Wars, hunger, terror …. But what can I do?

An article by Heike Huschauer with poster by Ben Evens.

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Every Saturday

from 11 am to 12 noon at the 

Turner Memorial below the Slopes in Buxton

Stand in a circle of stillness with others who long for peace

‘Quakers in Buxton’ are a worship group of F/friends coming from Bakewell, Disley, and Macclesfield Meetings.

During the last months we have felt increasingly distressed, hopeless, and helpless in the light of wars, terror, and famine in so many countries around the globe.

What can we do; here, where we live our daily lives?

How can we “…undo some of the hurt in this world and take positive action for a better future” as written in one of the oldest leaflets of the Northern Friends Peace Board?

As we all experienced in the 1980s, holding a Vigil for Peace with like-minded F/friends can be empowering and hope-giving.

Buxton F/friends discussed thoroughly how a vigil could be held in these times and how others or passers-by might be invited to join.  Should we use posters, leaflets, press releases – where, when, how?

Our decisions:

Ø  A vigil open for everyone. Therefore no Quaker or other banners, only one big neutral placard (see above).

Ø  Aim is to create a space for reflection, showing solidarity, finding a moment of hope, giving witness, sharing the sorrows of the world.

Ø  A circle looking inwards leaving gaps for easy joining. Some chairs.

Ø  Beforehand invitations (A5 poster – same as the big placard) for faith and environmental groups, in cafés, in the library and some public spaces.

Ø  Press release afterwards.

Ø  Doing it every Saturday, same place, same time until it becomes a tradition in Buxton. Saturdays 11am-12pm, the Turner Memorial (bottom of The Slopes), Buxton.

The first peace circle was held on Saturday 30^th March 2024. Twenty six people of all walks of life joined and stood for 5 minutes or more, many for up to an hour.  There were people from churches, a festival volunteer, a couple of tourists, some Saturday morning shoppers, someone from a Tai Chi-course – some known to us and some we had never seen before. And, one dog.  Many pledged to come again.

Many experienced this first Saturday morning vigil as something precious and powerful. It had the spirituality of a Quaker Meeting.

We will be there again and again – every Saturday – bearing witness that peace is a real alternative.

Please, come and join us. 

Saturdays 11am-12pm, the Turner Memorial (bottom of The Slopes), Buxton.

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Buxton Peace Circle, 30th March, 2024.

Photograph by Véronique Pin-Fat.

The attached document provides guidance regarding the retention of records by East Cheshire Area Meeting, its committees, its local meetings and their committees.

The ECAM Racial Justice Group offer you a few quotations on racial justice that you may wish to contemplate, in order to explore what's involved in being anti-racist as a Quaker. Thank you to Ann Lewis for compiling them. 

You are welcome to download the full collection. 

"‘Our Quaker wish to believe in the fundamental goodness of each individual doesn’t help here. We can be as individually good as we like but unless we actively work to dismantle a system that maintains

white people in a global leadership role with a perceived right to extract wealth from countries that have already been made poor, we will continue to inadvertently act against our testimonies." 

Helen Minnis, Swarthmore lecturer 2022.

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