Name: Christine Downes-Grainger

Neither of these last names is the patriarchal name I was registered with at birth. My husband was born as Downes and then adopted by his aunt who had married a Mr Grainger. In some ways I helped him understand his identity. He asked, as he developed contact with his birth parents, if we could change our family’s name to D-G. He felt he was a hybrid of two families.

Role: NE Thames representative to the London Development Group (and NET AM clerk)

Now a member of the QiL Arrangements Committee

Local Meeting: Epping, which I first went to in 2010. I joined the Society at Middlesbrough Meeting (NE England) in the mid 70s. There were six years in the 2000s when I took no interest in Quaker matters as my husband had worked his way out of unwitting dependence on tranquillisers, antidepressants, sleeping pills and painkillers, plus numerous other prescriptions to offset the side effects of the first drugs.

Aside from Quakers, how do you like to spend your time? I was accepted as a member early on, in spite of having very little time and energy to contribute to the meeting, and no money to support it. I applied partly because the identity of being a Quaker seemed very important to me, and because I felt the need for a supportive network. I knew that were I to be left on my own, I could go to a Quaker meeting in any town and be welcomed. This situation happened in 2009. I am glad of the many opportunities for learning and service that my local and area meeting has offered me. I enjoy a weekly U3a singing group and walks in nature.

What aspects of your service are you most looking forward to? Other people finding they can support our structures in large and small helpful ways. I firmly believe we can achieve more harmonious outcomes if we work together. This takes time as we understand where we have made assumptions and are excluding certain people or favouring certain viewpoints. I want to enable the spirit of Quaker meetings to thrive among or alongside the regulations of the 21st Century.

What’s your favourite quote from QF&P?

Seek to know one another in the things which are eternal.

In the 1970s version of A & Q (blue cover) this was the opening sentence of the second paragraph. It disappeared from the green trial of Questions and Counsel and I did not see it in the red version that was issued. I wrote to my LM clerk in dismay. He pointed out it had been retained but had been merged into Number 18. As a young mother when I first attended, the statement told me that I had found an organisation that accepted all the ages and stages of life and what we did not know about anything beyond it. That was anchoring.

To get to know our community better, we are publishing a series of posts introducing Quakers in London including (but by no means limited to) staff members and role holders! If there is someone you would like to learn more about, or you would be interested in introducing yourself, please email us at quill@quakersinlondon.org.

Name: George Barrow

Role: currently assistant clerk of London Quaker Property Trust and nominated as a trustee of QiL on its creation as a charity

Local Meeting: Having worshipped at Hampstead for about 15 years, I’ve recently moved my membership to Stoke Newington, which is considerably closer to home. Originally I was a member of a meeting in Birmingham, where I grew up.

What parts of your service are you looking forward to? Before retirement I was very successful in keeping below the radar in Quaker terms but I’ve enjoyed the last four years as an LQPT trustee – particularly working on the development of the Better Homes strategy. The creation of QiL seems like a logical extension of this work. I believe it is something that will present us with possibilities and opportunities, with the dividend of releasing and redirecting our energy as Quakers into more rewarding work and witness.

What is something you would like people to know about you or your role? I know that LQPT has from time to time been viewed with a bit of suspicion but I’ve found that the trustee group has brought together some really committed, caring people who want to support meetings (with or without Meeting Houses) and see them flourish, while shouldering the real responsibilities that running a charity brings

What’s your favourite quote from QF&P?The extract from QF&P I most commonly use is Isaac Pennington’s “helping one another up with a gentle hand”. The message is not just about helping, it’s how “one another” recognises that any of us might be the helper or the helped, depending on where and when, and what we have to offer.

To get to know our community better, we are publishing a series of posts introducing Quakers in London including (but by no means limited to) “trustees in waiting” and role holders! If there is someone you would like to learn more about, or you would be interested in introducing yourself, please email us at quill@quakersinlondon.org.

Name: Mary Stiasny

Role: I am a relatively new member of the London Development Group, having been asked to join it fairly recently. I have also just been appointed to be a Trustee of the new QiL.

Local Meeting: I am a Member of South East London Area Meeting; I attend Forest Hill Meeting – and have done so for a very long time!

What parts of your service are you looking forward to? I see this as the service I can give to London Quakers, having had so much given to me as a lifelong Quaker. My Quakerism is at the centre of my being. I hope we can together build a vibrant Quaker community across London which is outward looking and appeals to non-Quakers – not just to ourselves! It is time for us to grow as a community and as a religious group.

What are you getting up to outside of Quakers? Outside the Society I am retired from working in universities, yet still very involved with higher education in various ways, and I like to spend lots of time with my husband, children and grandchildren.

What’s your favourite quote from QF&P? My favourite piece from QF&P is Advice 17, and I especially love that last sentence; ‘think it possible that you may be mistaken’, because it reminds us that we need to be open to the meanings others bring; that we are not ourselves infallible.

“Do you respect that of God in everyone though it may be expressed in unfamiliar ways or be difficult to discern? Each of us has a particular experience of God and each must find the way to be true to it. When words are strange or disturbing to you, try to sense where they come from and what has nourished the lives of others. Listen patiently and seek the truth which other people’s opinions may contain for you. Avoid hurtful criticism and provocative language. Do not allow the strength of your convictions to betray you into making statements or allegations that are unfair or untrue. Think it possible that you may be mistaken.”

To get to know our community better, we are publishing a series of posts introducing Quakers in London including (but by no means limited to) “trustees in waiting” and role holders! If there is someone you would like to learn more about, or you would be interested in introducing yourself, please email us at quill@quakersinlondon.org.