Culture Articles
Poem for a newborn in Meeting
Gabrielle Octavia born on a Tuesday Sunday you came to meeting
Deepening the Life of the Spirit
Few Friends will be surprised that as Meeting co-clerk I get a lot of mail. Much of this needs sifting, sorting, being presented to an appropriate Friend or quietly filing away. One packet that was not for quiet filing was Ginny Wall’s new booklet Deepening the Life of the...
Found poem in three voices
Greece Greece is gripped by the spectre of isolation beneath the surface is deep fear and anger A bloated and corrupt centre has sucked the economy dry Most Greeks want to stay in the EU as guarantee against Turkey where memories go back to age old enmity
The frescoes of Assisi
Perched on the side of a hill, in the depths of the green heart of Italy, lies a remarkable medieval town seemingly untouched by time. Assisi is situated in the beautiful region of Umbria, a land of high hills gently bathed in layers of soft mist. This is a land...
Her mother’s eyes
‘Faith makes one a pioneer, a trailblazer; it turns the traffic lights from amber to green. While we rely on the power of the self we are much more likely to dither or retire. Trusting in the Power Beyond means having a sense that all will be well. Our mission...
Tree of Life
Beautiful Friendship is a sheltering tree A special connection between you and me Love and support… Are the branches and leaves With space in-between For our Spirits to grow and fly free
A healing grace
When Elaine Pryce was sixteen her four-year-old brother drowned. She blamed herself for this and so did her family. Her Pendle Hill pamphlet, Grief, forgiveness and redemption as a way of transformation, gives a most moving account of her journey ‘through a labyrinth of learnings… to forgiveness and acceptance’.
‘Are you a Holy Man, Dad?’
Alarmed, I looked at the boy; was I a kill-joy? Did I look askance at fun?
A Pump in Africa
Here’s water, as the human eye can’t see it. Maybe God’s eye, or a fly’s, the mirror-ball of timelessness, the almost-insubstantial lacewing’s gold eye, can.
Quaker Artists Network
Today, the arts are clearly important to many Friends, as demonstrated by the continuing uptake of Appleseed and other art-based courses and retreats, occasional events organised by Quaker Meetings, and the work of the Leaveners and the Quaker Tapestry.