Message from the Pastoral Care and Eldership Team (PaCET) for Sunday Meeting 2nd March 2025

Dear Friends,

A Lewes Friend recently suggested to me that our pastoral circle (Friar’s) could have a discussion on SQUIFS. “What, pray, are SQUIFS?” I asked. The answer was forthcoming: “Singles Quakers In Families”, of which our Friend is one.

This, of course, led me to ponder, and to realise that I am indeed one myself …

My parents and sister never showed an iota of interest in religion … and nor have most of my friends. I was, however, very affected by the teachings of Christ in my RS lessons at school … but did nothing about it until a relationship went wrong, leading to the almost inevitable spiritual search.

I dabbled a bit with going to church … and loved the hymns.  However, I really didn’t like the power imbalance of one person doing all the preaching … and I also didn’t find the weekly repetition of prayers to be very helpful to me.

And then, one day, on a walking holiday in the Lakes, I came across a Quaker Meeting House, found some leaflets, bought and read Harvey Gillman’s book ‘A Light that is Shining’ … and was smitten.

I love (and admire) many things about Quakerism, but above all that we can have diect communication with the Divine, without the need for a priest to intercede for us.

Also: the ‘Priesthood of all believers’ … the idea that we’re ALL priests, because no one person is the minister. We can ALL minister and contribute meaningfully within our Quaker community.

Finally: to be able to know and worship with such interesting, passionate, principled, intelligent and often quirky Friends is such a joy.

(I try, and mostly fail, to work towards the four (now five?) Quaker testimonies … but at least it gives me a level of goodness to aim for.)

Thus it seems thar I am a SQUIF Quaker by convincement, and I am hugely proud to be one. I have now been a member of the Religious Society of Friends for ten years, and shall be for the rest of my life.

In Friendship
Veryan Greenwood

on behalf of the Pastoral Care and Eldership Team (Patricia Cockrell, David Hitchin, Sharon Krummel, Tim Pitt-Payne, Caroline Pybus, Theresa Samms)