Issue 18-07-2014
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Thought for the Week: Defined by a negative?
May I un-burden myself? They would call me non-theist ...
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Quaker theology
From time to time throughout history there arises the occasional remarkable human being who has the capacity to see the world as it actually is. I would include in this group all the founders of the great world religions: Moses, Gautama, Jesus of Nazareth and Muhammad. Their experience seems to...
Paths to sainthood
The path to sainthood for John Paul II was the fastest in modern history, raising eyebrows among traditionalists for packing a painstaking process that can sometimes take centuries into nine incredibly short years. Whether John Paul II should or shouldn’t be a saint isn’t the issue I am...
Population matters and so…?
When people bring up the population issue, I often feel uneasy. I have decided it is to do with ghosts. As often as not, it is not the tone that proponents in the debate actually have. It’s the tone people have had in the past, the one that doesnâ€...
Breakfast
The early morning sun lit up the acacia scrub on the rocky track uphill from Hlekweni to Samathonga School. I was up early to see the newly instituted breakfast feeding scheme at the school. Long-tailed birds flitted between the low trees against the clear blue Zimbabwean autumn sky; I noticed...
Celebrating and remembering
This slim volume, mainly recording talks given one Sunday afternoon at Manchester Mount Street in 2013, splendidly encapsulates the progress of the subtitle’s fifty years of concern. The event’s concept was brilliant: very differently focused personal testimonies led into a succinct historical scrutiny. These three talks form the bookâ€...
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Quakers plead for root causes of crisis in Gaza to be addressed
Amid escalating violence in Gaza, Quakers in Britain have written this ‘open letter’ to William Hague, the foreign secretary. ‘Quakers in Britain are deeply concerned by the escalating violence in Israel and Palestine, particularly Gaza. We know that you share our concerns for the region.
Tunbridge Wells Friends help young homeless
West Kent Quakers are converting their Tunbridge Wells Meeting House to include ten single-occupancy flats for homeless young people. The young people will spend time in a more closely supported environment first, with the new flats seen as a half-way house. West Kent YMCA will provide support staff for the...
Philadelphia Quakers move towards disinvestment
The Eco-Justice Working Group of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has announced that more than $2 million of the group’s assets have been disinvested from fossil fuels. The group has moved its assets to a new Quaker Green Fund offered by Friends Fiduciary Corporation. The green fund focuses on sustainable agriculture, renewable...
Bath legacy from Quaker Gardens Project
The Quaker Gardens Project is to build a legacy garden at Bath University, to commemorate this year’s Yearly Meeting Gathering. The garden is to be a lasting gift from the Friends of the South West to the university, its staff and students. It will be developed on campus, next...
Bolivian Friend visits Northern Ireland prisons
Whilst attending the recent Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) International Gathering in Maynooth, County Kildare, Bolivian Friend Magaly Quispe Yujra visited Friends in Northern Ireland. She was hosted by South Belfast and Frederick Street Meetings, as part of Lisburn Monthly Meeting. Magaly visited two Quaker Service projects in Northern Ireland –...
Eye - 18 July 2014
Steps towards peace Friends stepped out with members of other faiths in Hounslow in June. Bessie White, clerk of Brentford and Isleworth Meeting, explained: ‘The local interfaith group, Hounslow Friends of Faith, organise the Walk of Peace and Friendship each year, choosing a different area.’ This year Corinna Smart, mayor...
Letters - 18 July 2014
Assisted suicide These two Friends say ‘Yes’ to assisted suicide as proposed in the Bill to be discussed in the House of Lords on Friday. On the following day, Quakers in Yorkshire will be discussing the report produced by Friends from the Leeds area on ‘End of Life Issues’. About...