Issue 14-04-2017

Featured story

Thought for the Week: People and principles

FREE 13 Apr 2017 | by Ian Kirk-Smith

For centuries Quakers did not celebrate any religious holidays because of a deeply held belief that all days are ‘holy days’. Public fasts and feasts were ‘devised in man’s will’ and, therefore, not ‘in God’s will.’ The same emphasis on inner spiritual life over outward ceremony was behind...

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Top stories

People Power: Fighting for Peace

13 Apr 2017 | by Ian Kirk-Smith

Left: Greenham Common banner designed and made by Thalia Campbell. Right: Rachel Wilson, back, second from right, and VAD friends, 1917. | Photo: Left: The Peace Museum. Right: © Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain.

In the past hundred years the world has experienced conflict, warfare, worldwide destruction and violent death. It has also seen the growth of a mass mobilisation of people opposed to settling conflict by violent means – a rejection of war. The Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London was set up in 1917...

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Being a pacifist

13 Apr 2017 | by Graham Spinks and Martin Aitken

Graham Spinks and Martin Aitken engage in a dialogue | Photo: Mike Linksvayer / flickr CC.

Graham: A couple of weeks ago I gave a talk praising the contribution of a group of Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) members who were awarded military honours for their bravery in collecting casualties from the front during the Normandy campaign of the second world war. I sensed that you were...

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Reflections on the ‘Red Book’: Easter - the inside story

13 Apr 2017 | by Bernard Coote

The resurrection, however literally or otherwise we interpret it, demonstrates the power of God, to bring life out of brokenness; not just to take the hurt out of brokenness but to add something to the world. It helps us to sense the usefulness, the possible meaning in our suffering, and...

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We all have a part to play

13 Apr 2017 | by Hazel Shellens

The Society of Friends might be thought of as a prism through which the Divine Light passes, to become visible in a spectrum of many colours Quaker faith & practice 18.20 Now is the time of year when many Friends are planning summer holidays and for some the availability of a...

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Effective altruism

13 Apr 2017 | by Martin Hartog

The term ‘effective altruism’, coined by the organisations Giving What We Can and 80,000 Hours in November 2011, means trying to ensure that any efforts we make to help those less fortunate than ourselves are as successful as possible.

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All articles

Quaker writers sign up for Hay

FREE 13 Apr 2017 | by The Friend Newsdesk

Three leading Quaker authors, Philip Gross, Sheila Hancock and Tracy Chevalier, have been confirmed to speak at the Hay Festival in May.

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Friends take on 400-mile cycling challenge

FREE 13 Apr 2017 | by The Friend Newsdesk

Two Tavistock Friends are on a 400-mile cycle across Cornwall and Devon to raise funds for a leading charity working for freedom from torture.

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Australian Quakers launch new website

13 Apr 2017 | by The Friend Newsdesk

Australia Yearly Meeting has launched a new website to help inquirers from around the world find out information about Australian Friends.

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Universalist Group

13 Apr 2017 | by The Friend Newsdesk

The Quaker Universalist Group will be holding its annual conference in the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre this year from 5–7 May.

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Meetings for Sufferings: Linking Friends worldwide

13 Apr 2017 | by Ian Kirk-Smith

Working collaboratively is at the heart of the mission of the Quaker World Relations Committee (QWRC), Friends attending Meeting for Sufferings were told when they gathered in the William Penn Room on Saturday 1 April.

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Meetings for Sufferings: Quaker recognised bodies

13 Apr 2017 | by The Friend Newsdesk

A Quaker Recognised Body (QRB) is an independent group where concerned Friends explore a common interest, seek affirmation, or carry out witness.

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Letters - 14 April 2017

13 Apr 2017 | by The Friend

Holding in the Light Jane Taylor’s ‘Thought for the Week’ (7 April) concerned ‘Holding in the Light’. I have found Marcelle Martin’s Pendle Hill Pamphlet 382 Holding one another in the Light helpful, especially such extracts as: …joining with God’s constant love for the person. …at such moments it...

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