Issue 21-06-2019
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Thought for the week: Frances Voelcker fires the engine
The Quaker machine is one with very small units of energy at the periphery, some whirring away, others with almost flat batteries. Some of that energy gets directed towards Area Meeting. Then the Area Meeting whirrs, more or less speedily depending on its size and complexity. In turn, some of...
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‘Restorative work involves sharing stories, making connections and building empathy.’
Every time we hear The Lord’s Prayer we are reminded of our need to forgive and to be forgiven. Hazel Nelson, in her introduction to the conference, suggested that we are brought up to believe that forgiveness is a ‘good thing’ and taught that we ought to forgive. But...
‘Were loaves and fishes put under a basket, for Jesus to lift up in a sort of “Hey presto!” way?’
Recently I took a family trip to see a close-up magic show at the headquarters of the Magic Circle, near Euston station. In the interval there was an opportunity to look at the museum, which featured books hundreds of years old that, despite their age, described tricks very similar to...
‘The interior monologues illustrate that the idling mind is not all vacancy and nothingness.’
The literary ‘interior monologues’ of James Joyce’s characters have something to tell us about the nature of the idling mind. The idling mind during, say, a silent Meeting is not necessarily idle, in fact, but may well be a crucible of antagonymic thoughts and images – ones that might contain...
Art thou in darkness?
Mind it not, for if thou doest it will fill thee more, but stand still and act not, and wait in patience till Light arises out of Darkness – James Nayler It was less of a walk than a stutter of feet edging across the floor as if she was navigating...
Friends hail Birmingham climate emergency declaration
Central England Quakers are celebrating the news that Birmingham City Council has declared a ‘climate emergency’ after a campaign involving other faith groups. The motion sets targets for the city to become carbon neutral by 2030 and includes creating a Climate Emergency Task Force.
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Scottish Friends support Elgin mosque
Friends in Forres, north Scotland, have pledged their support to a local mosque that was the victim of a hate attack. The Elgin Islamic Centre in Elgin was spray-painted with anti-Islamic graffiti including a swastika symbol in May. Scottish police charged a forty-two-year-old man for the crime and described it...
BYM blasts UK arms trade in inquiry
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has made a written submission to a parliamentary inquiry into UK policies towards autocratic states. The submission, co-written by Daniel Jakopovich, BYM’s peace and disarmanent programme manager, and Tobias Wellner, BYM’s East Africa programme manager, provides evidence in favour of active nonviolence for the...
Quaker CO talks on BBC documentary
A Quaker conscientious objector (CO) from the second world war featured in a BBC Radio 4 news programme this month. Donald Saunders, of Colwyn Bay Meeting, spoke on Broadcasting House on 9 June about what was described as ‘D Day through the eyes of someone who refused to fight’.
Norwich Friends hold Earth Care Fair
Norwich Quakers hosted a fair this month in a bid to raise awareness of the climate crisis. Members from several climate change and peace organisations came together on 8 June for the ‘Earth Care Fair’ to share ideas on how to achieve a sustainable future.
Three months of Exeter interfaith vigil
Exeter Quakers celebrated the three-month anniversary of their interfaith vigil which was set up in response to the shootings at two New Zealand mosques in March.
Light in Darkness: The mystical philosophy of Jakob Böhme Coventry Cathedral (Until 5 July)
Why should anyone care about natural philosophy? This exhibition – an artistic and historical interpretation of Jakob Böhme and his work – offers an explanation. The display is superbly curated and animated by: Lucinda Martin, Universität Erfurt; Cecilia Muratori, University of Warwick; and Claudia Brink, State Art Collections, Dresden, Germany,...
Living Adventurously: Experiencing Quaker testimonies in Spirit and in the world
‘Live adventurously’ is a Quaker Advice that trips easily off the tongue, but I suspect that many of us are more comfortable in familiar settings and in the company of those people we see as being of our own kind. This latest title in the series of booklets produced by...
Letters - 21 June 2019
This other Eden Rex Ambler’s response to the Swarthmore Lecture (7 June) illustrates the difficulty many Friends have with diversity and with an understanding of different Friends’ traditions. Eden Grace is a member of New England Yearly Meeting, which is not an evangelical Yearly Meeting. She holds her membership in...