Issue 04-11-2011
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Thought for the Week: Our challenge
Picture four people discussing the role of the church. Two considered inequalities in society; facts about homelessness, unemployment and poverty. They dealt with the role of large corporations and how unscrupulous politicians facilitate their actions. They touched on how misguided financial mechanisms bring much of the world to recession and...
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The riots: Respect and responsibility
Many people have tried to explain why the riots occurred. All agree that the shooting and peaceful protest in Tottenham were simply the spark. What followed had nothing to do with that. A range of views have blamed government cuts, poor parenting, lack of respect and gang culture. All are...
The riots: Where do we go from here?
As I write this, three months have passed since the riots in the UK. We’ve all been forced to think more deeply about where our society is heading. The causes are varied and complex. We need strategies to police riots and to deal with ‘gang culture’. But this is...
Experiment with Light: A spiritual practice
In the beginning of the year 1655, I was at the plough in the east parts of Yorkshire in Old England, near the place where my outward being was; and, as I walked after the plough, I was filled with the love and presence of the living God, which did ravish...
That of God in everybody
A school is a remarkable place because all sections of the population are legally required to sit in one for about six hours each day and be talked to and, hopefully, with. All the groups of people with whom it is hard for us, as a Religious Society, to engage...
‘There will be no funeral!’
There is one certainty in life: that it will end. One of the golden nuggets within the Quaker approach to our spiritual journey is the encouragement to prepare for that certainty. Taking heed of this advice early can be of enormous help, at the time of death, to relatives and...
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Silent witness at St Paul’s
A hundred Quakers came from far and wide to attend a Meeting for Worship on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral on Sunday. The first part of the worship was accompanied by the deafening noise of the huge bells of St Paul’s. However, neither these sounds nor...
Arms trade treaty needs churches to lobby together
Churches have a crucial role to play in the run-up to next year’s negotiations of a global treaty to regulate the conventional arms trade. This was the conclusion of a World Council of Churches (WCC) panel in New York last month. WCC general secretary Olav Fykse Tveit said...
83 year-old Quaker protester faces court
A Quaker great-grandfather is facing court this week following a peaceful protest against the war in Afghanistan. John Lynes, 83, of St Leonards on Sea Meeting, was arrested at the gates of Downing Street on 7 October. In the dock alongside him are: a former SAS soldier, Ben Griffin, a Roman...
Tackling tax dodging
Quakers have joined other Christian-based groups in urging the chancellor of the exchequer to crack down on tax dodging by the rich. They signed an open letter telling George Osborne that the wide gap between rich and poor is ‘tearing at the fabric of society’. They argue that ‘efficient...
Eye - 04 November 2011
Gentle people News of the extraordinary range of events held throughout Britain during Quaker Week continue to reach the Friend. Friends, during the week, engaged in many different forms of outreach and in doing so often gain interesting insights into how Quakers are perceived. Gerard Bane of Canterbury was one...
Letters - 04 November 2011
Debt and the economy Alan Smith (21 October) correctly highlights the important relationship between our fragile economic situation and the devastating destruction of the earth’s resources. He bases his argument on the conventional view of economics promoted by textbooks, the government and banks. However, ninety-seven percent of our money has...