Issue 03-03-2012
Featured story
Thought for the Week: Fairtrade Fortnight
A few weeks ago I attended the Saturday morning service at a reform synagogue – my first in many years. It was a small, friendly congregation, quite different from the formal Judaism I grew up with. It felt particularly homely though, because of the posters declaring that this was a Fairtrade...
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The message from St Paul’s
‘Riot police clearing the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral was a terrible sight. This is a sad day for the church.’ Giles Fraser wrote these words on Tuesday morning. They reflect the feelings of many Christians in Britain today.
A ‘Citizen Income’
Quakers from across Britain will soon be asked to consider supporting a ‘Citizen’s Income’. Friends in South East Scotland have resolved to raise the issue with Meeting for Sufferings, the national committee of British Quakers.
Diseases of affluence
I am not against sustainability – far from it. The wanton and ongoing rape, pillage and plunder of our planet disturbs me deeply. What agitates me, though, is that, when we think about sustainability, we tend to overlook one of the most important aspects of stewardship – stewardship of our own bodies.
Quakers and creation: The unity of things
In England at the end of the English civil wars groups of Seekers, who had rejected all the available religious options of the day, began to meet together in silence to await a new revelation from God. These Seekers soon became part of the emerging Quaker movement. An experience of...
Rough sleepers on the increase
Rough sleeping in England has risen by almost a quarter in the last year, according to official government statistics. Quaker Homeless Action (QHA) has, for some time, predicted an increase in homelessness due to government cuts (see ‘Rise in homelessness expected’, 16 December 2011).
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Human rights concerns raised
A Quaker-Managed project has given evidence to the European Council about the abuse of human rights in Palestine.
Shadow children
Thousands of migrant children are living ‘in the shadows of our communities’ as they suffer hunger, homelessness and sexual abuse. That’s the conclusion of a new report by the Children’s Society, which focuses on those whose immigration status leaves them without financial support.
Mennonites move to Selly Oak
The Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham is to have a new neighbour – housing another group rooted in radical Christianity and pacifism. British Mennonites will transfer their main base from London to Birmingham this summer.
A moral lead for bankers?
The subject of a lack of ‘moral leadership’ in important sectors of society, such as banking and finance, is a topical and important one. Leading commentators in the Church of England have proposed, for example, that the government should establish a ‘bankers’ college’ to deal with the pay gap.
God’s apostles
The French philosopher Montaigne, in the sixteenth century, once wrote: ‘The most universal quality is diversity.’ I am the proud grandpa of three boys: Joel, three, and Alastair and Sammy, both one. In some ways they are so similar and in others so different. Joel is into walking, running...
Eye - 02 March 2012
Fairtrade education Fairtrade pioneers Traidcraft and The Fairtrade Foundation have this year partnered with teachers’ bible TES (Times Educational Supplement) to create a whole host of resources for school children. From quizzes and games to assemblies and lesson plans, the Fairtrade duo have covered just about every angle. Taking the...
Letters - 02 March 2012
Broken or working fine? Thank you, Gill Westcott (17 February), for an admirable summary of the inequalities, ecological destructiveness and promotion of superficial materialistic values of our current system.