1st–5th October 2025
Loving greetings to all Friends around the world,
From 1st to 5th October 2025, Friends and Quaker sympathizers met in Accra, Ghana, to joyfully celebrate 100 years of Quaker presence in Ghana. The gathering brought together Friends visiting from Kenya, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, South Africa, celebrating our unity in diversity and shared hope for the future of Quaker witness in Africa. We concluded with renewed dedication to building peaceful, just, and compassionate communities across our continent and beyond. The gathering was held in a spirit of deep worship, reflection, and thanksgiving for a century of faithful witness.
Our sessions began with silent worship and prayer, centering us in gratitude and openness to the Spirit’s leading. Friends reflected on the history of Quakerism in Ghana and its enduring role in education, service, and community development. Throughout the gathering, we were reminded that the Quaker testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship continue to guide our collective witness today.
Key sessions explored pressing social concerns and opportunities for transformative action across Africa. Discussions on public finance management and integrity clarified that financial integrity should not be confused with morality. The discussion emphasized the importance of both personal and institutional accountability in fostering peace and justice both in the society and the church. A session on social justice from an African perspective encouraged Friends to connect Quaker faith with advocacy and service, drawing inspiration from ongoing peace and development work across the continent.
A major focus was on reimagining the criminal and juvenile justice system. Presentations highlighted the work of the Senior Correctional Centre in Accra, which rehabilitates boys aged 12–21 through education and skills training. Friends learned of the Centre’s achievements and challenges, including the need for learning materials and transportation. We were reminded that incarceration should be a last resort and that healing must include psychosocial support, capacity building, and restorative approaches.
Friends also engaged deeply with the theme “Healing Injustices of Our Past and Present through Reparatory and Restorative Justice.” Through personal testimonies and dialogue, we reflected on the ongoing impacts of colonialism, slavery, racism, and economic exploitation, and affirmed that reparatory justice must go beyond compensation—it is a structural and moral imperative. Friends were challenged to discern:
- How are African Quakers responding to the call for reparations?
- What actions can Yearly Meetings and Quaker groups in Africa take to heal relationships marked by historic and ongoing injustice?
A moving testimony from a Ghanaian Friend formerly incarcerated revealed how transformation can emerge from suffering, as he discovered his spiritual purpose and pursued theological studies while in detention. Contributions from faith leaders reminded us that punitive justice without empathy deepens pain, and that the Church and Quaker communities must nurture compassion, dialogue, and listening.
It was suggested that the Friends could include “ubuntu” in their testimonies, actions, and the behaviours that express their faith. Ubuntu is a traditional South African philosophy that emphasizes interconnectedness and humanity, often summarized as “I am because we are.”
A vibrant youth session explored volunteerism and employability, affirming that service is both a spiritual calling and a pathway to empowerment. Drawing from James 2:14 and Daniel 1:20, young Friends reflected that volunteers “stand out ten times better” as they live out faith through community impact and peace witness.
As part of our journey, Friends visited Elmina and Cape Coast Castles, sites of the transatlantic slave trade. This solemn experience deepened our understanding of the enduring wounds of injustice and strengthened our collective commitment to truth-telling, healing, and transformation.
The centenary celebration was climaxed by a gathering of all of us in the beautiful and green environment of Hill House Meeting at Achimota, Accra. The meeting for worship, celebrating our programmed and unprogrammed traditions, provided the solemn spiritual underpinnings of the week’s activities on Sunday. Our activities on the day was livestreamed and recorded and can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/live/HsQB5JWiZZo.
The Clerk of Hill House brought our attention to the relationship between the biblical exhortation to love God and your Neighbour, with the Quaker’s belief of ‘That of God in Everyone’ and UBUNTU, ‘I am because we are’. Going forward, he reaffirmed UBUNTU as an African Quaker testimony drawing from the past gathering of World Plenary Meeting in South Africa in 2024. In the spirit of UBUNTU, he proposed two initiatives for African Quakers to commit to in this century- establishment of a common fund and setting up of hubs for easy communication. Commemorative trees were planted in Hill House Meeting compound for the occasion. The group was engaged in a hands-on batik production and soap making.
In gratitude and faith , Friends from the Africa Section
Gathererd in Accra – October 2025
