Issue 18-10-2019
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‘We commend the work of this parliament to address the issues, but we are worried.’
As clerk of South East Scotland Quakers it falls to me to notify our national body of arrests of our members. There have been eight this year, involving six individuals. These are some of the Quakers arrested this year throughout the UK, mostly as part of Extinction Rebellion, or demonstrating...
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‘Sometimes, the ecology of support in a school can blossom into something quite beautiful.’
However essential peace education work is, schools can sometimes seem unreachable. There are too many pressures and targets, and too little time. But, sometimes, the ecology of support in and around a school can blossom into something quite beautiful.
‘A Quaker view of knowledge would focus on methods of inquiry, which are often subject-specific.’
In the Quaker Values in Education (QVinE) group we grapple with the question of whether there is anything about educational values that is specifically Quaker. During the twentieth century our thinking on education was in line with other so-called ‘progressive’ ideals. While there were Friends among the leading thinkers, only...
‘Reports describe diminishing “purposeful activity”, squalor, violence and self-harm.’
This week, Prisons Week, we are encouraged to think about those connected with the criminal justice system. I have had many years’ contact with this system, as tutor, trainer, visitor and reformer.
‘Bringing people from our local community together in this way has been rewarding.’
Skye Meeting sometimes feels rather remote from what’s happening in the wider world, so we’d like to let Friends know what’s happening here via the Friend. Our meeting includes the islands of Lewis and Harris, and the Uists, and we appreciate our contact with these Friends, one...
Friends in vigil for Tory conference
Central Manchester Quakers organised three vigils during the Conservative Party Conference to remind politicians of the urgency of the climate crisis.
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Meeting for Sufferings: Assisted dying and end-of-life issues
Meeting for Sufferings (MfS) has been looking at end-of-life issues throughout the last decade. In 2010 North Scotland Area Meeting (AM) minuted its opposition to the End of Life Assistance (Scotland) Bill but MfS did not express its own view. By 2014, MfS forwarded the issue to Quaker Life Central Committee (QLCC),...
Meeting for Sufferings: Safeguarding
In 2014 the then home secretary Theresa May announced an Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The Inquiry has asked the Religious Society of Friends, along with other faith bodies, to contribute to an investigation into child protection. Meeting for Sufferings (MfS) received a paper explaining more about the Inquiry,...
Meeting for Sufferings: Quaker Stewardship Committee
Quaker Stewardship Committee (QSC), which helps and guides Meetings in the stewardship of their finance and property, has no formal relationship with Meeting for Sufferings. But its clerk welcomed the opportunity to communicate with the body in a year in which: Meetings were being encouraged to simplify their ways of...
Meeting for Sufferings: ‘Speaking out and advocacy’
In the last session of the weekend Friends heard from Anne van Staveren, BYM’s media relations officer, and Grace Da Costa, the public affairs and advocacy manager, about how the Yearly Meeting speaks out on matters of concern to the Society.
Scottish Friends welcome smacking ban
Quakers in Scotland are celebrating the news that Scotland has become the first country in the UK to make it a criminal offence for parents to smack their children. Eighty-four MSPs voted in favour of banning outright the physical punishment of children in Scotland, after the Members’ Bill was lodged...
Kenyan Quaker speaks at Friends House
A Quaker from Kenya spoke at Friends House last week about the different traditions of Quakerism. John Muhanji, director of the Africa Ministries Office of Friends United Meeting (FUM), talked on 10 October about the continuing influence of colonialism, and, according to Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), ‘brought a lesson in creating...
Friend calls for stronger Quaker Brexit stance
An Edinburgh Quaker brought together thirty Friends to take part in a march to remain in the EU after what he described as ‘a lack of response’ from Quakers.
Quaker XR arrestee speaks in the Guardian
An eighty-one-year-old Friend from Huddersfield who was arrested in Extinction Rebellion’s (XR) ‘October Rebellion’ was quoted in an article in the Guardian newspaper. Sarah Lasenby who was arrested on Victoria Embankment on 7 October, said in the article: ‘The whole thing is so urgent that it is imperative the government...
Interfaith climate prayer in Dublin
Friends were among around 100 people who gathered for an interfaith climate prayer meeting in Dublin last month to show solidarity with youth climate strikers. Organised by a new interfaith group ‘FaithS for Climate Action’, representatives from faith communities in Ireland spoke at the Famine Memorial on Custom House Quay about...
‘Outgrowing God: A beginner’s guide’ by Richard Dawkins
In its early pages, this reads like a book for children. But its author soon gets into his stride, and it becomes vintage Richard Dawkins: clear, vigorous, going in for the kill. Religion has nothing going for it; it is sheer superstition which can be explained.
Letters - 18 October 2019
Faith and faithfulness It’s always a joy to reconnect with old Friends you’ve lost touch with, so it was lovely seeing Mary Roslin’s letter (4 October). It’s even nicer to be able – I hope – to reassure her about her concerns. The head of local development, and the...