Issue 11-07-2014
Featured story
Thought for the Week: A community in the world
‘You are a community in the world.’ Who else remembers those words? They were spoken to us at the end of an ‘Equipping for Ministry Conference’ in 1991 by the Roman Catholic observer, who was asked to sum us up in five minutes. The Anglican observer did the same. Do we...
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Fasting against nuclear weapons
Every year an international fast is held between Hiroshima and Nagasaki days (6-9 August) in Burghfield, Paris and Büchel, the last NATO base in Germany at which nuclear weapons are stationed. I will be participating for the third time this year, and for the first time in Burghfield. The...
Christian redemption or human narrative?
Gerald Hewitson’s 2013 Swarthmore lecture was beautifully delivered, personal, historically illuminating and full of pathos. Many were moved by his account of personal transformation. His direct, South Yorkshire tone certainly added to my enjoyment, but I had a mixed reaction to the content.
Woodbrooke
Tell some of my fellow citizens of Birmingham that I am going to Woodbrooke and the response will frequently be ‘Where’s that?’ Although it is situated on a corner of the busy Bristol Road and Bournville Lane, it is shielded by mature trees with sweeping lawns, a lake, flower...
The things which kill
When blinded Polyphemus chose a rock To hurl at bold Odysseus in his flight, His weapon was as one from cave-man’s stock; Its simple function: death to expedite!
Norwegian Quakers mark bicentenary
Norwegian Quakers gathered in Stavanger last week for their Yearly Meeting. This year’s event was special, with Friends celebrating 200 years of continued Quaker presence in Norway. While the first Quaker visits to Norway are believed to have taken place in 1657 or 1658, Quakerism really took root there when freed Napoleonic...
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AVP international gathering in Ireland
More than 160 delegates from forty countries are gathering in Maynooth in Ireland from 13 to 19 July for the International Gathering of the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP). The theme of the Gathering, which has been strongly supported by Quakers in Ireland, is ‘Diversity and Sustainability’.
JRF supports new journalism prize
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is supporting a new prize for in-depth journalism. ‘The Orwell Prize for Exposing Britain’s Social Evils’ will be awarded for the first time in 2015. The name is taken from the task given to the JRF by its founder: ‘to search out the underlying causes...
Bootham students work in Quaker burial ground
On Tuesday 1 July some 400 Bootham School students, aged between eleven and eighteen, took part in a ‘whole school service day’. Inspired and organised by history teacher and deputy housemaster, Robert Hudson, the service day saw the students work on a range of projects within their local community.
QSA gains Living Wage Foundation certification
Quaker Social Action (QSA) has gained the Living Wage Foundation’s certification. This means that every member of the east London charity’s staff, including contracted workers, earns not just the minimum but the living wage. This is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually, according to the cost...
Letter from Geneva
What does it mean to embark on a pilgrimage of justice and peace? This question has been occupying the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee meeting in Geneva from 2 to 9 July. It has been approached in two ways. One is how it is to be carried out in the...
Religion and culture
As the son of a German Jew who fled from Frankfurt to the UK with his family immediately after he was dismissed from his grammar school teaching post when the Nazis came to power in 1933, I strongly disagree with the anti-Zionist views of Andree Ryan (27 June). My mother was a...
Eye - 11 July 2014
Pinky subversion Wool Against Weapons has sparked ‘a whole subculture of pinky subversion, knit-ins, protests, cake and nattering’ says Jaine Rose, organiser of the campaign. A seven-mile pink peace scarf will be unrolled as part of a direct action protest on 9 August, between the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites of...
Letters - 11 July 2014
No to assisted suicide I believe the Quaker view on assisted suicide should be no. The purpose of Meeting for Worship and Meeting for Worship for Business is to seek the will of God. The Religious Society of Friends has a serious purpose; it is not a political forum or...