The Friend is a weekly magazine in which Friends speak to each other and to the wider world, offering their insight, ideas, news, nurture and inspiration.
Nurturing Quaker community, each issue offers a space for Friends to share their concerns, and to support each other in faith and witness.
The Friend: enriching, inspiring and connecting the Quaker community since 1843.
‘The kingdom of Heaven did gather us and catch us all, as in a net, and his heavenly power at one time drew many hundreds to land. We came to know a place to stand in and what to wait in.’
Who do you picture when you think of a charity trustee? An older person who’s retired? Someone well off, with a lot of spare time? A high-flying professional? An expert in charity governance, finance and legal matters? If that’s what you saw in your mind’s eye, and you don’t think you fit the bill, you’re not alone. But almost anyone can be a trustee!
Lewis Fry Richardson was born in 1881 as the seventh and youngest child in a high-achieving Quaker family. The children mainly attended Quaker schools and developed lives that showed elements of Quaker values, many being directly involved in pacifism, teaching and scientific enquiry. I became interested in Lewis because of his use of mathematics in war studies, arising from his stated intention to use mathematics, physics and psychology for ‘good’ purposes. The seeds for this were planted at Bootham School, where the idea that scientific inquiry is a duty was embedded in him.
When I come to Meeting, or step again into the stream of worship in my daily life, I often realise that I’ve been abroad: worries and plans have kept me from attending fully to the inward voice of love. As I experience God’s work in my heart, I become aware of the many invitations each day to return to the Presence, hear God’s guidance, recognise God’s unearned and unchanging love, and move at the pace of prayer. I feel my deep need for help from a power greater than myself, and I hear God’s persistent call to come home, to the Light and Guide within.
Greetings all. We’d like to offer you a seasonal check-in, with an introduction to, or reminder of, the wonders of the Friends Quarterly. If you’re not already a faithful subscriber, the November edition is full of tales of ‘Rewilding Eden’, and may be a good place to start. Earlier this year we offered nine stories from Friends who were invited to entertain and delight on the theme of transformation (August). We also looked at spiritual accompaniment (February) and racial justice (May).
Inspired by an Eva Koch Scholarship earlier in the year, towards the end of 2025 Golders Green Meeting decided to be adventurous and hold the first ever exhibition in the 112-year history of the Meeting house. This ideal location, built in 1913, is an oasis of calm, in an urban setting yet surrounded by nature and bordering ancient woodland. The aims of the exhibition were to share the stillness felt in the building and its beautiful setting with visitors, and to be a witness to peace building and climate justice. The exhibition was aptly named Scorched Earth, Green Shoots.
away from loud voices
where the only sound was water
finding its way through rock.
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Whether you are new to Quakerism or have been going to Meeting for years, you’ll find something here to inspire, inform and challenge you.
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Written by and for Friends on the bench
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