The Transition Movement
The last weekend in February 2012, Steve Chase and his partner, Katy Locke, brought to Durham Meeting a daylong seminar on gathering Transition Communities. Steve Chase was the Plenary Speaker at New England Yearly Meeting sessions in 2011. The theme of the 2011 Yearly Meeting was “Called to Heal a Broken Earth.” The DFM event was well attended by both Durham Friends and visitors from nearby communities. Below are excerpts from a paper Steve has written:
“Blessed Are the Organized
Why Quakers Should Consider Joining the Transition Movement”
by Steve Chase “Our lives are caught in a system/culture/society that exploits people and the planet, and leaves us spiritually wanting.”
In his paper Steve Chase quotes a Statement from a 2011 Young Adult Friends Gathering held at Mt. Toby Friends Meeting: “Back in the mid-1600s, Quaker founder George Fox called on the emerging Quaker Movement to help transform the world. The early Friends called this effort the “Lamb’s War,” a term to evoke the nonviolent revolutionary ministry of Jesus … Early Friends clearly felt that it was their responsibility to raise up a new spiritual and community renewal movement …” He suggests in his paper that “there is a strong ethical common ground between” the Religious Society of Friends and the Transition Movement, noting: “Like Quakers, the broader Transition Movement is committed to:
“Earthcare: recognizing that the earth is the source of all life, that the Earth is our only home and that we are a part of the Earth’s web of life, not separate from it.
“Peoplecare: supporting and helping each other to live in a way that is not harmful to ourselves or the planet, and to promote just and healthy societies.
“Fairshare: ensuring that the Earth’s limited resources are utilized in ways that are equitable and wise for both the present and the future wellbeing of the human family and the entire biosphere. … [&] the Transition Movement is visionary, upbeat, and invitational.”
An Invitation
So, how can we at Durham Friends Meeting join the Transition Movement? Well, in many small ways, by the choices we make regarding our personal use of natural resources. And you can come and help with creating the Durham Friends Community Garden. If you are hearty there are plenty of jobs to be done; if not, please bring a plant (tomato, herb or other vegetable) and plant it in one of the raised beds. Stop by from time to time and pull a weed or three. And when it’s harvest time come and gather in the harvest. God’s miracle of creation: from a single seed comes plenty. And lastly, if in the past year there have been physical challenges for you, just come and enjoy the beauty of creation while sitting on the soon to be created bench beneath the new (soon to be created) trellis where our grapes will grow. And there will, I hope, be plenty of flowers. Pick a few, take them home or share them with a friend.
At the end of the summer all of our surplus produce will be donated to the LACO Food Bank. We will save some for our Harvest Supper and Pig Roast (proceeds also to LACO).
