Rochester Quakers at Medway Pride 2024
John, Amy, Austen and Hannah represented the Rochester Quakers at Medway Pride this year. It was a gloriously hot, sunny day, and the atmosphere was celebratory and fun. The other stall-holders ranged from political parties, to health and wellness organisations, food and drink trucks and volunteers from the emergency services. As the only faith-base organisation, the people we spoke to were both surprised and reassured that we were there. "I expected to see at least someone in a dog-collar," one woman said to us. Another man thanked us for being there, acknowledging that the Quakers have always spoken up for inequality. Some people knew a little about the Quakers, some didn't. Many people were curious as asked us "what do Quakers believe and do?" With four of us there, we could talk about the diversity of thought and belief within the Quakers, but we could also listen and try to understand the struggles that many LGBTQIA+ people have every day. Personally, I reflected on how little I think about identity and belonging as I am not part of the LGBTQIA+ community, and how I need to be more of a vocal ally for them.
We gave out stickers, badges and leaflets to many people there, and provided a quiet, shady spot for those who needed to sit and be calm. It was great to be part of such a vibrant, supportive event, and can't wait to be there next year.
HW
Quaker Business
Quakers carry out business very differently from most other organisations. This is a Native American quote that sums it up well.
'Indians know about silence. We are not afraid of it. For us, silence is more powerful than words. Our elders would tell us.... observe, listen, act. With you, it is the opposite. You reward talking, you all talk at the same time. You interrupt each other. You get nervous in silence.'
Quakers listen more than talk, and use silence to discern the way forward. Many Quakers work in mediation between factions at war.
We currently hold a business meeting on 4th Sunday of the month, straight after our Meeting for Worship.
The full quote:
We Indians know about silence. We are not afraid of it. In fact, for us, silence is more powerful than words. Our elders were trained in the ways of silence, and they handed over this knowledge to us. Observe, listen, and then act, they would tell us. That was the manner of living.
With you, it is just the opposite. You learn by talking. You reward the children that talk the most at school. In your parties, you all try to talk at the same time. In your work, you are always having meetings in which everybody interrupts everybody and all talk five, ten or a hundred times. And you call that ‘solving a problem’. When you are in a room and there is silence, you get nervous. You must fill the space with sounds. So you talk compulsorily, even before you know what you are going to say.
White people love to discuss. They don’t even allow the other person to finish a sentence. They always interrupt. For us Indians, this looks like bad manners or even stupidity. If you start talking, I’m not going to interrupt you. I will listen. Maybe I’ll stop listening if I don’t like what you are saying, but I won’t interrupt you.
When you finish speaking, I’ll make up my mind about what you said, but I will not tell you I don’t agree unless it is important. Otherwise, I’ll just keep quiet and I’ll go away. You have told me all I need to know. There is no more to be said. But this is not enough for the majority of white people.
People should regard their words as seeds. They should sow them, and then allow them to grow in silence. Our elders taught us that the earth is always talking to us, but we should keep silent in order to hear her.
There are many voices besides ours.
Many voices. Ella Deloria.