Issue 07-12-2012
Featured story
Thought for the Week: The potential of prisons
In recognition of the recent Prisons Week and International Restorative Justice Week, Jordans Meeting hosted the latest talk in the Chiltern Area Quaker Programme: Exploring the Potential of Prisons. Some forty people were privileged to hear three remarkable speakers presenting their expectations of prison movingly and eloquently from their...
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Down to earth
Losing someone you love is desperately sad. Just getting through those first days and weeks – while numb, bereft and steeped in grief and with so many things to sort out – can be overwhelming. The funeral looms and decisions need to be made. Each has a significant financial implication.
A visit to Doha
It always seems impossible until it is done. - Nelson Mandela This is one of the inspiring phrases sitting on my desk at the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva, a desk more than four and a half thousand kilometres from the Qatar National Convention Centre, venue for...
‘New protest’ in Russia
The fifth of December 2012 marks the anniversary of a new beginning in Russian history. One year ago the first mass meeting of the ‘new protest’ took place in Moscow; since then the huge number of opposition activists (100,000+) is a constant feature. Why did people take to the streets? Why has...
A vision for peacemaking
‘Peacemaking: vision for the future’ was the theme of the recent General Meeting for Scotland, which was a residential, hosted by St Andrews Local Meeting, held from 17 to 20 November.
Meeting for Sufferings: Minute 36
The main agenda item of Meeting for Sufferings, held at Friends House on Saturday 1 December, was the commitment made at Canterbury in 2011 for Quakers to become a low-carbon sustainable community. Minute 36 states: ‘Sustainability is an urgent matter for our Quaker witness. It is rooted in Quaker testimony and must...
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Meeting for Sufferings: Vibrancy in Meetings
Jonathan Fox, who has been a model of calmness and lucidity over the years, gave his last Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) trustees report. Was there a hint of sadness in his voice?
Meeting for Sufferings: Swarthmoor Hall
Meeting for Sufferings were informed, very clearly, that no firm decision on the future of Swarthmoor Hall in Cumbria had been made. The Swarthmoor Hall Project Group told representatives that they were in the early stages of a process to discern the best way forward. This process would explore...
Meeting for Sufferings: Report on finances
The new treasurer of BYM, Peter Ullathorne, gave a very measured presentation to Meeting for Sufferings on the status of the finances.
Irish Quakers celebrate Bloomfield anniversary
Quakers in Ireland have just marked two hundred years of pioneering healthcare. The anniversary celebration was held at Bloomfield Care Centre in Rathfarnham, Dublin, a specialist centre for the treatment of the mentally ill and elderly.
Protest against tax avoidance
Several Friends joined a twenty-four-hour boycott of Facebook last Saturday in protest at the low level of corporation tax paid by the company.
Friends House wins gold
Friends House has just been given a much sought after Soil Association ‘Food for Life’ Catering Mark gold award. The mark was awarded for the outstanding quality of catering and food at Friends House, for the commitment to use produce from sustainable and ethical sources, championing local food and...
Transplant patient to remain
Quakers and human rights campaigners have applauded a court’s decision to allow a Nigerian with kidney disease to continue to live in the UK and to receive NHS treatment.
Prisoners for peace
Quakers have been encouraged to send letters and Christmas cards to people around the world who are imprisoned for their stand against war.
QSA wins major charity award
A prestigious Guardian Charity Awards for 2012 was this week given to Quaker Social Action. It is a huge achievement for the charity, which is based in east London, and director Judith Moran was delighted. She said: ‘This is fantastic news for us because each year the Guardian chooses five...
Advocacy post in Scotland
Friends in Scotland will link with Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) in helping Quakers play a more effective advocacy role in the country.
Eye - 07 December 2012
The tower on the twelfth A Friend will be celebrating her seventy-second birthday next week with a vigil at an infamous spot where many people lost their heads. Judy Moody-Stuart, of Ditchling Meeting, intends to stand, from twelve noon to twelve midnight on 12 December, at the Tower execution scaffold in...
Letters - 07 December 2012
Grieving I was sorry to hear of our Friend’s experience following a recent bereavement (16 November). It is always a hard time and remembering the death of a dear grandmother I grieved for her and also my place in her community. The article is a timely reminder for us all...