Issue - 28 March 2014
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Thought for the Week: Inspired by Jesus
I notice Jesus is seldom mentioned in current Quaker discussions about what we believe. This is a pity and perhaps comes from a false picture we have been given of him. I have some sympathy with the view that Paul of Tarsus and John of Ephesus hijacked the religion of...
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Being spoken through
Very occasionally in Meeting for Worship I find myself being spoken through. Spoken through by what or by whom? My background and preferred mode of thought are sceptical, materialist and scientific. I certainly cannot say, ‘spoken through by god’ or any such traditional religious formulation, since I have no personal...
The historical Jesus
I am part of a small Quaker group using the ‘Friendly Bible Study’ method to study Mark’s gospel. Often we come across problems relating to our lack of knowledge of the context in which Bible stories are set; for example, why was Jesus visiting people who herded pigs? I...
Childhood and education
Many Friends have become very concerned about what’s happening in education. In deciding how to respond, I believe we need to consider what we want for children. What do we want schools to do and how should they relate to families and the rest of society? What is the...
Peru to host international gathering
The most important gathering of international Friends will be held in South America for the first time in 2016. The next International Representatives’ Meeting (IRM) of the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) will be held in Arequipa, Peru from 12 to 20 January 2016, it has been announced.
QARN highlights UN report on asylum seekers
The sharp rise in claims for asylum during the last year revealed in a new report issued by the United Nations refugee agency has been highlighted by the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network (QARN) According to the report – Asylum Trends 2013 – some 612,700 people applied for asylum in North America, Europe,...
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‘No more Fukushimas’ protest
Some of the fifty-eight adults and seven children – including Quakers from Lancaster, Liverpool, Settle, Keighley and London – who gathered for a peaceful protest at Heysham Nuclear Power Station on Saturday. They were overlooked by two police armed with machine guns.
General Meeting for Scotland
The Scottish Referendum, now only six months away, was the main subject for discussion in the afternoon at General Meeting for Scotland (GM) held on 8 March. The Glasgow Meeting room was filled to capacity – around seventy people in the morning when routine business was done and over eighty in...
Quaker Tapestry recognised by Arts Council England
The Quaker Tapestry Museum in Kendal has been recognised for its outstanding work by Arts Council England. In the recent round of accreditation by the Arts Council the team at the Quaker Tapestry again achieved the standard of ‘Full Accreditation’.
What is Meeting for?
I have twice attended discussions where invited Friends spoke on ‘what I do in Meeting’. It’s a fascinating question and one I am glad I have not had to answer. However, I do sometimes muse on a related question: what is Meeting for? This is easier: words offer themselves....
Ploughing
The farmer tells us Old Punch is due for retirement now, and that he’ll spend the rest of his happy days grazing contentedly in peaceful pastures.
Eye - 28 March 2014
Making music Bernard Thomas, of Heswall Meeting, has embarked on a musical mission: ‘Several years ago our local radio station, BBC Radio Merseyside, approached my Local Meeting to do a half hour broadcast about Quakers. This we did, but one of the things they asked for… was some Quaker-related music.’ ...
Letters - 28 March 2014
Reflecting on testimonies Was it fortuitous that Oliver Robertson’s reflection on the grace of God followed immediately after Marisa Johnson’s on the concept of God in the Friend of 14 March? Perhaps… but I’m thankful that my own Area Meeting didn’t wait a year or two before...