Latest News
The cost of cold weather
Cold weather has combined with government cuts to make life harder for some of Britain’s poorest people. That was the message from Quaker Social Action (QSA) as parts of the UK experienced several consecutive nights at sub-zero temperatures.
Keswick Meeting goes solar
Friends in Keswick are celebrating after installing environmentally friendly panels on their Meeting house. The photovoltaic cells were fitted in December – ahead of the deadline.
John Voysey pleads not guilty
An eighty-two-year-old Quaker has pleaded not guilty to breaking the Census Act, saying he has a right to freedom of conscience. John Voysey, of Ludlow Meeting, refused to complete the census after the contract for running it was awarded to a division of multinational arms firm Lockheed Martin (see ‘Court...
Hexham debates
Hexham Debates, which seek to carry on the tradition of active radical debate essential for ensuring freedom and justice for all, will be hosting a variety of meetings organised by Northumbrians for Peace and Hexham Meeting during the coming months.
Quakers unite on alcohol pricing
Quaker action on Alcohol and Drugs (QAAD) has united with other faith groups in urging the prime minister to introduce a minimum unit price on all alcohol sold in Britain.
Meeting for Sufferings: News in brief
Sustainability Commitment Group Following Yearly Meeting Gathering’s Minute 36 on sustainability, the terms of reference for the Minute 36 Commitment Group were accepted. The appendix to the report giving the proposed terms of reference reminds us that the purpose of the Commitment Group is ‘to do the detailed thinking on...
Meeting for Sufferings: Speaking out
The rapid pace of change in the world of communications, including the development of social media, has prompted Friends to address the subject of ‘speaking out’ on behalf of Quakers in Britain. A Speaking Out Group, composed of three Friends and three members of staff, was set up in...
Meeting for Sufferings: Speaking out
In the early eighteenth century many of the tools of contemporary campaigning – such as slogans, logos, public meetings and boycotts – were developed by Quakers and others as part of the campaign against the slave trade. Today, a Quaker faces imprisonment because of his conscientious objection to taking part in...
Faith groups criticise proposed welfare cap
Quakers have lambasted the government’s proposed cap on household benefits as ‘a blunt and cruel instrument’. They spoke out as the House of Lords rejected key sections of the Welfare Reform Bill.
JRCT appoints new trust secretary
Britain’s largest Quaker trust has appointed Nick Perks as its new trust secretary. He will take up the post at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) in August, following the retirement of Stephen Pittam, who had been in the job for eleven years.