Latest News
Change in status for Q&B
The Quakers and Business Group (Q&B), formerly a registered charity, although unincorporated, has become a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). The group stressed that the only difference members may notice is a new charity number.
Meeting houses open to public
Almost fifty Meeting houses are to open to the public next weekend as part of the annual Heritage Open Days initiative. Between 11 and 14 September, the public will be able to visit buildings ranging from the 300-year-old Meeting house at Rickfords Hill in Aylesbury to the brand new Kingston Quaker Centre...
Quaker school pioneers Passivhaus design
Friends School of Portland, Maine, broke ground on 7 August for its new school building, which will be built on Passivhaus design principles. The new school will meet a rigorous, voluntary standard for energy efficiency in a building, thereby reducing its ecological footprint. Passivhaus design uses solar gain and carefully engineered...
New challenge for the Leaveners
The Quaker arts group the Leaveners has announced a new partnership with youth charity The Challenge. In the first of what will hopefully be a series of activities, twenty-four Birmingham fifteen to seventeen year olds will meet on 6 September to create a giant map of their city. They will work...
QARN campaign for immigration detention time limit
The Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network (QARN) is campaigning for a time limit for immigration detention. In the year to the end of March 2014, 2,991 people were in detention in the United Kingdom, a rise of five per cent on the previous year.
Friends support Manchester Pride
Over the bank holiday weekend Manchester and Warrington Area Meeting once again celebrated Manchester Pride with a variety of activities. Mount Street Meeting House hosted its popular Quaker ceilidh with a live band. There was an outdoor Meeting for Worship in the centre of Manchester and, as usual, a Quaker...
Restoration work at Quaker burial ground in Wicklow
An Old Quaker graveyard in County Wicklow, Ireland, has been transformed by the efforts of a local heritage group with the support of Irish Friends.
Thirsk Friends highlight choice
Quakers in Thirsk marked the centenary of the outbreak of world war one with a series of events highlighting the choices available at that time. Thirsk Meeting saw the centenary as an opportunity to engage with non-Quakers and were inspired by Yearly Meeting recording clerk Paul Parker’s talk at...
Blackburn Quakers behind bars
Anti-social behaviour in their burial ground has forced Blackburn Meeting to put up railings, leaving Friends mulling over the irony of Quakers once more being ‘behind bars’. The decision was taken following several months of noise and disturbance, which led to the grassy area by the Meeting house being littered...
New Zealand Quakers mark war anniversary
Friends recently took part in a series of peace vigils held across New Zealand. The events were organised by Peace Movement Aotearoa. Nine of the eighteen held across the country were organised by Quakers, who also participated in several others. The peace vigils were aimed at changing people’s perception...