Issue - 31 January 2014
Featured story
Thought for the Week: The church we see
The church we see is not a church of bricks and wood and glass. The church we see is not a church of doctrine, hierarchy and ritual. The church we see is simply a gathering of people, from a variety of backgrounds, finding unity and common purpose in the Spirit.
Top stories
Continuing revelation
How many times have you heard or read the phrase ‘What canst thou say’? It is a well-loved phrase amongst Quakers, but how many of us have read the sentences quoted before and after this phrase in Margaret Fell’s account of George Fox’s stirring words that moved her...
The Syrian crisis
In early September, when it looked as if parliament was going to sanction strikes against the Syrian regime, a few Beaconsfield Friends from Jordans Meeting felt we should write to the Beaconsfield MP to urge a peace-seeking role for Britain. Quakers in Britain had made a statement urging parliament...
Friendship remembered
In the course of cataloguing some books I came across one that my maternal grandmother had given to my mother and that she, in turn, had given to me. It was published in the years leading up to the second world war and recounted the life of Antony Bulwer-Lytton, viscount...
The bedroom tax
The subject is so ghastly that I have little inclination to dwell upon it, but it must be addressed. It stands as a damning indictment of government policy towards the most vulnerable in society. I am talking, of course, about the case of Stephanie Bottrill, who was driven by...
Journey Home at the Geffrye Museum
Friends were well represented at the Geffrye Museum in east London on Saturday 25 January at an event to launch a new, improved version of the Journey Home board game. The event also celebrated an agreement between the producers of Journey Home and The Big Issue Foundation that gives fifty...
All articles
Lobbying Bill: call for changes
Christian Aid chairman Rowan Williams has called on the government to make changes to the Lobbying Bill. Civil society groups, including the Religious Society of Friends, have argued that the proposed Bill threatens to curtail the freedom of charities across the country.
Peace activists on trial
The trial of five peace activists who were arrested at the London Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEi) 2013 exhibition last September takes place on Monday 3 and Tuesday 4 February at Stratford Magistrates Court in London.
A Testament of Devotion
A new Spanish translation of Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion has been welcomed by Robin Mohr, executive secretary of the Section of the Americas of Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC).
Vegetarian living
Woodbrooke is a lovely place with great facilities and a welcoming, friendly atmosphere. I have attended several weekend events over the last two years and enjoyed the food immensely. Most people who go there are Quakers. They also comment on the quality and variety. Interestingly, despite the good vegetarian...
The elephant cull
People go to southern Africa to visit game parks, where elephants often take pride of place. To watch a herd playing at a watering hole, and to see them squirting water over each other and their babies, is a lasting joy. These huge herbivores eat a vast amount of...
Eye - 31 January 2014
From riches to rags Friends moved from rags to riches and riches to rags at the Geffrye Museum in East London on Saturday. The popular museum hosted the launch of a new version of the board game Journey Home, co-created by Quaker author Jennifer Kavanagh, and visitors enjoyed playing the...
Letters - 31 January 2014
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity For many of us one of the most helpful practices encouraged by the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity [18 to 25 January] has been the experience of worship with Christians in other denominations, but for some Quaker Meetings this poses difficulties. We do not have...