Outreach

 There have never been very many Quakers and, as with most, religious groupings, the numbers have been steadily declining- or, at least, in Britain and America that's the case, but maybe not in Africa. My friend Alan lent me a Quaker magazine devoted to the question of "outreach"- which is a gentler word for evangelisation or- in secular terms- recruitment. Should we be stomping around the country- the way our founder George Fox did, winning souls but also getting up lots of peoples' noses?  All the writers end up saying "No". The Quaker way is to be quiet and unassuming and- if new people show up at our Meeting Houses- guided by the spirit of discernment-  be welcoming, friendly, authentic and kind.

This is what I think too. It's nice to know I'm in agreement with my co-religionists.

Incidentally, notice how in the first sentence I steered clear of the terms "First World" and "Third World" They are no longer acceptable- and I can see why-  but I only found out the other day- from friends whose business went through terrible convulsions after one of their staff innocently/ignorantly used them in front of someone who knew better. How these things do creep up on you!

BLOG

 

And now for some autobiography. Sort of... This is me, in my school uniform, admiring a double-decker London bus. Some of the details are right, some of them are wrong- and facts have been telescoped as happens with far memory and in dreams.  But the feel of it is right. This is Croydon c 1960 on a misty winter's day- of which there were many. I can all but smell the frostiness and the smoke from the coal fires I should be wearing shorts, but that's alright because I hate shorts. It's odd that the bus should be driverless. But I love how the sign on the left says "BLOG"