Issue 21-04-2023
Featured story
Talk of the town: Matthew Callow’s Thought for the week
Reading Meeting’s outreach committee was determined to have a good year. Coming out of the pandemic, we felt the need for something vibrant. As it turned out, it wasn’t just good, it was fun and it was heartwarming.
Top stories
The trials of Trudi Warner: Sue Bennet objects
On 27 March, Trudi Warner, a retired social worker from Walthamstow, held up a placard outside the trial of ‘Insulate Britain’ protestors at the Inner London Crown Court. It said: ‘Jurors, you have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to your conscience.’
Why were early Quakers successful? Andy Fincham has business with history
The history of Quakerism is just as vulnerable to mythology as any other history. This is surprising, perhaps, because our testimony to Truth might be thought sufficient to ensure that claims about our Society are accurate and valid. But Quakers are required to challenge ourselves: the evergreen Advice 17 asks us...
Giving your word: Sergei Nikitin writes to political prisoners
When I was working for Amnesty International as the head of its Moscow office, I heard a story told by my London-based manager. She recalled how, in the 1970s, Amnesty International activists were writing letters to Soviet political prisoners. She used to write to a priest serving his term in...
Norton Friends in rewilding project
Quakers in Stockton-on-Tees are working with Tees Valley Wildlife Trust to use their burial ground for nature and local people.
Pacifism in a time of war: Gillian Metheringham on a pathway of nonviolence
I listened when Oliver Robertson was one of the ‘witnesses’ on the BBC Radio 4 programme Moral Maze (‘Pacifism on show’, 31 March). For those who missed it, he was presenting the case for pacifism to a panel of commentators and academics. The discussion
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Friends mark Stephen Lawrence anniversary
Quakers have been speaking out on the thirtieth anniversary of Stephen Lawrence’s murder this month. The killing of the eighteen-year-old in Eltham, southeast London, on 22 April 1993, marks a watershed moment for race equality in Britain. As a result of the Metropolitan Police’s flawed investigation into Stephen’s killing,...
New exhibition on Quaker simplicity
Friends have been sharing their thoughts on Quaker simplicity for a new exhibition at the Quaker Tapestry Museum. The display will feature videos recorded by Friends alongside historical items reflecting Quaker approaches to their longstanding testimony.
Quakers mark Earth Day
Friends are getting ready to celebrate Earth Day with this year’s theme of ‘invest in our planet’. As numerous Quakers flock to Westminster to join Extinction Rebellion’s ‘The Big One’ – timed to coincide with the international day – Muswell Hill Meeting will be hosting a family Earth Day event...
Kindlers put spotlight on Quaker worship
The Quaker group The Kindlers is seeking to hear from Friends for a new booklet on Quaker worship. James McCarthy, who is writing the booklet, told the Friend: ‘Apart from asking for people’s responses to [specific set questions], we will also be seeking to interview some people in more...
Inner Healing, Inner Peace: A Quaker perspective, by John Lampen and Diana Lampen
This is a book full of good things to marvel at, understand and apply. So much of it rings bells after the trauma of the pandemic, and its impact on families and loved ones. The issues of tension and conflict are a focus, but there is also a remarkable section...
Eye - 21 April 2023
Springing to life As the seasons change and shoots begin to appear, do Friends have any springtime sunshine to share? Creative ablutions Recent refurbishments at Sutton Meeting resulted in some unusual plumbing solutions. Local Friend Helen Drewery told Eye that the Meeting ‘has found a new way to save water...
Letters - 21 April 2023
What it means Meeting for Sufferings asks every Meeting what it means to be a Quaker. I guess as far as Quakers go, I am of the Tolstoyan anarchist pacifist utopian outlook, eschewing the ownership of Meeting houses, Quaker schools, and the model of Meetings with clerks, elders and what...