Opinion: Medi James on the new Senedd

I cannot hide the fact that I am delighted with the outcome of the recent election to the Welsh Senedd. I feel that people have begun to understand Welsh nationalism today, or at least understand the message about equality, truth, sustainability, and peace.

In a recent meeting under the heading;Transforming the public conversation on refugees and migrants; the message from the panellists was that if we truly want to welcome refugees and migrants among us, we must "engage"; The words used were "get connected". The party that won the most seats last week has been trying to ‘engage’ for a hundred years. The same message stands today, the core of our Christianity as well as other major religions
of the world. Christianity is not a theory but a way. Engagement and conveying messages has happened in various ways in Wales over the past weeks and will continue. The same is true of the message of neighbourliness and engaging with people unfamiliar to us. Making connections and communicating.

‘Comms’/communication is a trendy word these days. To me, the order of communication is: hearing the message; listening to the message; remembering the message; thinking about the message; talking about the message. This is what new members of our Senedd will have to do.

When I first became familiar with the Quaker business method, it took me some time to get used to the order of a Meeting for Church affairs. Meeting for Worship on Sunday or any day, yes; but a Meeting for Church Affairs? As an adult, I was long accustomed to sitting through long committees: restless and frustrated; experiencing poor chairing; constant repetition; interrupting; pre-empting or expressing a point that had already been made. Boring.

Here I found a different order. The Quaker Business Meeting for Church affairs begins with some minutes of silence. It is called a ‘Meeting’ but it is not a Meeting for Worship, rather a Meeting to discuss business. There will be papers (minutes of the previous meeting) and an agenda. A completely new practice for me was realising that a record is written down there and then at the end of discussing the matter. Not what I had been used - to namely leaving it to the secretary to write out the minutes, after going home, looking over their notes and trying to remember exactly what was said and decided upon.

In a Quaker Business Meeting, every Friend can express an opinion, and often there are several different opinions with strong feelings attached. By discussing honestly and openly, a conclusion can be reached to move forward or if it is too complex, return to the topic after further careful consideration. It will be necessary to ensure that the written record expresses the 'feeling of the meeting' in order to find a way forward. The way forward for our elected
members will not be easy. Quakers in Wales believe in the values of truth, equality, sustainability, and peace. These values should be present in the work of developing national policies, in our communities and in our individual lives. Perhaps the advice below will be worth consideration:

“Do you respect that of God in everyone though it may be expressed in unfamiliar ways or be difficult to discern.... When words are strange or disturbing to you, try to sense where they come from and what has nourished the lives of others. Listen patiently and seek the truth which other people’s opinions may contain for you. Avoid hurtful criticism and provocative language…" part of number 17 from Advices and Queries.

God – the Light, the Spirit (or whatever name gives you meaning)

Medi James, May 2026