Letters - 10 November 2017
From red and white poppies to a zoological lexicon
Red and white poppies
On 11 November I will be wearing both a red and a white poppy; white as a general declaration against all wars, the red, blood-coloured poppy as a reminder of physical damage to bodies and the red poppies native to the Flanders Fields.
However, the wearing of the red poppy does far more than commemorate. It raises money for the Royal British Legion, an organisation set up to support those injured physically and mentally during the first world war. At first it was helpful in assisting families deprived of the bread winner. Latterly the Legion has addressed a need: providing opportunities for those who retire after a career of service and who are feeling lost.
The camaraderie and total support given by the armed services can suddenly evaporate. The Legion halls provide a place for social intercourse for those used by our country – and then discarded and abandoned. The Legion also organises interdenominational commemoration services, such as the annual Cenotaph parade.
The Peace Pledge Union has been criticised by the British Legion for attacking the ‘glamorisation of war’ through the sale of red poppies. Is there a single person who wears the poppy to glamorise war?
Selling 100,000 replacement poppies, ostensibly to stop the sale of red poppies, seems to me to be misguided, provocative and mean. To avoid confrontation, should not we Quakers have the courage to wear the white poppy throughout the year – as a sign?
Peter Boyce
A Quaker Friend tells me that in her Meeting she opposed the wearing of white poppies because it diminishes our respect for those who died in the past wars. However, in our Meeting we wear both red and white poppies, the red in remembrance of the past and the white as our hope for the future.
Harry Underhill
Peace activism
I want to thank Sam Walton along with Daniel Woodhouse who, in their wisdom and spirituality, were moved to attempt to disarm warplanes being sold to Saudia Arabia (3 November).
The sincerity of their actions is to be admired. It is so wonderful to see people who are prepared to put themselves in these situations when they know that the official response will be court appearances, but who care more about the sacredness of human lives. Thank God they were found not guilty of criminal charges.
It would be wonderful to see peace activists invited to speak in schools, instead of military personnel.
May peace be upon us all.
Miriam Ryan
Martin Luther
I wondered about the question mark after ‘Friends of Martin Luther?’ (27 October), written by Stuart Masters, which tells you what the author thinks of Luther even before you read the article.
The article itself was very informative and interesting. The fact that Quakers have been more influenced by Wesleyan beliefs, which developed much later and in England, is understandable but should not take away from the importance of Luther and the early Protestant movement.
The cover photograph on the front of the Friend, which shows Luther from the back, can also be seen as questioning his influence.
Luther was the first person to reform the Church, which at that time had absolute power over people. He was also the first to make the Bible available in the tongue of the people. This was, of course, possible because of the invention of the printing press.
Luther suffered greatly for his beliefs. Other reformers followed, Quakers among them. This development of beliefs can be seen as a continuum in how we see ourselves and the world in relation to what is sacred and divine.
Margarete Briggs
Many congratulations for the content of the Friend reflecting on Martin Luther. I have photocopied the explanation by Stuart Masters of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, and I expect to reflect and refer to this for years to come.
And what a wonderful quote of the week by Martin Luther! ‘Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.’
That is so Quaker. Thank you.
David Fish
Skills and experience
Writing about supporting communities Paul Henderson (27 October) omits one key group of people from his list of professionals with relevant skills and experience. Those are public relations practitioners, who now have their own chartered professional body with skills and knowledge on a par with those of the lawyers, accountants and journalists he mentions as essential to effective campaigning.
Theirs are the skills needed to draw up effective campaigns: identifying objectives, target audiences and messages, and developing plans that can be implemented, utilising affordable methods which include effective communications whether written, visual or audible.
Many people have a natural talent for this, but it is those qualified both by experience and formal exams who can best marshall the necessary expertise to deliver campaigns that work.
Jane Brown
Eco-Church awards
I was interested to read the letter from Alan Vernon in the 20 October edition of the Friend. Several Quaker Meetings have achieved Eco Church awards. In West Wiltshire and East Somerset Area Meeting two Meetings, Bradford on Avon and Devizes, have a bronze award.
Although the format is not well geared to Quaker Meetings, here in Devizes we did not find it difficult to reach the bronze level, having begun on the Quaker materials already existing.
We contacted two other Meetings that had already achieved the Eco Congregations award, which preceded Eco Church, and found that encouraging. The next stage will be more tricky, having done the easy things!
The reason for moving to the Eco-Church scheme was so that we could cooperate with other local churches to promote sustainability. This is a slow process, but five churches have agreed to work on the scheme and representatives meet to exchange ideas and experiences.
I would encourage any Meeting to look at the scheme because it does provide a way to keep track of achievements regardless of the award. Devizes Meeting hosts meetings of the local sustainability group, so is also working with the wider community.
Jacky Thomas
Advice from John Woolman
The article by Jamie Wrench (1 September) has occasioned in me, as it was meant to, considerable thought. I essentially agree that a great deal of time is given to ‘vigils and marches’, as well talking and ministering about the damage that is happening to the environment. I agree that ‘none of it does any good’ and we do little good.
I would suggest that we take advice from John Woolman.
First, do not contribute to the problem. [John Woolman refused to purchase goods produced by slave labour. He also refused to wear clothes made from material that had been dyed as the dyes were produced by slave labour.]
Second, quietly, in love, speak truth to power. John Woolman, who was amongst the first to campaign against the slave trade, started by lovingly persuading slave-owning Quakers that they were wrong.
Third, and as Jamie Wrench suggests, be aware of the damage done and the people affected by that damage, and do what can be done to mitigate that damage, offering ‘quiet help to the helpless in a spirit of pragmatism and love rather than despair’.
Walter Storey
Zoological lexicon
I am grateful for the letter from Anne Adams on climate change and capitalism (13 October), and agree with much of it.
In particular, I am fascinated by her description of the not so rare ‘elephant in the room’. I had always assumed that it was a mammal but apparently its babies are ‘spawned’ – from which it appears that it may be reptilian. This is backed up by the fact that it is ‘slippery, elusive and insidious’.
However, Anne says that this creature ‘spreads its tentacles,’ which suggests that it is also aquatic; perhaps a kind of octopus which evolved millions of years ago.
Having perused a zoological lexicon, it seems that it is classified as a ‘Pythoctopusic Elephantasy’, of the genus ‘Mixtus Metamorphosis’.
Paul Honigmann
