Issue 12-12-2014
Featured story
Thought for the Week: Connectedness
Three trees stand in a row, Separate but connected, Two young beeches In their glory of autumn According to the eternal cycle of the seasons, One ash, old, bare and bent Involved in the eternal cycle of life and death.
Top stories
Democracy at work
Policeman: ‘You’re not going to throw marbles at them are you?’ Me: ‘I’ll try to restrain myself!’ Policeman (reaching into his pocket): ‘I’ve got a few here you can use if you want to…’
Secret worshippers
When I worked for a local authority, I was instructed about ‘secret shoppers’ – volunteers from all ages and backgrounds who regularly ‘test out’ council services, then report back directly on how they were treated and whether the secret shoppers felt we had dealt efficiently with their enquiry. This idea is...
The Quaker way
Most of those who become Quakers today will have made a spiritual journey to arrive at this destination. We are now a Society of convinced Friends rather than cradle Quakers. Many daughters and sons of Friends continue their parents’ questing and move beyond the Society, even if holding to Quaker...
Meeting for Sufferings
Meeting for Sufferings took place on Saturday 6 December in the newly refurbished Large Meeting House in Friends House, London.
Meeting for Sufferings: Area Meeting minutes
BYM Budget process Northumbria Area Meeting’s minute brought a concern about Britain Yearly Meeting’s (BYM) budgeting process. They believe ‘there is an ambiguity [in Church Government] about who actually decides on how much money is spent in various areas on behalf of BYM’. The minute asks Sufferings to â€...
All articles
Meeting for Sufferings: The Retreat
The Retreat presented its triennial report to Meeting for Sufferings. Clerk to members, John Miles, read Advices & queries 22, explaining to Sufferings that it captures the essence of the Retreat’s approach: ‘Remember that each one of us is unique, precious, a child of God’. He added that The Retreat...
Meeting for Sufferings: Friends and the Lobbying Act
Trustees met during the lunch break at Meeting for Sufferings to decide whether to register Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) for the Lobbying Act. The Act is known in full as the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014. It requires organisations to register as non-party campaigners if...
Meeting for Sufferings: Young Friends participate
Some of the about thirty young people taking part in the Youth Participation Day discussions in the Small Meeting House on 6 December during Meeting for Sufferings.
Meeting for Sufferings: End of life issues and assisted dying
End of life issues were a large part of Quaker Life’s report to Meeting for Sufferings. However, before the discussion, Martin Pennock, clerk of Quaker Life Central Committee (QLCC), told Sufferings a bit about the committee and its work. General secretary Richard Summers then gave a brief overview of...
Letters - 12 December 2014
Hubert Lidbetter With regard to Andrew James’ letter (28 November) concerning my maternal grandfather Hubert Lidbetter, the architect of Friends House, the following may be of interest. In 1923, an architectural competition was organised for a purpose-built headquarters for the Religious Society of Friends and five Quaker architects were invited to participate,...