Several Friends from the Brummana Monthly Meeting in Lebanon got together on Sunday Oct 6, 2019 to celebrate World Quaker Day. The theme for this year was sustainability, and we decided to mark the day by sustaining both our environment and our souls.

Sunday was a lovely Autumn day, so we met early in the morning at the Friends Graveyard, raked and cleaned the ground, then went around and planted flowers, green plants, and a cedar tree. This was our small contribution to the beauty of nature. Afterwards we all went down to the lovely farm of one of the families, sat around and nourished our souls by silently remembering all the beloved Friends who made the journey of life before us.

It was a spiritually uplifting day, which we signed off with coffee, cake, and friendly conversation.

Planting Seeds of Renewal for the World We Love

German Yearly Meeting took place in Bad Pyrmont and we planted on Sunday, the World Quaker Day 250 crocuses in silence on the Q-cemetery during sunrise.

From next year on they will feed bees and other insects in February and delight the people who come by. 

Greetings to the Friends all over the world!

Hexham Meeting enjoyed a shared lunch and followed with sharing stories of seeds of renewal.

''A lot of Oslo F(f)riends were at a Quaker gathering in the mountains this weekend, so the Oslo Meeting for Worship today was small, only  seven participants, but (originally) from six different nations: Norway, Germany, UK, Poland, Russia and the US, only one was a visitor.  We thought particularly of the World family of Friends and felt we had a mini world family of Friends at our meeting today. 

In Friendship, Penny, clerk OMM'' October 6th 2019.

The photograph is from a gathering at Jønnbu in the mountains. 

Here in Wandsworth, ministry this morning recalled Friends and others around the world. We heard ministry about Friends suffering from the effects of climate breakdown and those taking personal risks in action calling for urgent action. We also heard about the need for Earth care, and were reminded of the advices on simplicity and that they are here for our comfort and discomfort.

We also heard of valuable work to help refugees. Wandsworth Friends have personal contact with Friends in many places in the World and hold them and others in the Light. Some of us are engaged with the Loving Earth project, including the community textile project, which is helping us to engage with what love may be calling us to do to live more sustainably and care for the world around us. (There’s a link on the Resources page of World Quaker day website).

A number of us will also be joining with others in worship at 2pm on Lambeth Bridge to uphold the Extinction Rebellion over the next two weeks. We’ll be upholding others around the world.

Westminster Meeting were joined by Gretchen Castle, the general Secretary of FWCC World Office on October 6. Gretchen spoke about Friends across the world in differing styles of worship sharing and brought a blanket that was made by BYM when there was the Friends world conference in Peru in 2016.

Winchmore Hill Friends (North London Area Meeting / Britain Yearly Meeting) marking WQD 2019 with a shared lunch and a Bring a friend to Meeting day. 

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