Issue 19-08-2022
Featured story
Thought for the week: Celia Davies’ learning curve
What motivates someone to take action? What sustains them? For me there were two catalysts.
Top stories
Trials and errors: Tim Newell of Escaping Victimhood looks at a new report
Last month’s publication of the report from the Independent Commission into the Experience of Victims and Long-Term Prisoners* has been marked by very little public comment. Its significance in trying to make sense of sentencing for those deeply affected by justice in England and Wales – both victims and offenders –...
Prisoners and conscience: Hugh McMichael on poverty
I recently attended a symposium at Birmingham University, visiting as a former prison chaplain. The law in England and Wales does not permit imprisonment for debt. But if a debtor fails to obey a magistrate’s order for payment, they can be imprisoned for contempt of court. A magistrate may...
Peeping at Tom, part two: Deak Kirkham looks at the Gospel of Thomas
Last week, I suggested that the Gospel of Thomas, a key document in the Nag Hammadi library discovered in Upper Egypt in 1945, contains ideas and themes which overlap with central concerns of contemporary liberal Quakerism. Looking at ‘inwardness’ and ‘salvation’, I tentatively characterised it as ‘a Quaker Gospel’. There are...
Would you believe it? Neil Morgan on a transcendent God
Within the Quaker family, there have been some attacks on the idea of transcendence of late. Let me try to unpack the discussion.
Moving forward: Abigail Maxwell visits New York Yearly Meeting
On Zoom, I can go anywhere in the world, so I went to New York Yearly Meeting (NYYM)Summer Sessions. Until 2019, these took place at Silver Bay in the Adirondacks. This year they were ‘hybrid’ (sometimes called ‘blended’) with some Friends at Silver Bay and some online.
All articles
BYM receives generous grant
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has been awarded £200,000 by Benefact Trust to support Quaker communities to thrive.
Quaker draws TV stars to Bolton Pride event
A Bolton Quaker’s films were shown to celebrate Bolton Pride this summer. The invite-only film festival at Bolton Hospice was introduced by former Coronation Street star Julie Hesmondhalgh who played the character of Hayley.
Leeds Friends welcome Bikes for Peace
Leeds Quakers are welcoming a group of Norwegian cyclists who are embarking on a thirty-mile tour for peace. Six to twelve activists from the ‘Bike for Peace’ organisation will arrive from Norway, with more supporters joining from the UK. Writing on Facebook, Leeds Quakers said: ‘We are looking forward to...
Kenyan partners hold peace for election day
A grassroots organisation that works with the Quaker Turning the Tide (TTT) programme in Kenya recruited seventy-one accredited election observers to help ensure peace in the presidential elections last week.
Exeter Friends host school visits
Exeter Quakers welcomed two groups of Year 8 school children to their Meeting house this summer. Pupils from schools in Exeter and Ashburton visited over two days, as part of a programme organised by Exeter City Council.
Refuge
The queen my mother taught me how to lead her people out of danger when I had fifteen years and only thoughts of life and love.
Letters - 19 August 2022
Beliefs and principles I am grateful to Terry Faull for his honest and thoughtful piece (5 August) about a dilemma we can all recognise: how do we respond helpfully when a newcomer asks a reasonable question about our corporate beliefs? What do you all believe? Are you Christians? Do you believe...