Earthcare Gathering by Linda Murgatroyd
How does it feel to be part of nature? by Jo Cooper
Radical Witness and Quaker Support for Climate Action (QS4CA) by Phil Laurie
Spring Equinox by Paul Hodgkin
'Voice' by Linda Murgatroyd
Radical Worship and Witness by Laurie Michaelis
Jonathan Dove's Uprising : an opera on climate change by Catherine Tylke
Ivy-leaved Toadflax by Tom Brown
Exploring Radical Worship by Gerry Winnall
QUNO Radical Witness by Lyndsey Fielder Cook/Laurie Michaelis
Spiritual Accompaniment by Linda Murgatroyd
One of the themes for Britain Yearly Meeting in May 2025 is our peace witness, and what it might mean to nurture the radical peacemaker in ourselves and others. This idea of “nurturing the radical” seems to be in the air. The byline for our Quaker Earthcare Gathering in October is “nurturing radical worship and witness”.
“Radical” literally means “going to the root,” but it has gained the sense of relating to fundamental change and revolutionary extremism.
This issue of EarthQuaker gathers perspectives on radical worship and witness from Friends including Jo Cooper, Phil Laurie, Gerry Winnall and myself. There are common themes of connection to Earth, nature, other people and other life; of worship and witness nourishing each other.
There is also diversity in the aspects of worship that seem most important to different Friends, and in the kinds of witness they have been led to offer. Catherine Tylke writes of her experience performing in the choir for Jonathan Dove’s Uprising, an opera on climate change. And Lindsey Cook allowed us to draw on her ministry to the Friends World Plenary last year, speaking the experience of “quiet diplomacy” with the Quaker United Nations Office.
Linda Murgatroyd looks forward to a gathering that can weave together our diverse threads of spiritual experience and action in the world, with space for play, music and laughter, all rooted in worship. For those who cannot make it to the residential event, we hope you’ll get involved in the extended gathering process and you will hear more about this. One thread of this is our ongoing Living Witness meetings for worship; we also hope to offer online workshops and conversations and we know some Friends are planning activities or events in their local and area meetings. Paul Hodgkin writes of a residential event held by Friends in East Anglia over the Spring Equinox. We’d love to hear of your suggestions or any initiatives we can support.
Laurie Michaelis
on behalf of the EarthQuaker editorial team