South coast Quakers’ outreach on the beach
Quakers on the south coast swapped their meeting houses for the beach last week to take part in a nationwide coastal arts festival.
'Beach of Dreams' was a month-long, UK-wide celebration of our coastlines, exploring the unique heritage and culture of coastal communities, with a focus on the impact of climate change.
"Friends created a brilliant sixty-foot-wide labyrinth by Boscombe Pier in Bournmouth and invited beach goers to engage with us and explore the labyrinth," explained Hugh Douglas, the Local Development Worker for the South Coast Central region. "Passers-by were invited to write a word, question, or intention on a stone – something they felt related to the beach, coastline or climate change – and the stones were then placed in the centre of the labyrinth."
Quakers from Hampshire and Islands, Bournemouth Coastal and Dorset and South Wiltshire area meetings first got together last year to start thinking creatively about how they could get involved.
"The Beach of Dreams organisers wanted to bring together commissioned artists, regional partners, and local communities to collaborate and create inspiring works that reflected the people and places they were representing," said Andy O'Hanlon from Winchester Local Meeting and one of the organisers of the Quaker event.
"That's when we decided a sand labyrinth would work. Labyrinths appear in many cultures around the world and serve a variety of purposes. To some they might be symbolic of a pilgrimage, of walking a path toward enlightenment, or salvation. To many Quakers, labyrinths can be an aid to meditation or silent reflection. We thought it would be nice to offer beach goers the opportunity to walk gently round a labyrinth and have time to quietly reflect on climate change and its impact on our coastlines."
The Quaker team made themselves visible by installing a large Quaker beach flag next to the labyrinth, as well as displaying a specially designed 'Beach of Dreams' Quaker silk pennant.
"We produced an information leaflet for beach goers with a QR code which took them to the Quaker website and we used the Beach of Dreams website to promote Quakers and our event," explained LDW, Hugh. "It was a great vehicle for Quakers to express our concerns about the climate whilst also giving members of the public the opportunity to come and find out more about us. We were also really pleased that our event appealed to both adults and children."
If you belong to a Quaker coastal community and would like to do something similar to Friends on the south coast, get in touch with your Local Development Worker for more ideas.
Photos by South Coast Quakers.