{"id":1586,"date":"2021-07-29T16:45:28","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T15:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/?page_id=1586"},"modified":"2022-01-09T09:30:51","modified_gmt":"2022-01-09T09:30:51","slug":"deborah-filgate-memorial-meeting","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/oxfordquaker.com\/newsletter\/august-2021\/deborah-filgate-memorial-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Deborah Filgate Memorial Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lis Burch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Friend is Heard.<\/p>\n

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Deborah Filgate. Photo by Lis Burch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our Friend Deborah Filgate worshipped in Oxford Meeting for many years, until failing strength prevented her from attending. I had the pleasure, fun and occasional challenge of knowing her since I arrived in Oxford in the autumn of 1982, and later held a Power of Attorney (with Jon Brown) for her. Jon and I are now serving as her Executors. In that capacity I helped to clear her flat at Woodstock Close, and found a number of papers that might be of interest. <\/p>\n

Her notes include the following excerpts from a talk she gave on her spiritual journey:<\/p>\n

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By 12 lived in 5 countries and spoke 3 languages. Parents agnostic but not anti-religion. Exposed to Catholicism and Judaism in Belgium. At an early age observed overt anti-semitism, some quite brutal. Aged 7-8 asked to go to Catholic church \u2013 thought God lived in a box on the altar. Schools in Geneva, Mexico, international school, convent school, episcopal school in US \u2013 v. unhappy. Then George School \u2013 total immersion in Quaker community, tolerant and friendly, felt valued. Quakerism in action within school and wider community. Applied for membership at 17.<\/p>\n

Meetings attended: Toronto, v. small; Sydney; Stamford, Conn; Melbourne \u2013 long distance so 1 a month; Clinton, Conn, 6 people; Newtown, PA; then Oxford.
\n\u2018Counselled COs protesting the draft. Realised spiritual and temporal life are one \u2013 they don\u2019t overlap, they mesh. In US during whole of 1960s, Vietnam and Civil Rights, involved in both. Suffered \u2018burn out\u2019, came to UK.
\n\u2018For years wrestled with belief until I realised the answer lies in meeting for worship and what I experience in a gathered meeting. So it\u2019s experience not belief which lies at the crux of Quakerism.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Among Deborah\u2019s papers are the texts of a number of other talks:<\/p>\n