The Friend

Being human and priest

The image of a divine seed within every human being is a central one for Quakers. Seeds need nourishment in order to grow. Lack of nourishment leads the seedling to wither. The divine seed needs nourishing through seeking the best for others, especially the vulnerable. Quakers believe that the divine seed within us is calling us to be as God intended: to be human and priest.

The welfare state

We have the best welfare state in the world; or perhaps we did, but surely if that were so, what follows can’t be us?

Education performance has dropped to twenty-third out of the twenty-six most developed countries, our health service is failing to meet the most basic targets of patient safety and care, our social security system has become an unwanted way of life for too many, housebuilding in the public sector falls in each successive year and homelessness rises, thirty per cent of children are overweight or obese, we have or had the highest level of births to girls under sixteen in Western Europe, sexual abuse and the neglect of children seem to be at record levels, our prisons are bursting with record levels of violence and drug taking and we are, not surprisingly, stressed and turning to overstretched GPs and even legal highs for relief.

Religion and the media

Inverness interfaith group was set up to promote dialogue, understanding and cooperation between different faiths and to develop bonds and trust. The group meets regularly. We organise religious, social and educational events, annual picnics, faith sharing, music, dance and poetry, and are involved in social action initiatives, such as helping and supporting refugees. Meetings usually take place in Friend’s homes and often with meal sharing.

Contemplative love

Over the centuries and, indeed, millennia of our recent history, I believe mankind has inherited an intuitive awareness of ‘that of God’ (or Spirit, or Source) as our origin and destiny, and to which we belong. This has led to the development of religions, many of which portray certain charismatic humans, through faith, as representatives of, or even to be, God.

Vision is just the start

God visits Abraham. He has come to tell Abraham that Sodom is to be destroyed and to arrange for the rescue of Abraham’s relatives, who are living there. Abraham argues with God and, as the cost of not destroying Sodom, bargains him down from fifty to five good people.