​Our discussion subject this month was on the Quaker movement – more correctly known as the Society of Friends, sometimes shortened to Friends.   While many people know that they are pacifists, we found that their other beliefs and approaches interesting.  They have a very strong belief in equality.  This transfers across all aspects in their lives and is demonstrated is in their services. 
 
Their weekly gatherings are called meetings, where everyone is equal.  They have no priests or ministers, no ceremonies or rituals, they sit quietly, often in a circle as no-one is superior.  People may stand and provide brief comments on their thoughts, but this is not mandatory.  They do elect elders to manage the business of the group, and have a more business related meeting once a month.  In marriage, both partners are equal, not one superior to the other.  This even applies to same-gender relationships which have been accepted in the movement for many years.
 
In Australia, there is a large group of Friends in Hobart.  They established a school around 1886.  This is the largest Quaker school in the world, spread across three campuses in Hobart.  We were pleased to have another U3A member who had been a student at the school for 9 years, visit us for the session.   She provided valuable information about the school and the movement, although she was not a member of the Society of Friends.  The school is open to all, another example of the deep sense of equality in the movement.
 
Important Note: For all members of the Comparative Religion Group, there has been a change to the plans for our June session.  The visit to a mosque in Shepparton will not take place until later in the year, so our June session will take place as usual on the first Wednesday of the month – 1 June.   It will be a mixed bag of subjects which may include DVD's about the Sacred Sites of Britain and some study of the principles of Islam in preparation for a cultural/religious tour to Shepparton later in the year.
 

We had an attendance of seven which included Laurence Neil,  the former coordinator of our class. The majority of the discussion was a review our March class when we worked on the definition and origins or religion, plus the listing and discussion about future topics for the group. These future topics could include a visit to Shepparton for discussions on Islam with a Muslim leader and an overnight stay at an Ashram near Daylesford.

​Our next topic for May will be about the Quaker religion as suggested by Joy Shirley. Could all class members please bring along your research findings about this enigmatic religion.
 
A major discussion during the April session was about the need to define Comparative Religion as suggested by Freida Andrews. Due to Mike, the coordinator’s, leaning toward philosophy and spirituality it was felt that a distinction needed to be made between objectively comparing the religions of the world and personally discussing the philosophy and causes behind religion. It was generally agreed that the study of comparative Religions is mainly about the former distinction.
 
The April class was concluded by watching the remainder of the movie “Sita Sings the Blues” by American animation filmmaker Nina Paley.  While the movie includes historical aspects of Hinduism namely, extracts from the epic poem the Ramayana, it is essentially a story about romance and the raw deal so often dished out to women both historically and still today.                                                                                                                     Mike Larkin