Latest News
Friends congratulate Methodists on same-sex marriage
Quakers have said that they are ‘overjoyed’ that the Methodist Church in Great Britain has decided to allow same-sex marriages. The church voted overwhelmingly to change the definition of marriage at the Methodist Conference last week by 254 to 46.
Quaker teaching resource in Armed Forces Week
The Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) team launched a new teaching guide last month, on the reality of military recruitment, to coincide with Armed Forces Week. The lesson was produced in collaboration with Potent Whisper, a London-based rapper and spoken word artist, and Child Rights International Network (CRIN). The...
Huddersfield Friends join XR
Five Friends from Huddersfield Meeting joined a local Extinction Rebellion (XR) protest in the town last month. Clare Walters from the Meeting told the Friend that the three-day vigil from 24 June was open to all ‘who grieve lives and habitats lost’ through human impact.
Quaker podcasts for Festival of Chichester
Speaking to the Chichester Observer, Quaker Jenny Cole said that the podcasts replace a walk around Chichester which has featured in previous years of the festival. ‘They are mainly about famous Quakers who have visited Chichester, from George Fox to Ian Serraillier (author of The Silver Sword), including Barton Hack...
Public misled over Russia clash, says PPU
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) has called on the BBC to publish Ministry of Defence (MoD) documents that were found at a Kent bus stop last month. The pacifist group, which includes many Quaker members, claimed that the fifty pages of classified information ‘make clear that ministers anticipated a clash...
Friends mark Refugee Week
Quakers celebrated Refugee Week last month with a range of action and support. Sheila Mosley from the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network (QARN) said that the week, from 14-20 June, is an important time ‘when people come together to raise a positive and collective voice of welcome, to give voice...
BYM reserves grow thanks to legacies
Britain Yearly Meetings (BYM) reserves increased by nearly seven per cent in 2020, according to the annual report released last week. The figures show that BYM’s reserves grew from £86 million to £92 million, despite a seventy per cent loss of revenue from its trading company the Quiet Company, due to the...
FWCC Gretchen Castle reflects
Quaker Gretchen Castle spoke at a Quaker Conversations session about her nine years service as general secretary for Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC). The episode on 26 June was the tenth in the FWCC series. Writing on the FWCC website, Gretchen Castle said: ‘I have shared meals with Friends in...
Quaker talks on art and migrant children
The arts have a key role to play in promoting intercultural dialogue and integrating migrant children, said a Bath Quaker at an international conference last month.
Quaker wins landmark arms fair appeal
A Quaker is one of four Christian protestors who have had their convictions quashed by the supreme court for forming a blockade outside a London arms fair. The ruling has been hailed as a significant affirmation of the right to protest.