Issue 17-04-2020
Featured story
‘Love is not rationed. Stock up!’
The smell of aircraft fuel in the morning; a packed train with everyone in their own space; the fumes on the Euston Road: I never imagined I would miss these.
Top stories
‘On the day we landed eight hundred died in Petersburg… a very moderate calculation.’
In 1902 Jane Edmondson Benson wrote Quaker Pioneers in Russia. It’s a book I’ve enjoyed but I’ve always been confused by its original title: From the Lune to the Neva. I know perfectly well that the Neva is the river of St Petersburg, but I had never known...
‘We shouldn’t be assuming that we humans are above and beyond nature.’
The pandemic has taken us all by surprise. The shock has been immediate: we have all had to change our way of life very rapidly to ensure that we survive – and, perhaps more urgently, to ensure that others who are more vulnerable also survive. Our minds are very much focused...
‘God will Deliveroo!’
During this time of retreat, the finding of food has changed my focus. Can I find home delivery slots? Can I find fresh fruit and vegetables? Other adults in my household resort to Deliveroo – a delivery service that offers an array of menus. I get the leftovers!
‘It is a blessing… to be able to withdraw, even if only fleetingly, into the sanctuary of worship.’
‘To Fox and the early Friends the whole of life seemed sacramental, and they refused to mark off any one particular practice or observance as more sacred than others. They took the same stand with regard to Sunday, or First Day; it was not in itself more holy than Saturday...
‘When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain…’
‘When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will...
All articles
‘Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister,’ by Jung Chang
Insofar as this book gives a history of China – which it does as background – it reads like a tragedy. At the end of the nineteenth century Cixi, the empress dowager, took steps to modernise the country. Jung Chang describes China’s search for democracy during 1913-28. It had a parliamentary...
You say you haven’t heard one for years
i Not squeezed your eyes to the sky, to find that black dot, that source of tumble tumble torrent on an invisible stave, not turned to see the sound of air played as light, spring spiraling, the field where you stand ...
Homeless ‘falling through the net’
Central Bristol Meeting has expressed frustration that its on-site night shelter is currently closed while there are homeless people still on the street. Dean Smart, clerk of Central Bristol Meeting, told the Friend that there are rough sleepers who ‘have fallen through the net’ due to government plans that they...
Quakers on front bench
The new Labour leader Keir Starmer has appointed two members on his front bench team with Quaker credentials. Friend Catherine West, MP for Hornsey and Wood Green, was appointed to the shadow foreign affairs team as shadow minister for Europe and the Americas, while Thangam Debonnaire, who has spoken publicly...
DR Congo charity seeks hospitals aid
Quaker Congo Partnership UK has said that is ‘very concerned’ about the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on medical services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Quaker schools help in coronavirus crisis
Quaker schools have been playing their part in the struggle against the COVID-19 outbreak. Leighton Park School in Reading has led an initiative to create face shields to protect NHS frontline staff, which is now being supported by nine schools in Berkshire. The project, which was launched on 2 April by...
London to Canterbury pilgrimage – at home
A Peckham Friend spent his Easter break walking an eighty-mile pilgrimage from London to Canterbury – in his own home.
Church leaders respond to COVID-19
Paul Parker, the recording clerk for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), has signed a Holy Week statement from over twenty church leaders urging Christians to ‘pray for those who suffer, those who face untimely death and all those who care for them; to celebrate our common faith at a difficult time;...
Eye - 17 April 2020
Distraction and inspiration Eye has always sought to feature light-hearted, creative and community-based stories. Whether it’s Friends making origami boxes from covers of the magazine, quirky encounters that raised an amused eyebrow, or quotes where Quakers have put in an appearance. Like the rest of the magazine, there is...
Letters - 17 April 2020
Assisted dying I appreciated Win Sutton (13 March) sharing her experience of her daughter’s decision to end her life. It was a very moving story and I’m sure it has stimulated many of us to think again about this issue. I read the book on Assisted dying that was...