Queries from the 6th World Conference of Friends: Weaving the Threads
The first three days of the 6th World Conference of Friends included two time slots for 47 Thread
Groups. These groups met three times for an hour and a half to produce “threads” that were taken by
“weavers” who compiled them as the product of the Conference. Detailed reports will be included in the
report from the Conference, but the weavers presented a synthesis in the form of queries. They were
presented in four categories, but I am including them in one list. After each of the four sets of queries
were presented, we settled into a period of worship sharing. I found those sessions very inspiring and
profound, to I have synthesized some of the speaking at the end of the list of queries.
How many hands? What is the call for your hands? God speaks one truth, but many instructions. Test
deeply to see if your instructions have changed. Sit with these queries. When drafting these queries, we
want to remind ourselves to be obedient to the call of God; listen faithfully to the voice of God.
1) How can we open ourselves to forming love into God’s power and build God’s Kingdom into
love?
2) Can we come together from all parts of the world to strengthen God’s work and nurture
peace?
3) How can Friends respond to violence that is rooted in in race, ethnicity, privilege, and work
for a just peace?
4) How can Friends use AVP, HROC, and many other Quaker programmes that seek to
transform hatred to love?
5) Can we challenge injustice and raise alternative models to right sharing of world resources?
6) Can we transform our community into a manifestation of God’s Kingdom?
7) What is our witness to the world? We need to testify to the equality of all mankind and
God?
8) Are we as Friends willing to shine God’s light on the ways in which our actions and lives may
contribute to continuation of domination?
9) Are we as Friends willing to transform our consciousness, behaviors, and lifestyles to engage
empire through God’s love and power?
10) Are we as Friends willing to repent and risk suffering as we work to build God’s Kingdom
through breaking down the pillars of domination and engage with those who support
domination?
11) Are we willing to seek to build right relationships with God and people?
12) Are we as Friends willing to let God’s light shine and God‘s salt work in the dark places of
our history, our Quaker communities and practices to seek forgiveness and act to bring
healing and justice both present and retrospective where there has been or is injustice and
hurt?
13) Are we as Friends prepared to examine our placement of money and investment seeking to
remove support from those which bring about adverse effects?
14) Can we be creative in using opportunities to make our voices heard in share-holder
meetings and the like to bring about improvement in company practices?
15) Are we as Friends willing to examine the system of political, social, economic, racial, and
other forms of domination, the empire in which we live? Where is this process going?
16) Are we as Friends willing to shine God’s Light on the ways our lifestyle and resource usage
supports the domination systems under which we live?
17) How much of our investments do we really need? When can we let go of our anxiety about
our old age?
18) How can we as Friends move beyond a retributive justice model that delineates us versus
them to a model of restorative justice?
19) How can we as Friends use truth-based system for both victims and perpetrators, for
perpetrators have often been victims themselves?
20) Do we as Friends work to heal communities and ourselves, to provide community dignity
with justice and healing for all, victims and perpetrators?
21) How can we offer our own brokenness in God’s service to contribute to the healing of
others?
22) How do you respect the discipline of Spirit-led discernment in your Meetings?
23) How can Friends work to respect and increase understanding between people of different
religions around the world?
24) Can we, by being non-judgmental and listening with care, learn about other people’s beliefs
and practices?
25) What have you learned about faith in action at this Conference that you will share with your
monthly and yearly meetings?
26) What will you do when you go back home? We ask that Friends create networks of support
and work together to bring about the radical and challenging transformation that forms the
basis for our hope for the future.
27) Are we living God’s Kingdom? Can you open your hearts to the still small voice for guidance?
What work can we do in the 21st Century? How must we change?
Madagascar in the Indian Ocean is four times the size of England, has 22 million people, and is the third
poorest country in the world. There is oil, uranium, and other natural resources, but they are not
exploited. Injustice and violence go together. My Friend from Congo says it is worse for them. It is the
same story all over Africa. How do we as Friends testify ourselves in front of this violence?
We are asking too much of these queries. It seems impossible. When we leave this place, the real work
is in our home meetings. Invite our Friends to address the violence that they see. What we pray for, we
must work for.
More craftwork comes from the poorer countries. See how our world is made. Our world is made from
the exploitation, one country from another, one man from another. I ask this conference that when we
return home we pray about how we can improve as human beings.
Recently there was an announcement that oil has been discovered in the Turkana area of Kenya. U.S.
Friends are pessimistic about this, saying that oil comes with a curse. We Kenyans are optimistic as
Friends. We are thought of as peaceful people. Research to see what causes the political and other
problems with oil would help. It would be sad if Kenya had serious problems as a result of the oil. I am
appealing to organizations to see if there is any way Quakers can address this issue?
We were reminded that Quakers can provide spirit-led discernment and we gain strength from reading
the Bible. The key is the gospels, especially the Sermon on the Mount: Love one another, be
peacemakers, follow Jesus’ example.
I am struck by the number of different projects that Quakers are involved in. I wonder if there is not one
single project that 500,000 Quakers could work on together. Could we commit today to end wars in 20
years? The keynote speech called for making war illegal. I hope that Quakers will hold deeply the
testimony of peace for resolving conflict.
I have the troubling sense that we might be a community made up of people who say, “it is too hard.“
About privilege, we seek to be good peace-makers, but we are seeking privilege by education, by
participating in the competition and status that comes with these models. Support each other, stay with
the questions, with the darkness.
Romans 8:22 Sustainability is about the relation between God and people, between Friends and God’s
creation. For sustainability and economic equality, we must face the truth that the powers that be are
not concerned to mitigate climate change. We owe it to future generations and to God to do it
ourselves.
Developed nations have increased the carbon in the atmosphere. We in Kenya are cutting down trees to
use the timber in construction. We must join hands with the developed nations to eliminate this
problem.
Africa is a laboratory showing the power of non-violence. Recent Nobel Peace Prize winners include the
Women of Liberia and Wangari Matthei.
I am concerned about interfaith healing. Friends want light on racism, human sexuality, gender equality
and other hidden inequalities.
Deep connection, understanding, love, and healing happens when we are face to face. I encourage
Friends to be with each across distances and differences, to travel in the ministry. It is when we
encounter the other with a full heart that God’s love can guide us and melt differences.
I feel that sometimes we use the words “love of God” to be accommodating to others. God’s love is
manifest to all men and women. But he wants us to recognize that we are sinners. We must ask for
forgiveness, for we have been broken or have broken others.
Talking about healing, in the West we have the theories and most of the economic resources. We have
to unite, combine our theories from the West with the experience of Africa and Latin America. The West
needs to change. Maybe Africa and Latin America need to go to the West to teach us how to change.
We are to give a message to the world. We are like Noah during the flood. We have current flooding due
to climate change. We need to measure healthy economic change. There are so many ways that we
need to change to be the world that God created.
I am feeling great joy. I’m grateful to be part of this gathering. I will go home and tell people how united
we are. It is remarkable how similar we are. We have talked about diversity, but the belief in that of God
in everyone is widely shared.
We must speak with a prophetic voice. Do not be afraid of change. We have gifts to offer those around
us through our testimonies and our history of speaking truth when society was afraid. We must go home
and continue these conversations across nations and church bodies.
Germany and Japan are phasing out their nuclear power plants. We cannot separate the environment
from healing because all are interrelated. Give all possible encouragement. South Africa has just
announced they plan to go ahead with a nuclear plant. We must move to cleaner alternatives. We
cannot separate nuclear power from nuclear weapons. The future is threatened.
The Quaker church will soon be a universal church. We continue teaching truth, remembering what our
early Friends taught who started our church. We don’t want to bring in new things. Let us not
compromise with what is not true.
The challenge for Friends is how to be at peace with those of other faiths. The answer to interfaith is
that we have to meet others in the same loving relationships, even if people think they have the only
way to God. Love means respect and setting aside our own needs.
How can we be at peace with other faiths? We are so many different churches. What bothers most of us
is the fear that it will take away from our testimonies. We have to have respect for everyone, knowing
that there is that of God in everyone.
We already know more than we realize. In Britain YM we have many faiths, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu,
Pagan. We need to talk to each other and share. All are talking about different images, different stories
of the same God. We are learning how to deal with that and we need to share it with others.
I often represent Quakers in interfaith groups. In the meetings we dance around each other like boxes
carefully marking territory. But walking down the corridor after the meeting is the best moment for
engaging each other, forming friendship and partnerships.
I have a great joy. In Revelations, God sent seven letters. If He wanted us all to be the same, He would
have sent only one. Lord doesn’t have any problem with more than one church or one church with many
doors. We are asked to walk through a door. Joy because so many Friends who have taken care of their
door. We are defined by our differences, deeper into friendship unto brotherhood. Look at my
difference. I won’t let go until you bless me.
We must remind ourselves to take joy in creating with our own hands. Let us go forth in joy. After the
fear, in loving we can have joy.