Issue 19-06-2020
Featured story
‘We’re not yet well, but no longer ill enough to lie still and wait for recovery.’
When recovering from an illness there is a time when you know the worst is over but still feel weak and disorientated – not sure what it was that occupied your daily life before the illness overtook it. Collectively and individually we are now in that stage of recovery from the...
Top stories
‘We are not wholly separate lifeforms; we are intrinsically bound to the planet itself.’
As we come through this curious and annoying pandemic, our thoughts are returning to the things that preoccupied us before it all began. Climate change, for example, was and is a big concern. But this brief pause in time may give us a chance to think about things differently. Indeed,...
‘This is an opportune moment, a turning point, when things have to change.’
I am a Unitarian. But I was delighted when the Quaker writer and environmental activist Alastair McIntosh agreed to give a keynote presentation to a national gathering of Unitarians in April. It was entitled ‘The Revolution Will Be Spiritual’ and delivered via a Zoom link from his home in Glasgow....
Friends take action for Black Lives Matter
Clun Valley Quakers held a short demonstration at the centuries-old ‘African’s Grave’ in Bishops Castle churchyard last week in support of Black Lives Matter. In their statement on 11 June, Friends said they condemned ‘the systemic racism that has led to the deaths of George Floyd and so many black...
Confess: A word from John’s first letter
I found a wonderful book in Huddersfield junk market. It is called The Tudor Regime, written by Penry Williams. It describes the anxiety in which kings and queens in Tudor times lived, always watching out for betrayal. Because of this, everyone tended to keep their mouths shut. During Henry VIII...
As led
They are Quakers. So it will not matter That I am late, or that I bring the dog.
All articles
Jewish figures condemn Israeli annexes
The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) has launched a #NoToAnnexation campaign against plans by the Israeli government to start ‘legislation to formally annex significant parts of Palestine, which has been under military occupation since 10 June 1967’.
BYM pledges to ‘build back better’
Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has joined with other groups and organisations to support the Build Back Better movement in a push to create a green and just recovery following the Covid-19 crisis.
Woodbrooke residential closed until 2021
Woodbrooke has said that it will not offer residential learning at its Birmingham centre until 2021, at the earliest. In a statement issued on 8 June it said that it will only offer ‘online and locally-based learning for the rest of this year’.
QCEA speaks to fifty-seven governments
The director of Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) was asked to speak at an international conference about hate speech on the internet last month. Friend Andrew Lane addressed fifty-seven governments online and almost 300 participants about QCEA’s research into the issue. This included a 2018 report on ‘anti-migrant hate speech’;...
Airton Meeting upgraded to Grade 2*
Friends at Airton Meeting are celebrating the news that Historic England has upgraded their Meeting house to Grade 2* status to reflect it as a site of national importance.
Jesus Today: A Quaker perspective
Michael Wright served for forty years as an Anglican priest before becoming a Friend. Before training at a theological college, he attended a Quaker Meeting and was attracted by its form and substance, especially Advices & queries. He is clearly stimulated by the life of Jesus and its relationship to...
Postnational Memory, Peace and War: Making pasts beyond borders
It can be difficult to escape national confines when thinking about peace and war – even for the peace movement. Key reference points often relate to specific conflicts. Conscientious objection, Quaker service, CND, white poppies and peace demos all have roots in UK history.
Wells of Thought: Gospel reflections on life and faith
This slim book of reflections on life and faith delighted me. It came to me when I was feeling low in lockdown: I found it a ‘balm in Gilead’.
Eye - 19 June 2020
A rib-tickler At a virtual meeting somewhere A Friend said he’d shaved ALL his hair Over virtual tea The clerk said: ‘Let’s see!’ And virtually fell off her chair. Helen Drewery
Letters - 19 June 2020
Accepting death Great letter from Sally Phillips (22 May). No public figure has dared to tell the truth about death. Death is an essential, implacable fact of nature. Where does the idea come from that no one should ever die? Why should humankind go on spreading across the earth, in billions...