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Friends witness against attempts to override juries
Quakers gathered at the Royal Courts of Justice in London last month to witness against a ruling seeking to override juries.
Quakers talk prisons with shadow minister
The Quakers in Criminal Justice (QICJ) group met with Quaker Ruth Cadbury, Labour MP for Brentford and Isleworth, last month.
Hampshire & Islands Quakers bridge distance
Hampshire & Islands Quakers found a way of gathering together last month, despite the 150 miles between Meetings. The Area Meeting (AM) ‘faces challenges in bringing members together, while minimising our carbon footprint,’ said Hazel Inskip, of Southampton Meeting. ‘So we tried a new approach.’
Quakers get ready for World Plenary
Friends are gathering to discuss this summer’s Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) World Plenary. The theme of the meeting in August is: ‘Living the Spirit of Ubuntu: Responding with hope to God’s call to cherish creation – and one another’.
Meeting for Sufferings: Morning business
The number of representatives returning to Meeting for Sufferings in person has been creeping up post-pandemic. This meant that more than half of the attendees were at Friends House, rather than online, to hear a reading from Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion during opening worship.
Meeting for Sufferings: ‘Overseer’ in Quaker faith & practice
Friends then turned to the use of the word ‘overseer’ in Quaker faith & practice (Qfp). In 2022 MfS asked Area Meetings to cease using the term due to its associations with the transatlantic slave trade. But how should Friends deal with the number of times it appears in the Book...
Meeting for Sufferings: Letter to European Yearly Meetings
Every year, Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) stays in touch with Friends in other parts of Europe by sending a letter of greeting to each of the other Yearly Meetings. This is written by Quaker World Relations Committee and signed by the clerk of MfS. Friends noted this year’s references...
Meeting for Sufferings: BYM trustees report
After a shuffle break, Robert Card welcomed Marisa Johnson, the new clerk to BYM trustees, to give a report. Marisa began by paying tribute to her predecessors and welcoming new trustees. She talked about the experience of being a trustee at a time when, she felt, some Friends were suspicious...
Meeting for Sufferings: Review of Meeting for Sufferings
The afternoon was devoted to reports from the Group to Review Yearly Meeting, Yearly Meeting Gathering and Meeting for Sufferings (GRYYM).
Meeting for Sufferings: GRYYM Stage Three report
Discernment of the Stage Three report was noticeably shorter, due to many of the recommendations having been dealt with as part of the Review of Meetings for Sufferings portion of the session.