Issue 01-11-2019
Featured story
‘Remembering war and considering peace deserves more than two minutes a year.’
On 11 November, at 11am, Britain stops for two minutes to commemorate those killed in war. Around that time, some people wear red poppies to remember Allied troops. Others wear white poppies to remember all victims of war, civilians as well as the soldiers.
Top stories
‘Although the number of those living with dementia is growing, the condition is not a new concern.’
Earlier this year, Faith in Older People (FIOP) published a learning resource, One Step at a Time, to assist churches in supporting people with dementia. A recent conference, hosted by FIOP together with the Church of Scotland Guild, was an opportunity to share experiences and learn from one another, particularly...
‘If this is not the truth of Quakerism, why not leave control of the Meeting to a panel of experts.’
A man began shouting over the sermon. The well-connected and progressive preacher had been starting to wrap up when a voice of dissent sent an echo around his church. The wealthy congregation turned suddenly, in anger, toward this ignorant populist whose clear intolerance had led him to disrupt their ordered...
‘We have seen how much work there is to do in making our Meetings places where everyone feels safe.’
In 2016, growing out of a concern brought to elders, a small group of Chichester Friends met to discuss the issues of diversity and inclusion in our Local and Area Meetings. Three years on, last month, twenty-two of us met to celebrate our third birthday with a workshop on the theme: â€...
‘Into the Depths: A chaplain’s reflections on death, dying and pastoral care’, by Rosie Deedes
Rosie Deedes works in spiritual care at the Mountbatten Hospice on the Isle of Wight. She has also worked as a chaplain in prisons and at a university. She draws on that experience in this book, which, though not an easy read, is very readable.
‘The Silence Diaries’, by Jennifer Kavanagh
I should begin with an honest disclosure: I was duty-bound to read this short novel. The author had asked me to interview her as part of its launch, so it became a work task. Fortunately, it was no chore. I’m confident I would have read it anyway. Jennifer Kavanagh...
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QHA wins Mayor’s Award – and then has new van stolen
Quaker Homeless Action (QHA) volunteers who run a mobile library for homeless people have won a Mayor of London Volunteering Award – around a week before their new van was stolen.
Bruce Kent awarded peace prize
Quakers expressed delight at the news that veteran peace campaigner Bruce Kent has been awarded the 2019 International Peace Bureau (IPB) Sean MacBride Peace Prize.
Pre-election warning from anti-frackers
Nearly 100 anti-fracking groups and campaigners have signed a letter to Boris Johnson calling for fracking to be banned. Friends who have long campaigned against the practice of drilling for shale gas supported the letter, whose signatories included Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and Frack Free United.
Quaker author at Writers Rebel
A Quaker author joined forty writers including Simon Schama, Susie Orbach and Ali Smith at a two-hour literary event in support of Extinction Rebellion (XR). Lucy-Anne Holmes, from Welwyn Garden City Meeting and author of Don’t Hold My Head Down, delivered her spoken word piece How do you rise?...
Quaker Lesbian Group considers equality
Twelve members of the Quaker Lesbian Group (QLG) met to discuss the Quaker testimony of equality last month for their second annual weekend gathering.
Friends hold Mental Health Forum
Seventy Friends who gathered for the Quaker Mental Health Forum last month have shared a minute for Friends.
Letters - 1 November 2019
Parable of the sower I have been challenged as never before by seeing older Friends active in Extinction Rebellion being arrested. They have prompted me to consider afresh my response so far to the issue of climate change. As I was reading Luke 8:11-15, where Jesus is reported as explaining...