnerable prisoner’s wing. John or
I would bring a small bunch of flowers and
we would sit quietly with a small group of
prisoners around a table until the shouting,
banging of doors and rattling of keys faded
away and the deep stillness of a Quaker silence
would permeate the room.

When John moved on to his work at Woodbrooke,
I officially became the Quaker
Minister at Risley and have continued the
regular Quaker meetings ever since. We
are now able to meet in the refurbished
chapel in the multi-faith room which we
share with Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and other
‘minority’ faith groups.

It has been fascinating to see the changes in
the prison over the years. Officially:
‘Risley opened as a male/female Remand
Centre in 1964. It was re-roled to a male
category C Training Prison in 1990; on the
same site as the Female Remand Centre and
a Male Allocation Centre. The female facility
closed in April 1999 and the Male Allocation
Centre closed in March 2000, at
which time Risley wholly re-roled to a
Category C Training Prison.’

Many of the changes over the years have
been for the better. Conditions such as
‘three men in a cell’ and ‘slopping-out’
have now disappeared but many of the concerns
remained the same. There were, and
still are, many vulnerable men in Risley;
some with mental health issues or battling
with addictions, who are isolated and alone.
Many have lost the support of their families,
due to the nature of their crimes.
Sometimes their needs seemed overwhelming
and I have often felt ill-equipped to
meet-up to the challenges but I will always remember the words of one of my favourite
governors who one day, when I had a heart
to heart with him, said quietly, ‘Kay there is
little enough humanity in a place like Risley
and any that you bring in can only be a bonus.’
That thought has often kept me going.

On a more positive note I have so many
good memories of the times I have spent at
Risley and will always be grateful to members
of the chaplaincy team who have always
made me welcome and encouraged
our Quaker meetings. And wonderful
friends too: Diane Furber, who supported
me and attended Risley meetings with me
for many years, through thick and thin.
Dorothy Kelly (a Baptist with Quaker connections!)
who has more recently attended
meetings and has often ministered (always >

Kay Böhm reflects on
Risley Meeting for Worship

“Much depends on the spirit in which the
visitor enters upon her work. It must be in
the spirit, not of judgement, but of mercy”.
Elizabeth Fry ‘observations on the visiting
of female prisoners’ (1827).

sensitively). And many of the attenders of
the meeting who, for a huge variety of reasons
(often a chance meeting with Quakers
in another part of their lives) have been led
to attend our Meetings for Worship. For
some, that involvement with Quaker faith
and practice has given them strength to
change their own lives. For others it has
given practical support and encouragement
to begin a new life on release. I remember,
fondly, the families I became involved
with, the children for whom I was able to
facilitate family visits and, of course, those
amazing women who ‘disarmed’ the so-called
Hawk Trainer jets at Warton in 1996;
preventing their export to Indonesia. They
spent over six months incarcerated in Risley
before being found ‘not guilty’ at Liverpool
crown court….but that’s another story.

My personal journey and relationship with
Risley has led to my interest and involvement
with the reintegration of offenders
into society and the establishment of ‘Circle
of Support and Accountability’. Our Circle
supports a former sex-offender living in the
community; providing him with a group of
friends who are there not only as a social
support but also to challenge any behaviour
that may cause concern. As my daily work
involves contact with children who have
often suffered abuse, I see my work with
the Circle as a form of child protection: If
our work can prevent a single sex-offender
from re-offending, there will be fewer victims
and I see this as a natural progression
from my pastoral work in prison.
The Quaker meetings continue and I look
forward to the quiet hour I spend with a
small group of men from a wide range of
backgrounds. I never seek to discuss their
‘crimes’ but prefer to offer them an opportunity
for thought and reflection with the
acceptance that we are all equal in the eyes
of God and, hopefully, time to discover
‘that of god in everyone’. I would also like
to take this opportunity to thank all my
family and friends who have supported my
work over the years and particularly those
‘Friends’ that have held ex-offenders ‘in the
light’ and helped them along the difficult
road to reintegration into every day life.

A Quaker Congo link

Martin Gilbraith

I was born and brought up a Quaker, in Edinburgh
and Cambridge, and transferred my membership to
Mount Street meeting when I moved to Manchester
in 1995. Although I have seldom attended meeting
since my teenage years in the early 1980s, I didn’t
want to let my membership lapse, so I am grateful to
have been accepted by the meeting as a non-attender
all these years.

What finally prompted me to show my face among
Friends again was my recent trip to visit Quakers in
Eastern Congo (DRC) in February, on behalf of
Cambridge Area Meeting. My mother Janet Gilbraith
is active in their “Congo Group”, through
which the meeting has been supporting the work of
Congo Yearly Meeting (CEEACO, the Community
of Evangelical Churches of Friends in the Congo)
for several years.

On the strength of my many years of experience
working in international development, including
some experience of Africa, and in spite of my rather
limited recent involvement with Friends, I was regarded
as a suitable companion to Hazel Shellens of
Huntingdon Local Meeting for a one week visit.
Our aims were to demonstrate to Congo Friends that
Friends here are alongside them, and to assess how
best we might be able to help them in the future,
both financially and otherwise.

Manchester Friends may remember Mkoko Boseka
of CEEACO from his two weeks in Manchester last
summer, after attending the Friends World Triennial
in Dublin. He had spent time with Cambridge
Friends on the same visit. After learning that Manchester
Friends also had a connection with Mkoko
and CEEACO, and a wider interest in the Congo as
well, I made myself known and invited Manchester
Friends to also take advantage of the trip to develop
their links with CEEACO as well.

I shall not describe our trip here in any detail, or
what we saw and learned of CEEACO. Some of you
may have attended the slide show I presented at
Mount Street in March, and whether you did or not,
you can view it yourself online – 89 photos with
captions, plus links to 16 video clips and other sites.
To do so, point your browser at :www.flickr.com/
photos/24338406@N05 or go to www.flickr.com
and search for “CEEACO2008” (in “People”). A
few of the photos are reprinted here, and I would be
happy to deliver the slideshow in person again for
other groups – please get in touch to let me know.

Also, I shall not explain here in any detail what I
have learned about the country and the region - except
that it has suffered as many as 5.4 million
deaths in the recent wars since 1996, although these
barely registered in the media or public consciousness
in the West; and an unparalleled history of brutal
exploitation of its people and its wealth of natural
resources by outside forces, both during and since
Colonial times. Since I first began to read, feeling
quite ignorant of the country and the region, to help
me decide whether to take up the opportunity of
visiting the Congo, I became quite obsessed and read
over a dozen books in a few months – not to mention
a number of reports and other