Going for a song: Rebecca Hardy on how Quakers have changed their tune

‘We try our hand, the Quaker choir.’

by Rebecca Hardy 22nd September 2023

The preface to Rise Again, the songbook created by Quakers Annie Patterson and Peter Blood in 1988, has a quote from the renowned folk singer Pete Seeger. ‘Why is singing good for the planet?’ he asks. ‘Nobody can put it in words. But if there is a human race here in a hundred years, my guess is that one of the main reasons will be we found ways we can sing together – different religions, different languages. The act of singing together makes us realize we’re human beings.’