Exploring Our Quaker Roots: Moving Towards Repair

This six-month programme invites Friends in Britain Yearly Meeting to deepen their engagement with Quaker reparation. The initiative seeks to explore the complex legacies of Quaker involvement in slavery and colonialism, alongside their historical advocacy for social justice and abolition. Participants will examine the multiple lineages of Quaker history, acknowledging both their role as advocates and beneficiaries of systemic harm.

The course is designed for Friends who have already begun exploring reparation or are seeking to engage more deeply. It primarily targets white Friends, encouraging them to reflect on their responsibility regarding past and present harms. Friends from the global majority are also welcome, with an understanding that the course will address themes of responsibility and repair.

The programme will be participatory, offering opportunities for individual reflection, personal storytelling, small group discussion, and interactive activities. Between sessions, participants will engage with a range of written, audio, and video content. The six live sessions will take place on Zoom at 10:00-12:00 (UK time) on the last Thursday of every month.

The initiative is a collaboration between Woodbrooke and the Reparation Working Group (RWG), established by BYM Trustees to advance the collective commitment to explore reparation for Quaker complicity and benefit from enslavement, colonialism, and economic exploitation. Resources developed by the RWG will be integrated into the course, reflecting the group’s ongoing discernment of a collective way forward.

The course aims to provide space for slower, deeper engagement, allowing time for reflection and processing the impact of these complex and contradictory legacies. It seeks to guide participants towards meaningful action, both personally and collectively, as they work towards social justice and reconciliation.

This programme reflects a commitment to accountability and honest dealing, as outlined in Proverbs 11:1. By confronting the past, Quakers seek to build a more just and equitable future, guided by the principles of justice, mercy, and humble service.

Source: Read the original report