New Yorkshire centre opens
'First time in maybe 100 years that Quakers in Britain had a new base for national Quaker work outside London.'
Last year saw the first national Quaker centre open outside London for decades. The Quakers in Britain Yorkshire Centre opened in September as Friends continued the shift towards more local working.
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) said it was the first time in maybe 100 years that Quakers in Britain had a new base for national Quaker work outside London. Between seventy-five and 100 Friends attended the launch on 18 September.
Some BYM employees are working from the centre which is a self-contained office suite attached to Central Leeds (Carlton Hill) Meeting House. This includes: the new Yorkshire local development worker Bridget Holtom; Jude Acton, who works with children and young people; and deputy recording clerk for BYM Juliet Prager.
Margaret Bryan, a member of York Area Meeting and clerk of Meeting for Sufferings, said: ‘Quakers have always had a strong presence in Yorkshire and having Friends House staff based in our area will be a tremendous support to our spiritual community.’
The opening made it onto the local BBC news programme Look North (Yorkshire).
