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as right ordering in church government, but the littledetails of who sits where, who speaks, what the tableshould look like, and who will arrive late!Working together with other faiths has benefitedsubstantially from government grants. It was possibleto get grants as long as other faiths were included butChristians could not get government money to workwith other churches. Of course, Friends were workingwith other faiths before this funding [was available],but has working together amounted to anything morethan lobbying government for laws to protect all faithsequally? Can you imagine working with Muslims ongay marriage legislation?Working together with other Christians usuallyhas a less selfish agenda: feeding the hungry; protectingthe vulnerable; ethical trading and investment; housingthe homeless; and peacemaking. We are able to worktogether on such issues because there is a tradition ofvoluntary care and support, as evidence of Christianfaith. We are accepted as Christians in working togetheron such projects, where we could not be accepted aspart of a Muslim or Jewish-caring charity.Likewise, we can work as peace builders betweenthe new and established churches because we arecurrently acceptable to the established churches, andhave a tradition of persecution and imprisonment thatspeaks to many in the new churches.In contrast, our interfaith contacts tend to belimited to meeting the established traditional leadersrather than the extremists. The traditionalist leadersof other faiths recognize the value of working withthe Church of England, and with the establishedinternational church of Rome, because of theirpolitical influence. Many of them recognize Quakersfor our peace building work, but they do not thinkof us in faith terms: we are just another well-meaningbunch of humanists. What many Friends see as anadvantage, our diversity of beliefs, I believe is a barrierto Hindus, Muslims, Jews and Buddhists, as eachunderstands another faith in terms of differences ofdoctrine, scripture and creed.John MyhillNorfolk and Waveney Area Meeting, UK.[Reprinted by permission from the authorand the Friend, 11 May, 2012.]Report: _______Unity and DiversityAmong FriendsOn the one hand, we sense a unity that transcends“Christian” and “non-Christian” identifications. Onthe other hand, our understandings of the meaningof the word “Christian” may be as numerous as thenumber of Friends in our group. By some definitions,all of us might be Christians; by other definitions,none of us are.Much of the discussion centred around the roleand significance of Jesus. To some of us, the figure ofJesus assumes overwhelming importance in our faith.Others, while not rejecting the values embodied in hislife and teachings, find equal or greater guidance to anexperience of God through other paths. Some of theunderstandings of Jesus, by those who emphasize hisimportance, are seeing him as a moral example, as aninward experiential testimony to a way of life, or, asthe Christ – the key to communion with God.We recognize a tension between the “Christian” and“non-Christian” tendencies in the Society of Friends.Concerns have been expressed for the meaningfulsurvival of the Christian tradition in our Society. Atthe same time, to some Friends whose religiousexperiences have been associated with non-Christianpaths, words and symbols of traditional Christianitycan be a barrier. The reality of these situations isrecognized and a concern is expressed to respect thedignity and wholeness of both the Christian and non-Christian religious experience.The tension between the “Christian” and the “non-Christian” can be creative, as they challenge each otherto deepen their own experiences and exchange insights.We are united in affirming that the availability ofthe experience of God to everyone remains a centralinsight of Friends.[Compiled by Johan Maurer, Derek Day and MaxineKaufman-Lacusta, and reported to CYM 1977.]Volume 109, Number 2 23