Issue 15-01-2016
Featured story
Thought for the Week: Looking afresh
The current slaughter by militant Islamists of fellow religionists of a different tradition has parallels in the way in which Christians behaved in the aftermath of the Reformation, and at the time of the birth of Quakerism. The ‘thirty years war’ (1618-1648) was one of the longest and most destructive...
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The crisis in Syria
What can we say about Syria? Simply that bombing it, like all acts of war, is against our beliefs, as ‘contrary to the mind of Christ’? That’s a good start. I would expand that by arguing that the respect, love, courage, honesty and altruism that he called for and...
Winning the carbon war
World attention was focussed at the end of 2015 on the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. 2016 will be a year of challenges and opportunities. It is time to look at ‘patterns and examples’ and a good time to reflect on a successful community energy project that is being held as...
Christ at the centre
I try to place Christ at the centre of my life. When I am not distracted or lazy I try to read a few lines from one of the Gospels every day. I also enjoy reading the commentaries on the Gospels by William Barclay.
The fruit of the Spirit
Anthony Boulton gave us a perceptive insight into the history of Christianity in his contribution to the Friend of 1 January 2016. I am in total agreement with all that he had to say. His article was, though, only a historical survey. He concluded by stating that we need to give the...
York Friends help traveller community
Friends in York acted quickly to help members of the gypsy/traveller community who were recently affected when the flood barrier of the River Foss was breached on Boxing Day.
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End of Quaker era at Maghaberry prison
A service provided by Quakers for the families of prisoners at Northern Ireland’s top security prison for more than forty years has been transferred to a private company.
Friend speaks on listening
Quaker Hermione Legg was one of the guests on episode three of BBC Radio 4’s The Listeners on 6 January. Hermione explained how Quakers sit in silence during Meeting for Worship, beginning from the first Friend’s arrival. She described the importance of taking time to listen after someone has spoken.
Peace education guide revised
The Peace Education Network has launched the second edition of Teach Peace, revised and updated for 2016.
New Year news for Friend
A Friend who is a leading figure in a contemporary civil society initiative has been recognised in the New Year’s honours list. Neil Jameson, executive director of the community activist network Citizens UK, was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for ‘services to community organising and social...
EcoCentre aims to shape the future
Northfield EcoCentre, a Central England Area Meeting project, has developed a new sustainability workshop called ‘Green Generations: Shaping our future’.
Friend contends Miss Nottingham title
Emilia Symington will compete to be crowned Miss Nottingham on 21 January and if successful will progress to the finals of the Miss England competition.
Christians to unite in prayer
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will run from 18 to 25 January 2016.
Gleanings: People and place
Friends often assume that I grow my own vegetables. It’s part of a green stereotype, perhaps influenced by the 1970s sitcom The Good Life. That stereotype has some validity. The Transition Movement has a focus on local self-reliance. This is partly about reconnecting people with soil and community and...
Spiritual activism: leadership as service
‘Activism is all about putting our highest values into practice in the world. Spirituality involves an awareness of where those values come from… our motives, passions and drives.’ This is the crux of the message of Spiritual Activism: Leadership as Service by Alastair McIntosh and Matt Carmichael. It is a...
Eye - 15 January 2016
The banker and the two-masted schooner Prompted by a painting of a ship, Woodbridge Friends set sail to find out more about an eighteenth-century Quaker poet from their town. Local Friend Jeremy Greenwood wrote to Eye to tell the tale: ‘After an interval of nearly seventy-five years, Quakers started a...
Letters - 15 January 2016
From the archive Janet Scott’s series ‘From the archive’, on the first world war, is valuable. Seeing the horrendous numbers of casualties and vast debts incurred (ten-figure annual expenditure! Unbelievable!) is terrifying. And what did it achieve? The world faces similar perils. We have the option of abandoning instruments...