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This page is where we report on annual
gatherings that we hold. We usually hold two a
year, in Spring and Autumn: one a residential weekend; the other a day
conference. |
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QLGF Autumn Gathering 2006 Report They say Christmas is a good excuse for junketing in the middle of a dark, cold winter, and I can say much the same for QLGF Autumn Gatherings. I have always most valued QLGF for the opportunity to share time and space with lesbian and gay people who have a thought-ful and spiritual perspective on life, who appreciate gossip and fun, and, beyond having all these things in common, are vividly different in innumerable ways. It is quite an addictive experience and getting a good ‘fix’ reminds me of how much I miss it the rest of the time. It is not often that I am almost as fascinated by the Gathering venue as I am by the participants, but I was this time. Birmingham Metropolitan Community Church lodges under a huge railway arch, which it has turned into a wonderful communal space, with covered-in loos and kitchen crouching under the soaring roof, and a cosy gallery accessible by stairs. A side space marked off by narrower arches has become a worship area. The dark Victorian stone has been covered with white-painted metal panels, which give an expansive sense of light and volume. |
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expert tutelage of Dawn R, we began by sticking glitter, coloured paper
and stars on plastic laminae while chatter-ing like noisy primary school
children. I found some QLGF-ers’ artistic imagination as startling
as their conversation in some cases. One participant produced what can
only be described as an impressive work of Christmas Cubism while offering
an overview on the more obscure dialects of Scots spoken North of Aberdeen.
Now that’s multi-tasking! The images were eventually all strung together
into a dangling decoration, which demanded so much attention that any
room which housed it would have to be entirely re-arranged. A short Meeting for Business was followed by Meeting for Worship. This was peaceful and gathered, and it was one of the few occasions when the presence of ‘church furniture’ has not made me uncomfortable during worship. A simple collage cross covered with flames of orange fabric hung from the wall; it was fronted by a brightly dressed altar and an array of unlit candles which drew and stilled the eye. In another place I would have seen it all as a sign of expected belief; here it seemed the insignia of a community who welcomed us on a shared journey. After an excellent lunch provided by the Warehouse Cafe, we split up to savour Birmingham’s diverse pleasures. Intrepid and culturally inquiring Friends walked along the city’s vast network of canals, or visited the Cathedral, German Market, or Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Jon and I and two other Friends repaired to a pub in the Gay Village that served wonder-ful Real Ale. We chattered about walking in the Peak District, big and small Quaker Meetings, and summer sunlight over Shetland. QLGF Gatherings can have such effects. Back at the arches we mixed tea, cake and talk with farewell hugs. Could someone please come up with a scheme for living in a permanent QLGF Gathering? Perhaps with a rota, so that there would always be news and catching-up to do on other lives? Probably not a good idea, because looking forward to the next one is always part of the joy. Steve H. |
 
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QLGF Spring Gathering 2007 ... Halsway Manor, 16-18 March 2007 Last year’s venue for our Spring Gathering,
the Nightingale Centre in Derbyshire, was so good that it was difficult
to better it without pushing prices beyond what many can afford. However,
after much brain-storming many emails and telephone calls we have found
a country house in the Quantock Hills between Taunton and Minehead in
Somerset that we hope will appeal to many Friends. |
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The venue is Halsway Manor which is a “listed”
Elizabethan house with many later additions and improvements. It now
is the English Centre for Folk Music & Dance and as we are organising
a barn dance on Saturday evening, we come within the charitable purpose
of the organisation that owns it, so they can offer us a discounted
hire of the venue, to enable us to keep the prices reasonable. |
 Spring Gathering Flyer and Booking Form are available to download (click the above link) |
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| There will be an open log fire and hot drinks to greet guests arriving in the great hall. You will find: |
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