Issue 02-04-2010
Featured Story
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Passions and mysteries
This year the village of Oberammergau in Bavaria will put on its Passion play for the forty-first season. In 1633 central Europe was gripped by the Thirty Years War (1618-1848), poverty and the plague, which had killed thousands – eighty in the tiny village of Oberammergau itself. After months of…
Top Stories
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Why universalism?
To consider the origin of the Quaker Universalist Group (QUG) it can be helpful to recall the historical Quaker culture of 150 years ago. Many Friends espoused the Christian Evangelical outlook and their beliefs were traditional to non-conformity. The need for education was widely acknowledged and the work of the…
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Love alone
I read with a swelling heart Symon Hill’s comment ‘Farewell, pacifist Quakers’. He spoke for me. -
Time to think the unthinkable
A shake up of Yearly Meeting structures and practice was announced at Meeting for Sufferings, through the introduction to the Meeting of Britain Yearly Meeting trustees’ minute 17. The Yearly Meeting trustees’ vision and strategy for the future was introduced by Jonathan Fox, clerk of the trustees. He explained that… -
Bath Friends to host reverse hustings ahead of the election
Election candidates in Bath will undergo a major role reversal, after Quakers in the city joined with local campaigning groups to set up a hustings with a difference. Rather than expecting the local community to sit and listen to general election candidates, it is candidates who will listen to representatives…
All Articles
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A rising star
Tom Harper was brought up as a Quaker in north London: his father Rod was clerk of North West London Area Meeting, he went to Quaker summer schools and Junior Yearly Meeting and still occasionally attends Meeting for Worship. He had anticipated my question about the extent to which Quaker… -
The Scouting book for boys
Can most Friends remember their ‘coming-of-age’ summer, I wonder? I certainly can, and, like the two young people in The Scouting Book for Boys, mine also involved a caravan park. And waving fields of golden corn. Plus absent parents, of course; that’s pretty much an essential ingredient. I don’t think… -
Letters – 2 April 2010
Military intervention There was a time when Quakers were known for plain speaking. ‘War’ is, I think, a fairly common word of the English language that is sufficiently well understood by most people. Here’s a clue: ask any child, what do you call it when the armies of different countries… -
Torture in the news
As Quaker Concern for the Abolition of Torture (Q-CAT) prepares for its seminar at Woodbrooke in April on the theme ‘Ending Torture: the Next Steps’, news of the corrupting influence of torture on national and international life continues to escalate. -
Targetting soldiers on the ground
Official statistics of British forces fatalities in Afghanistan fail to show that younger people from poorer backgrounds are suffering most from the increasing intensity of the fighting there. Research based on the official fatalities listing shows that those facing the greatest risks in Afghanistan are infantrymen. -
Meeting for Sufferings news in brief
Friends House visits Group visits to Friends House are to be welcomed, said Jonathan Fox, clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting trustees. Staff are putting together a draft programme for visitors so that they can see what happens there. -
Equality bill progress
Quakers have given a warm welcome to the passing of the Equality Bill in the House of Lords, although fears remain that the timing of the general election may impair its passage through the Commons. The Bill includes a provision to allow religious elements in same-sex civil partnerships, for which… -
Our Vision for Friends House
Our Vision for Friends House 1. Short version Our vision is to be an active spiritual home for Quakers worldwide to work and worship together and share ideas a showcase for Quakers providing information, history and living examples of Quaker work and thought -
Cautious and hopeful financial report and accounts
The outcome of the 2009 financial situation is good, Ron Barden, clerk of Quaker finance and property central committee, reported to Meeting for Sufferings of the accounts that had just been approved and signed by trustees. Ron explained that ‘good’ was in the context of the economic situation in which… -
Internet security sought by Meeting for Sufferings
A restatement of ‘policy to allow the use of the internet for the storage or communication of membership information subject to appropriate safeguards’ would be welcomed by Meeting for Sufferings, it was stated on Saturday. It arose from a proposal for the development of a secure web-based contact list facility… -
Britain Yearly Meeting Trustees minute 17
BYMT/10/03/17 Prospects We have received a paper from the Clerk “Prospects – developing the discussion” with an appendix from Gillian Ashmore on some developments since October 2009 (T/10/03-4). -
Fears raised over plans to combine lottery and utility bill payments
Alarm is growing over proposals from the National Lottery company Camelot that could see Lottery ticket terminals used to process cash payment of utility bills. Quaker Action on Alcohol and Drugs (QAAD) is one of a number of members of the Interfaith Group on Gambling to express concern over the… -
Investment property development
The twenty-five year lease of Courtauld House to Hubron University has come under question as the lessee has indicated that they may be unable to afford the rent, reported Ron Barden, clerk of Quaker finance and property central committee. -
Q-Eye: 2 April 2010
Oh to be in England now the winter’s done John Linton, founder of the Quaker Universalist Group, who died aged 99 at his Oxford home last month, wrote poetry. Eye thought this one was perfect for the first week in April, especially after such a fierce winter. April This is… -
United effort to end immigration detention of children
The sanctuary pledge, a statement calling on politicians to campaign responsibly on immigration and community issues, received a boost today as the Children’s Society and Bail for Immigration Detainees backed it. They join a range of organisations and groups from across civil society who have already put their name to… -
Young Friends put focus on Bosnia
Young Friends in Britain have adopted a charity that sows the seeds of peace in Bosnia as the basis of their new appeal. The decision was taken at Young Friends General Meeting last night to back Firefly, an organisation that was set up in 1998 to run youth and arts…
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