Issue 08-03-2013
Featured story
Thought for the Week: Cutting the roots
Trauma pickles the mind. If you break a leg, everyone can see the damage. The mind is different. With physical injuries: you know you can’t walk – it’s obvious. This is not always so with the mind. In some ways our minds are beautifully simple, in other ways so...
Top stories
Peace and justice
As a Quaker, I am convinced that each one of us is ‘unique, precious, a child of God’. If that is so, then, surely, the world should be a peaceful, just and fair place for every one of God’s children, whoever and wherever they may be. Martin Luther...
Rachel Wilson
It all started in Friends House Library a few years ago when my wife Molly was searching out material for her book on Daniel Baker. He was a seventeenth century naval captain who, according to state papers, became ‘tainted with Quakerism’ and was removed from service. He embarked, instead, on...
Loneliness
‘Is this the loneliest generation?’ asked Brian Brady in a recent article (The Independent on Sunday 13 January). He was commenting on figures from the Office of National Statistics, which showed that the number of people living alone in the UK has now reached 7.6 million, an increase of a million...
In a whirl
‘I see it as a means of connecting oneself to the divine’ said Ghazala Bhatti, when asked to describe in a nutshell, the meaning and purpose of Sufi whirling. Friends in Peterborough first came into contact with local Sufis when Ghazala and her late sister Raana took part in...
Quakers active in Kenyan elections
Quakers from both Kenya and Britain helped to ensure that the Kenyan election, held on Monday 4 March, had a reduced level of violence. Post-election violence in Kenya in 2007 left 1,200 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced. Though violence again flared on election day earlier this week, with at least...
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Decarbonisation target sought
A decarbonisation target for the UK power sector is increasingly becoming the focus of a campaign by groups concerned about climate change. Thousands of supporters, including Quakers, are backing the efforts of Conservative MP Tim Yeo and Labour MP Barry Gardiner to have an amendment introduced to the Energy...
Stamp club success
2012 was one of the most successful years ever for the Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) stamp club. A highlight was the accumulation of mint and used Chinese stamps, plus first day covers, that was initially valued at £1,200 but finally sold for £4,000 at auction.
Quaker poetry anthology
A recent appeal for poems by Quakers, for a proposed poetry anthology, has enjoyed a tremendous response. The new Quaker poetry anthology is being edited by poets RV Bailey and Stevie Krayer and will be published by Indigo Dreams.
Carbon footprint ‘app’ launched
The national environmental campaign of the Church of England, Shrinking the Footprint, has launched a new ‘app’ that offers smartphone users the opportunity to measure and reduce their carbon footprint.
Let there be light
The resignation of Keith O’Brien, the Scottish cardinal, and the tenth anniversary of the Iraq war have both been headline news. The accompanying publicity, or lack of it, has been illuminating.
The path
Resetting my fickle, twitchy compass, Refinding God’s true North, I get my bearings and Tramp off.
Eye - 08 March 2013
Quaker Light Godalming Friends will be celebrating their Meeting house’s 300th anniversary in 2014 and are commemorating this remarkable event by producing a new rose, called ‘Quaker Light’. The idea stems from Ruth Martin, a local Friend and avid gardener, following her experience of producing two other Quaker-named roses of...
Letters - 08 March 2013
Quaker marriage certificate With reference to Laurie Andrews’ letters (15 and 22 February), I am surprised that the legal standing of the Quaker marriage certificate has not been questioned. My parents told me that their certificate was a legal document, and it was respected as such, in addition to its sentimental value....