In order to stay below the radar, the Quaker Meeting in Moscow meets on Saturday. Johan and I took the train into the city and sat for a glorious hour at a glass-walled, station coffee shop, watching Moscovites go about their day.
Here is our worship group all together (minus Johan):
I had a lot on my mind. Having seen the Tretyakov Museum yesterday, I had new visuals for the trends in Russian culture and politics I'd read about here (about the Gulag) here (the repatriation of Russians, especially literary giants) and here (the destruction of tonnes of food imported in violation of Russia's sanctions against EU food imports). These articles indicate the lived legacy of elements of Russia's horror-filled past, horrors which the works at the Tretyakov portrayed in vivid (livid) colour.
At the Meeting, Johan lit a candle and set out translated version of Quaker pamphlets. We were five total for the worship service, so I felt right at home! (Ramallah numbers are often comparable). This is one of the water-colour paintings that was pinned on the wall.
Afterward we had tea, a wonderful fellowship time which stretched late in the afternoon. I got to speak with N, who follows the Ramallah Friends Meeting Facebook page and was eager to hear more about attitudes toward pacifism in Palestine. She works at Friends House Moscow and translates Quaker literature into Russian.
Here is our worship group all together (minus Johan):
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