Å is for Årsmötet (pronounced Ohrsmoetet)
The English for Årsmötet is Yearly Meeting – an important annual event
in a Quaker’s diary. In Sweden, Årsmötet is usually held around Ascension
Day, which is on a Thursday, is a public holiday, and therefore easy to extend
to a long weekend. It also usually
takes place at the Quaker Retreat Centre, located some 60 km north of Stockholm, with easy
access to Arlanda airport and rail and ferry centres for our international
guests.
This pattern sometimes varies, though. About once every four years we
hold a Nordic Quaker Gathering, at a conference centre in Sweden or Norway, for
Quakers of all ages from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. During this 3-day
gathering we have a common theme to guide us in study and worship and each
country holds its own Årsmötet. These are rich occasions, where we can be
serious and also have fun.
In 2015 Sweden's Årsmötet will experiment a little. Instead of being
held at the Retreat Centre near Stockholm we will gather at a conference centre
near Gothenburg. We hope that by meeting in larger premises more Friends and
friends of Friends will be able to come. The proposed theme (translated into English) is “Equality: Disposition and Application with Martin
Wilkinson from London as speaker. According to the proposal the theme may include
aspects such as our attitudes to people (those with no power and the powerful),
whether Quakers should try to counteract the tendency to judge people in
economic terms and instead emphasise other kinds of driving forces, and should we
Quakers, with our tradition of equality, talk more about scientific results,
such as those presented in the book “The Spirit Level”.
In Sweden, as in other countries, Årsmötet is a time for getting together
– for business, study, walking, talking, worship and fun. As our Årsmötet is small, it is more
like a family gathering. Here we have a chance to catch up with each others’ lives
and meet both new and potential members. But whatever we do, and wherever we
meet, it is always an enriching experience.
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