Issue 07-10-2022
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Grace note: Anne Watson’s Thought for the Week
When Britain Yearly Meeting issued a statement about the death of Elizabeth Windsor (in which we gave thanks for the ‘grace of God shown in her life of service and faith’) I found myself considering the meaning of the phrase ‘the grace of God’. Some Friends question the use of...
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Poetry in motion: James Priestman takes his itinerant witness to Edinburgh
I began day one (17 August) in Northamptonshire, for a lunch with my father (who is in residential care) and two of his cousins. One of those relatives took me to a service station on the A1, just north of Peterborough, and I began hitchhiking at 4pm. After an hour and...
BYM stands by peaceful climate protestors
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has said it is standing by peaceful protestors who were found guilty of breaking an injunction when they took nonviolent action to demand an end to new oil and gas projects in the UK.
Capital costs: Mary Brown on the death penalty
October 10 is the twentieth world day against the death penalty. I shall be thinking of my penfriend on death row in Texas. In the UK we gradually and cautiously abandoned the death penalty without the approval of the majority of the population. This gives me hope.
General Meeting for Scotland: Gisela Creed reports
Will Scottish General Meeting ever feel the same again? About fifty people attended, but less than half were at the welcoming, spacious, sunlit Edinburgh Meeting room. Even with the best technology, for me, Friends attending by Zoom feel somewhat remote.
Such a piece of love
On the first real day, right at the beginning, Love smashed into pieces (designed like that, God’s truth: made for it).
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Government plan will ‘deepen inequality and worsen climate crisis’.
Government plans will not tackle the cost-of-living and climate crises, Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has said, joining a sea of voices criticising the UK’s economic policies.
Friends let ‘silence ring out’ against fossil fuels
A group of Friends held a Meeting for Worship at Just Stop Oil coalition protests this weekend. The demonstrations on 1 October called for an end to new fossil fuel exploration alongside investment in home insulation and public transport.
Anti-war protests in Russia
As arrests of anti-war protestors increased in Russia, Quakers expressed concern about pacifists in the region.
Friend curates Quaker Salter Centenary exhibition
A South London Friend has curated an exhibition to celebrate Quakers Ada (1866-1942) and Alfred Salter (1873-1945).
Meeting for Sufferings: Opening business
Eighty-four Quakers gathered online for Meeting for Suffering (MfS) on 1 October, with just fifteen in Friends House due to a train strike.
Meeting for Sufferings: Review of Yearly Meeting, Yearly Meeting Gathering and MfS
The first main item focused on the ongoing review of Yearly Meeting, Yearly Meeting Gathering and MfS. Sarah Donaldson, clerk of the group appointed to conduct the review, said that, although the written report will not come until December, when it will be shared with MfS, she could outline where...
Meeting for Sufferings: BYM trustees report
Caroline Nursey, clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) trustees, and Linda Batten, Yearly Meeting treasurer, then spoke to BYM’s report. The trustees met on 2-3 September, they said, when, according to Caroline, the meeting was ‘gently paced’.
Meeting for Sufferings: Work in Scotland
Friends heard what was later described as an ‘inspiring’ report from Elizabeth Allen, clerk of General Meeting for Scotland. ‘If you look at statistics, we’re old and our numbers are declining and like Quaker Meetings around the country we’re having great difficulty filling our roles,’ she said. ‘This...
Letters - 07 October 2022
Pushing through silence As a new subscriber to the Friend I find that some articles are exactly what I need to read. I really love the photo illustrations to the text, so thank you. Working as a volunteer in an art gallery, the visual presentation is as vital as the...