A Quaker Meeting Like No Other
Photo credit: @CJ_Coalition on Twitter/X
You may be aware that on the 27th of March more than 20 police, some carrying Tasers, broke into Westminster meeting house and arrested 6 young women attending a “Welcome Talk” hosted by the activist group Youth Demand. They stormed into a place of worship, breaking the door in the process. It was the first arrest in a Quaker meeting house in living memory.
Like many Quakers, I felt confused and upset by the news. The use of such force felt surreal given that peace and nonviolence are key parts of Quakerism. It was a scary reminder that we live in a time where the right to protest is being increasingly taken away by the government.
Tucked away on St Martin's Lane, in Covent Garden, Westminster Meeting House is a welcoming, quiet space for anyone who needs it. The sound-panelled corridor walls help to muffle the inner city noise, leading to a library with Quaker books to borrow, plants, a fireplace and a large sign that reads “Quakers Welcome Trans People”. The meeting room itself is bright and airy, with wood panelling and parquet floors. It is simple and beautiful. Apart from the occasional rumblings of the Tube underneath, it’s easy to forget that you’re right in the middle of the city.
My first awareness of the space came from BBC’s ‘Fleabag’ in which the show’s titular character attends a very Quaker meeting at Westminster meeting house and feels moved by the spirit to give some very honest testimony. A few years later, I found myself attending Westminster meetings as a Quaker. My local meeting is Blackheath, but I came to Westminster to attend a few London Young Adult Friend meetings, and brought my younger brother to experience his first Quaker meeting at Westminster.
When I heard the news about the arrests at Westminster meeting house, I found it hard to wrap my head around something so violent and intrusive happening in such a peaceful and spiritual space. The Young Friend meetings I’ve attended at Westminster meeting house have made me feel optimistic about activism in a way I hadn’t felt since university, and yet here were young activists in the same space being arrested for simply attending a welcome talk.
The concept of “safe spaces” has become such an overused term that it’s often made into a joke, but meeting houses do truly feel like safe spaces. Where else can strangers of all different backgrounds and ages, who hold different beliefs, come together to sit in silence, to meditate, and to pray?
When I found out that a Quaker meeting in solidarity with those arrested would take place outside New Scotland Yard last week, it felt important to attend. Quakers are a relatively small religious organisation – there are only 17,540 members and attenders in the UK (as of the end of 2022, according to Britain Yearly Meeting) – so it felt meaningful to have an opportunity to make our presence visible.
Photo credit: Sam Stone
By the Chindit Memorial on Victoria Embankment, approximately 330 Quakers gathered before sitting down in front of New Scotland Yard to hold a Quaker meeting. Quakers also gathered for a parallel Meeting for Worship online, joining a Zoom meeting which quickly filled up its 300 person capacity. Across the country, local Quaker meetings also held meetings in solidarity, some outside of police stations. Before the meeting began we were reminded by a speaker that the purpose of the meeting was not to protest - it was to counter the violence enacted by the Met Police force with love and peace.
During the hour-long meeting, many Quakers stood up and gave testimony along this theme: of responding to fear with love, and of not being silenced. Given the large nature of the meeting, it was hard to hear every speaker, especially as their quiet voices mingled with the traffic behind us, nearby roadworks, and the bustle of members of the public passing by. Joggers, businessmen in suits, and tourists made confused comments at the sight of 400 people sitting and standing together on the concrete pavement in peaceful silence.
I’d never attended a meeting outside before, or a meeting with so many attendees. Despite the chaos of the outside world and the threat of the police standing close by, this unique meeting felt much like any other to me - peaceful, reflective, powerful.
I hope that the arrests at Westminster meeting house are a one-off, not the beginning of a string of arrests in places of worship or arrests of activists planning peaceful protests. Whatever happens, I know that this special community I’ve found myself in will respond with courage and strength. An organiser helped to hand out badges made by Quakers in Britain that read “Simple. Radical. Spiritual.” I wore mine all day with pride.
Written by Sam Stone.
If you’d like to experience a Quaker Meeting, you can find out more about visiting a Meeting for the first time in our introductory pack. Or, you can get in touch with a friendly contact person at a Quaker Meeting close to you.
