Northern Friends Peace Board 's first ever meeting in Lincoln

September 2018, saw Lincolnshire Friends host the quarterly meeting of the Northern Friends Peace Board for first ever time.

2018 Meeting

As with the 1934 meeting, the 2018 meeting was held at Lincoln Meeting House. From the September 2018 meeting, which was also well attended, there was feedback from recent current events supported by the NFPB, which included:

• NAE Nukes rally at Faslane
• Ride for Equality and the Common Good
• Armed Forces Day

There was also a talk from a Lincolnshire Friend who is a volunteer at the International Bomber Command Centre, near Lincoln, which is now a memorial. The Friend spoke of the seemingly contradictory position of being a Quaker and volunteering at a place that had been responsible for the deaths of thousands during the Second World War.

However, the Friend said that they shared the centre’s values of ‘remembrance, recognition, and reconciliation’, explaining that as a Quaker it provides a perfect opportunity to enter into dialogue with visitors about finding peaceful solutions.

This led on to an open forum about responses to the centenary remembrance of the end of the First World War. We discussed how Friends can peacefully engage with the commemorations taking place around the country. The focus of the forum centred on the white poppy and making it as visible as possible, especially by sending them to schools with an information pack.

Next, a broad discussion saw stories shared about how we can make a difference to the peace movement on both an individual and collective basis. A favourite story came from a Friend who recalled another Friend saying that the most they do is have a Quaker poster in their front window.

However, the poster became well known locally as it featured in a nearby school’s game of children going out and finding local places of interest. The ‘Quaker House’ became one such place of local interest!

Moving on to planning for the next year, the 2019 London Arms Fair was discussed and we heard about Roots of Resistance (now called Quaker Roots), a campaign to get 1,000 Friends protesting at the event. We also heard about Shoots of Resistance, a campaign dedicated to engaging young people in protesting at the arms trade.

Next there was a brief discussion on religion and violence that focused on interfaith relations, and the day ended with consideration of how we identify with peace.

It was a great day at Lincoln Meeting House learning about peace activism with the NFPB. The final words that closed the meeting were, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

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