Trustees of Meetings
Richard Pashley’s belief (11 October) that charity law means trustees of Quaker Meetings must be members is a common misunderstanding. The requirement actually comes from Quaker faith & practice, not charity law. If Yearly Meeting wanted to allow attenders to be trustees, there’s no legal barrier.
Recently, Meeting for Sufferings considered appointing attenders to central committees but stopped short of including trustees.
A different question to ask might be: If someone is so trusted enough in our community as to be asked to handle responsibilities like our buildings, money, and children’s safety, why haven’t we already recognised them as a member?
Paul Parker
Recording clerk, Britain Yearly Meeting
World Peace Day
Following on from Gillian Wilson’s letter about their World Peace Day [International Day for Peace] event (4 October), here in Chesterfield we have built up a tradition of holding an event on the day itself, whenever that falls. We have the support of our council, and the leader of the council is happy to be one of our speakers, as is also the mayor.
We begin in the marketplace when the Nottingham Clarion Choir starts us off with a rousing chorus. The mayor then leads a procession up to the war memorial, carrying a wreath of white poppies. These are given out in great quantities, along with a sprig of rosemary for remembrance.
We hear more songs of peace, and there are speakers from a range of community groups, including a woman from our Ukrainian refugees, who spoke on behalf of all the refugees in the town. We had an Israeli speaker from Jews for Palestine, a veteran for peace, and a Methodist. We finished by singing John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ together, then the wreath was laid on the cenotaph.
It is a very rewarding experience organised by CND, and supported by local unions and Friends from our Area Meeting.
Lyn Pardo
