Issue 09-02-2024
Featured story
Taking a moment: Gerard Guiton’s Thought for the week
Hitchhiking from Bucharest, I was dropped off outside a very old and run-down Romanian Orthodox church, in the country’s far west. Its unkempt grounds hosted a large tree which would provide shade from the midday sun, and a chance for a nap.
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Tone death: Gerald Drewett on Jesus’ crucifixion
Last month Elizabeth Coleman asked what Friends made of Jesus’ crucifixion (‘A big ask’, 19 January). Here’s my answer. As early hunter-gatherer societies developed, they asked fundamental questions of themselves. These were passed down as stories. In the Old Testament, for example, we have the story of Adam and Eve....
Come to past: Val Jenner on a new history project
There will always be Friends who think there is no point in looking backwards, and who want to deal with needs and injustices in the present day – and of course that is what we are all called to do. But how we understand ourselves and the world can be influenced...
Free spirit: After experiencing years of homophobic prejudice, Peterson Toscano calls for solidarity
I am not aware of all of the dynamics in the UK, but here in the USA, many of us who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual feel threatened by political powers that seek to strip us of our hard-earned rights. The feeling of being an outsider in one’s own...
I Seek a Kind Person by Julian Borger
The title of this new book is the first line of an advertisement that was placed in the tuition column of The Manchester Guardian in August 1938, by Leo and Erna Borger. The full advertisement read: ‘I Seek a kind person who will educate my Boy, aged 11. Viennese of good family....
Woodbrooke tapestries need new Quaker home
A series of tapestries created by a Danish Friend need a new Quaker home. John Lampen, from the Quaker Arts Network (QAN), told the Friend that: ‘Many Friends will remember a series of remarkable tapestries in the corridors at Woodbrooke, woven, and in most cases designed, by Elisabeth Holmgaard. She...
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Quakers speak on Gaza genocide ruling
Following the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that ‘there is a plausible risk Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza’, Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has said that the UK government must take urgent action.
Holocaust Memorial Day
Quakers marked Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) last month, attending local and national events. With the theme of this year’s HMD being ‘the fragility of freedom’, Oliver Robertson said on the Quakers in Britain website: ‘The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust reminds us that HMD is not only about remembrance, but...
Sutton Coldfield Meeting House lauded for sustainability
Sutton Coldfield Meeting House has been cited as an example of best practice in making faith buildings more sustainable.
London Friends hold first blended gathering
Quakers came together last weekend for the first joint blended Meeting of the London Area Meetings (AMs).
Cost effective: David Grimshaw wants to talk about money
Friends are rightly proud of our historical work in business and commerce, Bournville and Woodbrooke being good examples. But the way we use our money now – in a global economy, in a digital age – raises ethical dilemmas that previous generations did not face. The recent, brave decision to hand over...
Eye - 09 February 2024
Bots and biccies Artificial intelligence has inspired a number of writers to contribute pieces in recent months, and the debate is far from over. Amid the ethical concern, fear and hope, however, one Friend has floated a light-hearted idea at a chat bot, considering that most vital of provisions: biscuits...
Extract from The Convict’s Appeal
Still, surely it deserves a thought, An awful, solemn pause, Whether the Creed, by Christians taught, Can justify their laws? Which doom not death alone, but – far As human power is given, Thus place before the Almighty’s bar, Man – unprepar’d for Heaven!
Letters - 09 February 2024
Sadness and surprise It was with sadness and surprise that I read about the laying down of Quaker Concern for the Abolition of Torture (Q-CAT) (letters, 26 January) – sadness because such a charity is more essential than ever nowadays, and surprise because I hadn’t heard of it. Had I done...