Frances:

Testimony of Equality

From Quakers and Equality (Introduction):

Equality is at the very heart of Quaker faith and action. It is one of the testimonies through which we live, and it has often been perceived to be the most important of all.

Australia Yearly Meeting (1996)

At the centre of Friends' religious experience is the consistently expressed belief in the equal worth of all people. Our common humanity transcends our differences.

We aspire not to say or do anything, nor to condone any statements, actions, or situations which imply a lack of respect of the humanity or human rights of any person or people.

Kevin Clements in Honouring the Other: The Quest for Respect, Equality, and Small Goodnesses in Aotearoa New Zealand

2010 Quaker Lecture (an extract)

So when we hear the tears of those who die ten years younger than they should; or the prisoner crying in his or her cell; or the refugee struggling to make sense of his or her displacement; or the mentally ill; the elderly; the sick and the dying; or the marginalised, the abandoned, the unemployed and the oppressed—then our first and immediate instinct must be:

What small goodness can we give to these persons?

Our second instinct must be political:

What institutional changes need to take place to ensure that the conditions generating this grief and these tears are addressed by a caring state committed to serving the public good instead of private interest?

Twelve Quakers and Equality (Quaker Quest)

If the Quaker saying that each person is unique, precious, a child of God is true, then I believe it to be the most radical statement for working towards equality and inclusion.

I can begin every encounter with another person with the possibility of receiving a divine revelation of insight and a learning experience. Such expectancy is the joy of my Quaker spiritual path.

Advices and Queries 24

• Respect the wide diversity among us in our lives and relationships.

• Refrain from making prejudiced judgments about the life journey of others.

• Do you foster the spirit of mutual understanding and forgiveness which our discipleship asks of us?

• Remember that each one of us is unique, precious, a child of God.

Advices and Queries 36

• Are you alert to practices here and throughout the world which discriminate against people on the basis of who or what they are, or because of their beliefs?

• Bear witness to the humanity of all people, including those who break society's conventions or its laws.

• Try to discern new growing points in social and economic life.

• Seek to understand the causes of injustice, social unrest and fear.

• Are you working to bring about a just and compassionate society which allows everyone to develop their capacities and fosters the desire to serve?

Queries to consider in Worship Sharing

• How do you relate to any of these chosen quotes?

• What inspires you to live a life embracing equality as a testimony?

My Response

I can relate to the statement that our common humanity transcends our differences, and I feel it is more important than ever to keep that close to my heart and in my own thinking in these present times, when there is so much division.

As a member of a Quaker community, it is important for me to live out this testimony with others. What canst I say? As a privileged white woman with no real financial worries, I have a responsibility—and indeed a debt—to society to the reality of the inequality I witness, read and hear about.

Living on unceded First Nations land is a reminder for me to act. As Kevin Clements points out, firstly:

What small goodness can I do in my local community?

Then the second instinct must be political—to work for institutional change.

But I also have work to do on my own prejudices and privilege. What colonising habits, for example, do I still practise, albeit unwittingly? I still have much to learn as I listen to the stories of First Nations Elders, stand with them and others in their communities at events such as Invasion Day, and smaller gatherings too.

Stories of injustice and unfair treatment are closer to home when my husband relates his own experiences after arriving in London from Zambia in the late 1970s, when their family being the only Indian family in the street.

In a way, Vib inspires me to attempt to live a life embracing equality. Long before we met, I went on Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) marches and other peace rallies in London and elsewhere. At the same time, there were marches against South African apartheid, while on the streets there was harassment of Black and Asian youths by police. Such harassment can still be experienced by First Nations young people here today.

While living in England, there were also times to stand alongside members of the LGBTIQ+ community as they sought justice. Young trans people now ask for our support too. I recognise their often articulate eloquence and learn from them.

The possibility of receiving a divine revelation of insight and learning from all encounters with others is a real blessing.

My recent challenge has been to recognise that of God in people with whom I have huge differences on the genocide in Gaza. They too have something to offer and to teach me, if I choose to remain open and recognise that they are precious and a child of God.

And I recall the words of George Fox, who encourages us to be patterns and examples in all countries, to follow leadings of the Spirit with heart and minds prepared.

Episode 11: Equality

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Which quotation or idea from this episode spoke most deeply to you, and why?

2. The phrase "our common humanity transcends our differences" is central to this testimony. When have you experienced that truth in your own life?

3. Kevin Clements asks us first, "What small goodness can we give?" and then calls us to seek institutional change. How do you balance personal acts of compassion with working for broader justice?

4. Frances reflects on examining her own prejudice and privilege. What practices help you become aware of your own assumptions, and what have you learned from that process?

5. Quakers speak of recognising "that of God" in every person. What makes this easy, and what makes it especially difficult?

6. Frances describes learning from First Nations people, the LGBTIQA+ community, and even those with whom she profoundly disagrees. When has listening to someone else's story changed your perspective?

7. How does the testimony of equality challenge the way you respond to current conflicts and divisions in your community or in the wider world?

8. George Fox encouraged Friends to be "patterns and examples in all countries." What is one practical way you feel led to live out the testimony of equality in the coming week?