Reflections on visiting all four FWCC Section meetings

Ethel Livermore, clerk of EMES, reflects on attending all four FWCC Section Meetings in the past year:

Quakerism, as an experiential faith, changes over time. Friends around the world have evolved differently so Quakers today are very diverse, with different worship styles and theologies. But we all share the same roots – the teachings of early Friends. We all share the same Quaker values and testimony, and a recognition that Quakerism is about how we live our lives in the world, not just “what we do on Sunday”.

Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) encourages fellowship and understanding among all the branches of the Religious Society of Friends. It brings Quakers together in multiple ways to celebrate God in our lives, to gather the Quaker voice, build networks to address issues of our time, and to unite Friends within our diversity.

Despite differences in the ways we worship and our theologies, our Quaker values are shared by all Friends and there is a willingness to share and to learn from each other. For example, a number of East African Friends have shared how much they value the silence and want to find ways of incorporating it more into their services. I know a number of European Friends who have felt their spiritual lives enriched by the input from Programmed Friends.

In the last year, as Clerk of FWCC Europe & Middle East Section, I have been privileged to attend all four regional gatherings of Quakers around the world – in the Americas, Europe & the Middle East, Asia West Pacific, and Africa. Each group is different and has its own flavour, but there are so many things that unite us. This is not intended as a travelogue or a report on each event, more a reflection on what unites us all – a real reflection on unity in diversity.

For context, I’ll start with a very brief description of the 4 gatherings

• The Sections of the Americas (SoA) Gathering was held in March 2025 in Arizona, USA. There were 145 Friends meeting in person, with 30 online, from 9 countries, covering North, Central, South America and the Caribbean. The theme was: Building the Future as Way Opens, Isaiah 43:19: “Look, I am doing something new! Now it emerges, can you not see it? Yes, I am making a road in the desert and rivers in the wasteland”

• The Europe and Middle East Section (EMES) Annual Meeting was held in May 2025 in Warsaw, Poland and online. 80 Friends from 22 countries met to consider the theme: How do we live together as a community of Friends in Europe & the Middle East? Acts 15:25: “It seemed good to us, having come to one accord.”

• The Asia West Pacific Section (AWPS) Gathering was held in October 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. There were 45 Friends from 10 countries. There wasn’t a specific theme, but the focus was very much on being together and sharing and learning from one another.

• The Africa Section (AS) held their Triennial Gathering at the end of Feb 2026 in Kampala, Uganda. There were over 150 Friends present from 9 countries covering East, West, Central and Southern Africa. The theme was “Who is my Neighbour”, Luke 10:29.

There are a number of common threads from the gatherings that I have picked out

Hospitality
The hospitality I have received on all of my travels has been amazing. To be met by a friendly face at the airport when you arrive off a night flight (for me, having had no sleep), and have your onward travel taken care of makes such a difference. In some of these countries, particularly where the host group of Quakers is very small, receiving visitors is so important. The host meetings also had an opportunity at each gathering to welcome us all and share something of their faith and culture. In Seoul this included teaching us all a traditional Korean game – Yunnori. I’m not sure I fully understood the rules, but it was great fun and really brought everyone together.

Language inclusion
All sections face language challenges. SoA has been bi-lingual in English and Spanish for many years, providing interpretation at all its meetings. EMES, having traditionally been run in English, is starting to experiment more. At the meeting in 2025 there was consecutive interpretation in Polish (in the room) and Russian (online). It was wonderful that so many of our Polish hosts were able to fully participate as a result.

In AWPS, another predominantly English-run section, there was consecutive interpretation into Korean in many sessions, and whispered interpretation into other languages (eg Japanese). There were also short slots for Friends around the section to share/teach us a few words from their own language. In Africa the main languages are English, Kiswahili, French. The sessions of the Gathering were held in English. Going forward this is likely to change as their new clerk is from Rwanda and spoke to us in French with interpretation to English.

One common theme around language inclusion is around the difficulty of finding the right word or phrase for traditional quaker terminology. For example, discernment is a word used a lot by Friends here in Britain, but it took a group of Friends in South Korea a long time to agree on an appropriate Korean translation. SoA have produced a digital glossary of Quaker terms in English and Spanish and are planning to extend it to other languages which will be a great resource for Friends around the world.

Young Adult Friends (YAFs)
Three of the four section meetings had gatherings for YAFs either just before or alongside them. This meant there was a good attendance of YAFs at each gathering, which brought additional energy to the events. EMES and AS both have established groups – European & Middle East Young Friends (EMEYF) and Young Quakers Christian Association. In SoA and AWPS, bringing YAFs together before the section meetings was a chance for their YAFs to come together and consider how they might network more in the future.

Action in the world
Friends around the world, from all traditions are committed to making the world a better place. For all of us Quakerism is a faith that we live rather than “what we do on a Sunday”. Our Quaker Testimony in the world (in some places, often referred to as SPICES) is a key part of this.

At all the gatherings we heard of the work done on our behalf by Quaker Agencies – Quaker United Nations offices, Quaker Council for European Affairs, American Friends Service Committee etc. We also heard of work being done locally by Friends – work supporting Conscientious Objectors in Ukraine & Russia, Australia YMs Quaker Peace & Legislation Committee, a Friend working in Myanmar, Alternatives to Violence Project work in Africa. How to be a peace church in the world today was a recurring theme.

Understanding our Quakerism
Another common theme across sections and traditions was the importance of understanding and being rooted in our Quakerism. In some areas numbers might be growing, but how do we share our faith and practice with new attenders? In East Africa, how can new pastors who haven’t been trained in a Quaker college pass on our Quaker values? In EMES there are isolated Friends and online groups – how do we help them learn more? In AWPS they have developed a new set of Advices & Queries for the region and published a draft in 6 languages for Friends across the region to reflect on. SoA have developed a programme called Quaker Connect to support Friends churches and meetings—helping them grow deeper and broader in their connections.

Intervisitation
Intervisitation has always been important to Friends, from early Friends to the present day. It is how we have stayed connected, and how our Quaker faith has continued to be shared and deepened.

Intervisitation can happen between Sections, but is probably more common within Sections. In EMES over the past year there have been pastoral visits to Friends in the Middle East, to Friends in Ukraine and to Friends in the Baltic states. The two Meetings in the Middle East are well established, but are very small and currently receive few visitors. In Ukraine there are two worship groups that mainly meet online. In the Baltics there is a worship group in Tallinn and a number of isolated Friends in Latvia and Lithuania. In all these visits, being able to meet, share and worship with Friends in person was so important.

Attending the Section of the Americas Gathering in the USA in March 2025 – I felt it was important to be there with Friends at that time and many Friends commented on how much they valued the fact that I had come – mainly for the solidarity shown in the current political climate, but also recognising the value of intervisitation between Sections at any time. In AWPS they provided opportunities for visitors from beyond their own section to share some of their experiences, and in Africa Section again there were opportunities for me to share my experiences of being a Friend in Britain.

Joy
If I had to pick one word to unite all the Gatherings it would have to be Joy. The joy of being together, worshipping together, sharing and learning from each other. A few years ago, I sang a choral work that included the phrase “O how great and how wonderful the joys of meeting will be”. Truly what I experienced at all these gatherings.

I’ll end with a few random quotes I jotted down. Out of context it’s not easy to tell which part of the Quaker world they are each from:
- That of God in Everyone is a radical spiritual claim. If we claim it, we must live it.
- How do we listen and follow the leadings of the spirit?
- Religion that is apathetic to our neighbour is empty.
- Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.
- Outreach is extending love, service and witness beyond our walls.
- Inreach is to ensure our church is a place of spiritual nourishment
- We experience unity of purpose when we allow ourselves to be changed through listening for points of connection rather than for points of disagreement.

Unity is not uniformity – we are not identical, but we do share a close spiritual bond. I have gained so much from my Quaker travels, spending time with Friends from different cultures and Quaker traditions. I’d like to share a short quote from Qf&p 13:31 which feels as true for me as it was for Richard Schardt, its author:
“The words of John Woolman are in the travelling minute: ‘A concern arose … that I might feel and understand their life and the Spirit they live in, if haply I might receive some instruction from them, or they be in any degree helped forward by my following the leadings of Truth amongst them’. John Woolman’s hopes have been abundantly fulfilled for me.”

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