Latest News
Christmas shelters begin preparations
Quaker Homeless Action (QHA) have begun to recruit volunteers for their annual Christmas shelters. A number of charities and campaigning groups, including QSA and QHA, have warned that the economic policies of the coalition government could result in a considerable increase in homelessness. QHA said in August that they...
Anti-biofuel protest
The campaign group Biofuelwatch is launching a demonstration on 22 October to call on the UK government to stop subsidising biomass and bioliquids. The demonstration will be held outside the Department of Energy and Climate Change in London.
Quakers reach out
A storytelling session in Lostwithiel and a Quaker-themed tour of Winchester were among the various ways in which Friends around Britain publicised Quakerism last week. They were two of the many activities to mark national Quaker Week, which ran from 1 – 9 October. The annual event is designed to promote Quakerism and...
Quaker defies court ruling
An Essex Quaker is defying a judge’s ruling that he should pay overdue income tax, insisting that he will not contribute to the funding of war. Colchester County Court ruled that Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had a right to demand the money from Roy Prockter,...
Children address UN body
The children of prisoners have, for the first time, spoken directly to a meeting of a United Nations body. The unique event was co-organised by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO). The event in Geneva was a ‘day of general discussion’ of the UN Committee on the Rights...
Economic justice
Economic justice was one of the major concerns raised at Meeting for Sufferings. Helen Drewery, general secretary of Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW), talked about the work presently being done on the issue by staff at Friends House.
Olympic Truce
The Olympics made a surprising appearance on the Meeting for Sufferings agenda, in response to a concern raised by Luton and Leighton Area Meeting. Friends in the area have expressed support for the ‘Olympic Truce’, a proposal that involves the cessation of military hostilities during the games. Supporters of...
Yearly Meeting 2012
Methods of political engagement – including active nonviolence and direct action – and economic justice have been suggested as the focus for the next Yearly Meeting of Friends in Britain, due in May 2012. The suggestions were made at Meeting for Sufferings (MfS), the national committee of British Friends, on Saturday 1 October. The...
World Mental Health Day
As World Mental Health Day approaches, charities are warning that people with mental health problems in the UK will lose out as a result of government cuts and prejudice towards benefit claimants. The day, which is marked around the globe on 10 October, is an initiative of the World Health...
Leeds Quakers going green
Friends in Leeds say that solar panels fitted on the roof of their Meeting house have already saved as much carbon as would be used by driving from Glasgow to Brighton and back again. The sixteen panels have been fitted on the roof of the Woodhouse Lane Meeting...