Issue 09-06-2017
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Thought for the Week: What love can do
At Meeting for Worship recently a Friend read from Romans 7 on sin and it got me thinking about the words ‘forgive us our trespasses’… and then ‘thy kingdom come’. The kingdom that Jesus lived in was ruled from Rome by a polytheistic state. His aspiration was a kingdom ruled by...
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Exploring the mystery of mysticism
The Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham, where birdsong overpowers the sound of traffic from the nearby main road, was again the setting for the annual conference of the Quaker Universalist Group. The theme chosen for the gathering, held between 5-7 May, was ‘Exploring the Mystery of Mysticism’ and this...
Hustings in Thirsk
Despite the limited space available in the Thirsk Quaker Meeting House, we have a long tradition of sponsoring debates before national elections. These used to be held in The Golden Fleece hotel but in 2015, as part of a Churches Together initiative, we used St Oswald’s parish church. This year...
Words and Woodbrooke
I am sure that I am not alone in feeling uneasy at the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre’s decision to drop the word ‘Quaker’ from its new logo. It has overtones of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, where the wording of the ‘seven commandments’ is subtly changed to accommodate Napoleon...
Reflections on the ‘Red Book’: Beyond words
In the article last week I outlined the problem: that we are followers of early Friends, who heard the voice of God, opened their hearts to it, accepted it and followed it; yet we live in a secular and scientific age where the ‘voice of God’ is cited by criminals,...
Education and equality
My heart was gladdened when I read an article in the Guardian recently written jointly by Nicky Morgan (Conservative), Lucy Powell (Labour) and Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrat) calling for an end to grammar schools. I had been dismayed to hear of Theresa May’s call for more grammar schools. It...
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Meeting for Sufferings: Setting priorities
Is Meeting for Sufferings fulfilling its role in setting priorities for the centrally managed work, or has it abdicated that task to trustees and other bodies?
Meeting for Sufferings: Engaging with ‘Our Faith in the Future’
Our Faith in the Future is a word picture of what Quakers in the UK to would like the Religious Society of Friends to be in the future. In September 2015 the document was accepted in Sufferings. The layout for the current leaflet has changed but the wording remains the same.
Meeting for Sufferings: Central nominations committee
Christine Habgood-Coote and Terry Faull, the clerks of the central nominations committee (CNC), reported on how they are working under their new terms of reference, which were adopted by Yearly Meeting (YM) in 2016. They will report to YM in 2019, but have been asked to give annual reports to Sufferings in...
Reverse hustings at Reading
Seven candidates and representatives campaigning for election in the Reading East and Reading West constituencies took part in a ‘reverse hustings’ at Reading Meeting House on Wednesday 31 May.
Love for all
Sevenoaks Local Meeting recently invited several members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (AMC) to come and give a presentation, having seen a notice from the University of the Third Age (U3A) Edenbridge. This consisted of a short lecture, a video, and a question and answer session.
Healing terrorism
Today I am the doorkeeper – welcoming all who cross the threshold. Greeting each one coming to our Quaker Meeting. Recognising the divine in each person. Responding from that same ‘that of God’ which dwells within me. In us all is that holy love, able to be given as a gift,...
Letters - 09 June 2017
Education The proposed closure (19 May) of Walden School, formerly Friends’ School Saffron Walden (FSSW), continues a trend over recent decades which have previously seen the closures of Quaker fee-paying schools in Wigton and Great Ayton. As a product of FSSW and with possibly the longest school career there of any â€...