Eye welcomes readers to the New Year and if early signs are anything to go by, 2010 may well be the year when Quakers step into the limelight.

We were thrilled to see a whole TV documentary on the faith journey of actor Sheila Hancock. And there at her feet as she spoke to interviewer Fern Britton was a rather battered looking copy of Quaker faith & practice. We heard of Sheila’s Catholic background – as a convent schoolgirl the incense made her vomit – and how her father liked to experiment with different faith groups. As an evacuated London kid (‘we weren’t particularly welcomed in the country’) she remembers being taught to hate the Germans, which she later realised had made her a racist. It wasn’t until a recent appearance on the television series Who Do You Think You Are? that she confronted this fully on learning that her ancestors were German. ‘I was descended from those I hated’, she said, finding light from the Quaker entreaty ‘think it possible that you may be mistaken’.

The hour-long programme went very quickly as we saw all the snapshots of a difficult life and a search for meaning. ‘I’m not into serenity’, said Sheila disarmingly. ‘I’m more comfortable with danger.’ Living adventurously fits the bill then.

When Sheila was diagnosed with breast cancer, a friend who was a theatre producer, and himself ill, sent her on quests to look at different religions. The meditation of Buddhism didn’t work for Sheila, who owns up to an undisciplined mind. But when her friend sent her to the simplicity and silence of Quakers, her response was ‘hello’.

Apart from an initial surprise for the Meeting at seeing an enquirer arrive in a convertible sports car, Sheila has found true Friendship in her Meeting.

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