Issue 12-06-2020
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‘Humans certainly experience transcendence, but we go wrong when we try to label it.’
Some months ago a Friend said in Meeting that: ‘I am praying to a God I’m not sure I believe in.’ Nobody developed this at the time but for me this period of confinement has thrown some light on it.
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‘A diverse community is not an optional extra. It is fundamental to how communal discernment works.’
There seems to be a traditional list of excuses for why so many Quaker Meetings fail to reflect the racial and social diversity of their local communities. These include:‘Silent worship doesn’t suit everyone.’ ‘We shouldn’t be trying to proselytise.’ ‘They prefer their own churches, which have lots...
‘A large part of the peace I feel now is that I have learnt how to do nothing.’
Three years ago, aged twenty-one, I was diagnosed with leukaemia. I spent most of the next nine months in isolation, in a sealed, airtight room. That time was incredibly hard, but it was also the most important and transformational of my life. Two years since I came out of isolation,...
Spring 2020
The quagmire that beset the lane in winter became spring’s dusty track, lined now with straggles of forget-me-nots and clumps of healing borage. Further on mellow docks nudge nettles. Everywhere may and cow parsley merge, shoulder high.
‘The verbs tell it all.’
There is no more touching and intimate story than that found in chapter twenty of John’s Gospel. It could only have been told by someone who was there, and the different shades of meaning of the verbs used (blepo, theoreo, horaw) tell it all.
‘This is an opportunity for us to sow good Quaker seeds for a sustainable way of working.’
I’ve survived many traumas in my life, including dramatic culture shocks. I’ve noticed that I recover from trauma in stages. There’s the first paralysing shock of the sudden change – a house fire, the death of a loved one, a change of career – or, in the case of...
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Quakers make a stand against racial injustice
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has joined other UK churches in affirming their commitment to challenging racial injustice, as protests following the death of George Floyd swept the world.
Friend sparks protest for racial justice
A Friend from St Neots Meeting sparked a rally for racial justice after a session on lockdown activism prompted her to take a stand.
Penn Club houses NHS staff
The Quaker Penn Club, the historic guest house based in Bloomsbury in London, has opened its doors to house frontline workers during the coronavirus crisis.
Quaker GP videos
A Wallingford Friend who is leading the Oxfordshire End of Life Care response to the Covid-19 pandemic has put together a series of videos for frail and at risk people during the crisis.
Friends consider ‘hybrid Meetings’
Quakers have been exploring how best to move forward with Meeting for Worship (MfW) in future months. The increased discernment follows the government’s announcement on 7 June that from 15 June places of worship could open for individual prayer in England. This does not include communal worship.
Meeting for Sufferings: Exceptional circumstances
Meeting for Sufferings this month was held via the videoconferencing platform Zoom. In her calling letter to this most unusual gathering, the clerk Margaret Bryan noted that ‘many of you will know more about Zoom than you ever imagined necessary’. Too true. But advance induction sessions had been set up...
Meeting for Sufferings: Trustees report
‘A lot has being going on’ noted Caroline Nursey, clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) trustees, since she last spoke to Sufferings representatives, in February. But trustees needed guidance as they looked forward, she said. First, though, BYM treasurer Linda Batten gave a financial review of 2019, which had ended much...
Meeting for Sufferings: Dates - MfS and a virtual Yearly Meeting
Dates for meetings don’t often prompt existential questions but that was the case as MfS considered when it would meet again. The initial proposal was that there be fewer Meetings than usual.
Eye - 12 June 2020
Tickling the funny bone A Quaker once kept a rare bird Who uttered a very rude word But l’m happy to say We all looked away And muttered: ‘Our Friend is not heard!’ Sent in by Judith Taylor, from Lancaster Central and North Area Meeting. Tweeting in Sutton Birdsong...
Letters - 12 June 2020
Mission of equality After Sunday’s Zoom Meeting for Worship, a Friend was in tears because she felt helpless about the situation in the United States after the recent tragic death in Minneapolis. ‘The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to secure the...