http://thefriend.org/ en production@thefriend.org Copyright 2012 2012-02-02T06:58:19+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/the-candlelight-of-peace/ http://thefriend.org/article/the-candlelight-of-peace/#When:05:58:19Z David Zarembka describes the work being done to bring sides together I was raised in St Louis, Missouri, and my parents would take us on one-day trips to the large limestone caves in the Ozark Mountains, Meramec Caverns and Onondaga Cave. We would take a guided tour and, once we reached a large cavern inside, the guide would switch off the electric lights. It would be so dark that I couldn’t even see my hand an inch away from my eyeball. Then the guide would strike a match and light a candle. The whole cavern would light up. I was amazed at how much light one small candle could give out. featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-02-02T05:58:19+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-ourselves-as-others-see-us/ http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-ourselves-as-others-see-us/#When:05:56:40Z In the last of our series, Geoffrey Durham highlights the Quaker Quest team’s research into public attitudes The penny dropped during a conversation with a newcomer. It happened at one of the early Quaker Quest sessions in London. He had just walked in, an educated young man in his early twenties, and we were having a cup of tea: featured in the homepage carousel 2012-02-02T05:56:40+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/jrct-appoints-new-trust-secretary/ http://thefriend.org/article/jrct-appoints-new-trust-secretary/#When:05:54:45Z Nick Perks to take up the post in August Britain’s largest Quaker trust has appointed Nick Perks as its new trust secretary. He will take up the post at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) in August, following the retirement of Stephen Pittam, who had been in the job for eleven years. News, featured in the homepage carousel 2012-02-02T05:54:45+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/eye-03-february-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/eye-03-february-2012/#When:05:52:14Z From football finances to parental apologies Quaker face final whistle Darlington Football Club, known as ‘The Quakers’, are on the brink of closing after one hundred and twenty-eight years. Q-eye, featured in the homepage carousel 2012-02-02T05:52:14+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/quakers-urged-to-speak-out/ http://thefriend.org/article/quakers-urged-to-speak-out/#When:05:50:41Z Church Action on Poverty urges people to speak out against prejudice Quakers have been urged to speak out against prejudices that lead to poor people being blamed for their own poverty. Quaker Social Action (QSA) has backed a call by Church Action on Poverty (CAP) to take a stand against stereotypes that ignore the ‘real barriers’ faced by benefit recipients, homeless people and low-paid workers. News, free content 2012-02-02T05:50:41+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/quaker-tapestry-in-ely-cathedral/ http://thefriend.org/article/quaker-tapestry-in-ely-cathedral/#When:05:48:58Z Last roadshow takes Quaker Tapestry panels to Ely Cathedral Original panels from the Quaker Tapestry are on display for the first time in Cambridgeshire. The award-winning tapestry, which celebrates Quaker ideas, faith and practice from the seventeenth century to the present day, is on display in Ely Cathedral. The exhibition runs from 31 January until 29 February. News 2012-02-02T05:48:58+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/rachel-brett-will-be-swarthmore-lecturer/ http://thefriend.org/article/rachel-brett-will-be-swarthmore-lecturer/#When:05:46:53Z Rachel Brett, of the Quaker United Nations Office (Geneva), to deliver 105th Swarthmore Lecture Quaker human rights lawyer Rachel Brett has been announced as this year’s Swarthmore Lecturer. She will deliver the annual lecture of British Quakers at Friends House in London on 26 May. News 2012-02-02T05:46:53+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/census-convictions/ http://thefriend.org/article/census-convictions/#When:05:44:40Z 120 people convicted British courts have convicted 120 people of failure to complete last year’s census. A boycott was triggered by the involvement of arms firms. Those found guilty have been given fines ranging from around £75 to £1,000. Some have said they will go to prison rather than pay the fine. News 2012-02-02T05:44:40+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-words-and-meanings/ http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-words-and-meanings/#When:05:42:22Z Gordon Steel explores the comfort and tension that words and music can provoke There are words and music from our (largely Christian) heritage that are deeply ingrained in our souls. They are part of us and we hold them as part of our common legacy. But the march of human thought and our own understanding of ‘faith’ (in its most general sense) lead to inescapable tensions with words that we know from childhood. No doubt these tensions are felt more strongly by some of us than others. free content 2012-02-02T05:42:22+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/equality-in-our-buildings/ http://thefriend.org/article/equality-in-our-buildings/#When:05:40:48Z Julia Smith considers proposed changes at Friends House and believes that ‘if we overcome people’s weaknesses we enable them to offer their strengths’ The proposed redevelopment of the Large Meeting House at Friends House in London provides both challenges and opportunities. When members of the Quaker Disability Equality Group (QDEG) were recently given a presentation of the plans for the redevelopment, some nitty-gritty questions arose: 2012-02-02T05:40:48+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/quakers-and-the-tobin-tax/ http://thefriend.org/article/quakers-and-the-tobin-tax/#When:05:38:36Z Mark Frankel considers the argument for a Financial Transaction Tax There has been comment in the Friend about a Tobin Tax, or Financial Transactions Tax (FTT). I offer the following based on some professional knowledge. To call the FTT a ‘Robin Hood tax’ is wrong: it is not about robbing the rich to give to the poor but about taxing financial deals. What is done with the revenue from a FTT is another matter. A FTT is feasible. It is, in effect, VAT on the City of London. VAT is collectible, albeit at a cost in administration and evasion, and so is a FTT. 2012-02-02T05:38:36+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/letters-03-february-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/letters-03-february-2012/#When:05:36:09Z From Plain Friends to Quakerly driving Plain Friends In answer to Alan Russell’s question (6 January): ‘Plain Friends. What are they, please?’ May I offer the following information… The largest gathering of Plain Friends occurs in the mid-western state of Ohio, USA, where the last Yearly Meeting of Conservative and Plain Friends was held. 2012-02-02T05:36:09+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/quakers/ http://thefriend.org/article/quakers/#When:05:34:45Z Fran Handrick finds herself surrounded For the first fifty-seven years of my life, to my knowledge, I had never encountered a Quaker. Now I find they are everywhere. I almost feel as if I am being pursued! 2012-02-02T05:34:45+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/are-we-afraid-to-die/ http://thefriend.org/article/are-we-afraid-to-die/#When:05:32:46Z Jill Allum considers our reaction to death We sat around a candle, eight of us, in a Friend’s home. I had been asked to run a ‘dying workshop’ by another Meeting. A special couple in my Meeting had just lost their very disabled fifty-year-old daughter. Real words of comfort were needed. We let our thoughts go into the candle flame and then each drew the pictures or wrote the words that had come to us. It was a very special sharing. 2012-02-02T05:32:46+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-publishing-truth-quaker-quest-style/ http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-publishing-truth-quaker-quest-style/#When:05:58:44Z Michael Hennessey reflects on risks and experiments A quest is powered by questions. On a Quaker Quest these questions will be spiritual ones of profound significance to those who ask them. Seekers dare to cross the threshold of a Quaker Meeting house for the first time because something stronger than their apprehension impels them in the search for answers. In the experience of those facilitating the early Quaker Quests, the most profound question invariably concerned God. If there is no God there doesn’t seem much point in worship, or prayer, or any language of Spirit. Seekers have an intuition that the way Quakers experience and understand God is different from other Christian denominations and other faiths: ‘so tell us all about it,’ they ask. featured in the homepage carousel 2012-01-26T05:58:44+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-speak-up-speak-out/ http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-speak-up-speak-out/#When:05:56:09Z Stevie Krayer considers the message of Holocaust Memorial Day 2012 First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out  Because I was not a Communist featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-01-26T05:56:09+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/clothing-time-to-act/ http://thefriend.org/article/clothing-time-to-act/#When:05:54:19Z Kate Pearson believes that Friends need to rediscover a radical witness It is over two hundred and fifty years since John Woolman adopted undyed, cream-coloured clothing as a public refusal to be complicit in exploitation. It was a clear rejection of slavery – for the dyeing process was always carried out by slaves. His very visible witness, before sceptical Quakers and the wider society, made him stand out wherever he went. He did not, however, simply change his buying choices. John Woolman also travelled extensively to convince Friends of the wrongs of slavery. featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-01-26T05:54:19+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/olympic-opportunities/ http://thefriend.org/article/olympic-opportunities/#When:05:51:01Z Peter Green believes that the Olympic Games offer an opportunity for engagement and outreach How do you respond to the idea of the 2012 Olympics in Britain? With excitement and anticipation, with resentment and doubt, or with indifference? In the midst of our often mundane and busy lives, the Olympic Games taking place in Britain this summer represents a tremendous opportunity: an opportunity for all Quakers to live adventurously and to offer a witness to the spiritual in the midst of a celebration of physical achievement. It also gives us a chance to connect with the world community of Friends. featured in the homepage carousel 2012-01-26T05:51:01+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/the-white-book-of-carmarthen/ http://thefriend.org/article/the-white-book-of-carmarthen/#When:05:50:05Z The White Book tours Wales collecting messages of peace Quakers in west Wales are preparing for a historic visit – by a book. The White Book of Carmarthen, launched by Welsh pacifists, is touring Wales and is expected to be welcomed shortly at Carmarthen Meeting. News, free content 2012-01-26T05:50:05+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/christian-unity-experienced/ http://thefriend.org/article/christian-unity-experienced/#When:05:48:10Z United worship held during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Several Quaker Meetings have welcomed worshippers from local churches in celebration of the week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In a number of towns, united worship was held at a different place of worship on each day of the week, which ran from 18-25 January. News 2012-01-26T05:48:10+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/swiss-banks-criticised/ http://thefriend.org/article/swiss-banks-criticised/#When:05:46:06Z Quaker in Geneva criticise Swiss banking and financial systems Friends in Geneva have strongly criticised Switzerland’s banking and financial systems. Geneva Monthly Meeting said that institutions in their city are responsible for ‘acute social and economic difficulties now experienced around the world’. News 2012-01-26T05:46:06+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/warning-issued-against-vulture-funds/ http://thefriend.org/article/warning-issued-against-vulture-funds/#When:05:44:26Z The Jubilee Debt Campaign suggests vulture funds are targeting Greece Two years after a successful campaign against ‘vulture funds’, the NGO, Jubilee Debt Campaign, has warned that the European debt crisis will give them a new opportunity to take advantage of poverty. News 2012-01-26T05:44:26+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/anglicans-inspired-by-quakers/ http://thefriend.org/article/anglicans-inspired-by-quakers/#When:05:42:17Z Quaker action inspires Anglican environmentalists Anglican environmentalists say they are inspired by the example of British Quakers in divesting from the multinational oil firm BP. They have launched the ‘Good Steward’ campaign to call on the Church of England to follow suit. News 2012-01-26T05:42:17+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/letters-27-january-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/letters-27-january-2012/#When:05:40:51Z From poetry to population An Area Meeting yet to come I was very inspired by Jane Robinson’s poem (13 January) where, at an Area Meeting, the spirit of George Fox says: ‘So tell me Friends are Quakers strong in speaking truth and righting wrong across the world so wide?’ The Area Meeting suddenly sees how un-Quakerly they are in just following up routine matters. Then ‘visions were unfurled / to make things better if they could / Reminded now that Quakers should / go out and change the world!’ 2012-01-26T05:40:51+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/corridors-of-light/ http://thefriend.org/article/corridors-of-light/#When:05:38:17Z Rosalind Smith reviews a book of poems of hope and consolation A while ago I heard someone on the radio use the expression ‘mental furniture’. She was referring to those comforting thoughts and ideas that come to the forefront at times of trouble, anxiety, illness or perhaps even danger. They are the thoughts that we turn to in order to give us courage to face adversity and to cope with whatever situation is confronting us, or giving rise to fear or despair. When I came across Through Corridors of Light: Poems of Consolation in Time of Illness it seemed that the contents of the book would certainly constitute just such mental furniture. Culture, Reviews 2012-01-26T05:38:17+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/eye-27-january-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/eye-27-january-2012/#When:05:36:28Z Viral videos to archive delving Friends video goes viral Friends’ School Lisburn, in Northern Ireland, has produced a zany promotional video that is attracting hundreds of thousands of hits on Youtube. Q-eye 2012-01-26T05:36:28+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-living-in-unity/ http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-living-in-unity/#When:06:25:03Z Michael Wright considers the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ‘How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity’ - Psalm 133 It is, indeed, very good and pleasant. We find our-selves enriched so often by sharing common worship with Christians from different traditions. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18-25 January) is one time when Christians from different denominations concentrate on what it is we have in common, rather than on what it is that keeps us separate. However, when we talk with other Christians of our ideas of God, we so often experience a certain tension. Our attempts to put into words our understanding of the divine Spirit, of God, or of Jesus, can cause difficulties between us. featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-01-19T06:25:03+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/black-fire/ http://thefriend.org/article/black-fire/#When:06:23:43Z Harvey Gillman gives a personal response to a powerful anthology of writings by African American Quakers The subtitle of Black Fire is African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights, though no definition of spirituality is given. I would offer: spirituality – a growing into relationship of self with deeper self; self with neighbour; self with cosmos; held together in an embrace of Spirit. What, then, would be a Quaker take on spirituality? Or an African American one? Or should it be ‘spiritualities’? How do these relationships deepen if you are told that as an individual you have no worth; that your group is inferior to others; that you have no land on which to place your feet and that the God you are taught to believe in holds you in contempt? Culture, Reviews, featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-01-19T06:23:43+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/quakers-and-occupy/ http://thefriend.org/article/quakers-and-occupy/#When:06:21:30Z Meetings offer support to 'Occupy' camps facing eviction Quakers in Bristol and London have offered their support to members of ‘Occupy’ camps who are facing eviction. Bristol Cathedral have begun legal action to attempt to evict occupiers from cathedral-owned land. A court in London is expected to rule this week on the City of London’s request for the eviction of the ‘Occupy London Stock Exchange’ camp near St Paul’s Cathedral. News, featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-01-19T06:21:30+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-crossing-continents/ http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-crossing-continents/#When:06:19:26Z Mary Jo Clogg celebrates the success of Quaker Quest around the world In January 2002 the first session of Quaker Quest opened at Friends House in London intending, ambitiously, to run for the whole year. Five years later, not only were sessions still going on thoughout Britain, but Australian and South African Friends were enquiring about it and it was beginning to become a major project for the Friends General Conference (FGC) throughout North America and Canada. featured in the homepage carousel 2012-01-19T06:19:26+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/ulster-quakers-respond/ http://thefriend.org/article/ulster-quakers-respond/#When:06:17:22Z Quakers in Northern Ireland respond to government plans Friends in Northern Ireland are working together to produce a Quaker response to the NI Executive’s new Draft Programme for Government 2011 – 2015. News 2012-01-19T06:17:22+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/qcea-lambasts-arms-exports-report/ http://thefriend.org/article/qcea-lambasts-arms-exports-report/#When:06:15:41Z EU report is 'too late and incomplete' says the QCEA The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) has described the European Union’s (EU) latest report on arms exports as ‘too late and incomplete’. The report on European arms exports for 2010 was released almost a year after the period it covers, on Friday 30 December 2011. QCEA last week joined ten other NGOs from across Europe in signing a statement criticising the report. News 2012-01-19T06:15:41+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/citizens-uk-launches-agenda/ http://thefriend.org/article/citizens-uk-launches-agenda/#When:06:13:47Z Citizens UK launches new agenda this week Quakers are getting ‘much more involved’ in Citizens UK, according to the organisation’s director, Neil Jameson. This week the group launched a ‘citizens’ agenda’ ahead of the London elections in May. Citizens UK is an alliance of civil society organisations, including faith groups, schools, trades unions and community associations. While working on a number of issues, they have become particularly known for their campaigns for a living wage. News 2012-01-19T06:13:47+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/death-and-dying/ http://thefriend.org/article/death-and-dying/#When:06:11:11Z Upcoming conference to tackle 'Death and Dying - the last taboo' Quakers in Leeds are organising a conference to address ‘Death and Dying – the last taboo’. The conference will explore the ethical, spiritual and legal concerns around end-of-life care and assisted dying’. It will be held in Leeds on 12 May. News 2012-01-19T06:11:11+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity/ http://thefriend.org/article/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity/#When:06:09:37Z Quaker Meetings plan to open their doors A number of Meetings are planning to open their doors to members of local churches as part of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from 18 to 25 January. In several towns, there will be prayers for unity in a different place of worship each day. Quaker Meetings including Kings Lynn, Hereford and Totnes will take a turn at hosting such united worship for one day of the Week. Bedford Meeting is inviting local churchgoers to join them for a simple lunch after attending a Meeting for Worship. News 2012-01-19T06:09:37+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/taking-the-right-road/ http://thefriend.org/article/taking-the-right-road/#When:06:07:48Z Indigo Redfern goes motoring on ethical biodiesel About twenty years ago my two sisters, quite independently, went travelling and, somehow, never got further than the USA. Personally, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to live anywhere other than England but they seem to have taken root there and I have given up hoping that they will return. Neither are now able to travel. So, if my mother and I wish to see them we have to go there, which we are currently doing every year, while my mother still feels able for long distance flying. My annual long haul flight, however, doesn’t sit well with my Quaker values. This has motivated me to explore ways to offset the damage that I am doing. So, in 2010, we fitted solar panels and, in 2011, we switched to biodiesel. 2012-01-19T06:07:48+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/restorative-justice-a-ray-of-hope/ http://thefriend.org/article/restorative-justice-a-ray-of-hope/#When:06:05:42Z Lynda Farrington writes about an inspiring Quaker event in Swindon Robert Buckland, the Conservative MP for Swindon South, described the event as ‘the best public meeting I have ever attended’. It was full. It was business-like. It was factual. It was powerful – and it was Quaker-led. It was one of the most memorable events of late 2011 and it was about restorative justice. Tim Newell, the Swarthmore lecturer in 2000, was in the chair and outlined the principles. Tony Aldridge, a local restorative justice facilitator, explained the practice. Robert Buckland, barrister and MP, gave us overall figures and positive government plans. Crime victims told us of their experiences and staff from Thames Valley showed a range of uses for restorative justice. 2012-01-19T06:05:42+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/letters-20-january-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/letters-20-january-2012/#When:06:03:19Z From support for John Voysey to Bright in schools Support for John Voysey I do hope that Quakers will be seen to support any members who will be facing court cases because their conscience would not let them fill in the recent census (6 January). I do wonder why an arms manufacturing company should have a subsidiary that is so expert in information gathering and recording that the last Labour government chose them to run this country’s census above others? Barbara Mark 2012-01-19T06:03:19+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/the-iron-law/ http://thefriend.org/article/the-iron-law/#When:06:01:17Z Bob Johnson celebrates the iron law of irresponsible consequences Exasperation would drive my mother to exclaim ‘“I-Don’t-Care” was MADE to care’. She was looking for an Universal Moral Law to counter some egregious act that had caught her eye. Happily, I was more successful. In my early twenties, thrashing around to fathom my own egregiosity, I uncovered a gem in the gap between David Hume and Immanuel Kant: Quakerism. Fifty years later it offers a hundred per cent cure for all insanities, including violence. Hard to believe? But so is the sublime notion of managing a Society with no written creed, or the airy-sounding but invaluable Quaker Testimonies of Peace, Integrity, Equality, Simplicity, and here especially, Environment – this gem reinvigorates them all. 2012-01-19T06:01:17+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/departure/ http://thefriend.org/article/departure/#When:05:59:05Z A poem by Stanley Holland I am part of what once was      But might be so again. Did we love once? Were we one?      Two hearts with but a single rhythm? Culture, Arts 2012-01-19T05:59:05+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/eye-20-january-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/eye-20-january-2012/#When:05:57:24Z From bats to burial grounds Irish bats Friends have been creatively prompted by a recent story on ‘edible churchscapes’ in Eye. It considered the benefits of religious grounds as a rich habitat for interesting plants and wildlife. Janet Quilley, of Yorkshire, was reminded of a lovely poem by the late Joyce Neill, of South Belfast Meeting. It was featured in Joyce’s Collected Poems, published by Authors Online in 2007: Q-eye 2012-01-19T05:57:24+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/companionship-and-good-food/ http://thefriend.org/article/companionship-and-good-food/#When:07:28:13Z Symon Hill visited Quaker Homeless Action’s Christmas shelter ‘Isolation,’ says Donna, when asked about the worst aspects of being homeless, ‘Isolation is a very hard thing to deal with.’ Over a cup of tea in the Quaker Christmas Shelter, she tells me that ‘homeless people don’t trust anyone’. On the streets, people have to second-guess each other’s motives. She begins cautiously but becomes more confident as she speaks of her ten years of homelessness and her recent move into temporary accommodation. With quiet determination, she says that she is now thinking about volunteering for a homelessness charity. featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-01-12T07:28:13+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/love-in-an-imperfect-world/ http://thefriend.org/article/love-in-an-imperfect-world/#When:07:26:05Z Kenneth Aldous considers the message of Jesus What can I say? When asked to give a talk to our Local Meeting, my initial response to the question was, ‘not much’. The most I can say is that there have been occasions when I have experienced a sense of unity with loved ones and nature, which have passed over, in time, like a gentle breeze. featured in the homepage carousel 2012-01-12T07:26:05+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-questing-hampshire-and-islands/ http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-questing-hampshire-and-islands/#When:07:24:05Z Geoff Pilliner describes how one Area Meeting put Quaker Quest into practice It was the time when a leading Quaker academic, Ben Pink Dandelion, suggested that the Religious Society of Friends might not last beyond 2035. It was the year when our Area Meeting treasurer pointed out that we had budgeted £1,200 each year for outreach and it had not been spent. And Marilyn Cox went to a conference about Quaker Quest. For most members of Hampshire and Islands Area Meeting even Marilyn’s enthusiastic report produced little impact – but for two or three of us, it started something. Area Meeting formed an Outreach Committee. We met. Marilyn’s enthusiasm was infectious and we decided to spend some of Area Meeting’s money on a Quaker Quest. featured in the homepage carousel 2012-01-12T07:24:05+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/the-door/ http://thefriend.org/article/the-door/#When:07:22:36Z Stephanie Grant reflects on doorkeeping, meaning and metaphor At twenty-five minutes to the hour, I excuse myself early from the special interest group and make my way to the Large Meeting Room. Leaving early is unfortunate, especially when I’ve just asked the speaker a difficult question, but I’m to be doorkeeper and time-keeping is important. featured in the homepage carousel 2012-01-12T07:22:36+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/ministers-mislead-public-over-welfare-reform/ http://thefriend.org/article/ministers-mislead-public-over-welfare-reform/#When:07:20:43Z Research reveals opposition to reforms in government consultation Ministers have been accused of misleading the public over welfare reform. Research has revealed that the vast majority of respondents to a government consultation were critical of the coalition’s planned changes to benefits for disabled people. News 2012-01-12T07:20:43+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/400-being-prosecuted-for-census-boycott/ http://thefriend.org/article/400-being-prosecuted-for-census-boycott/#When:07:18:44Z Census boycotters being taken to court At least 400 people are being prosecuted for failing to complete last year’s census. Miriam Yagud, of Nailsworth Meeting, reports that this figure was given to her by the Office for National Statistics after a lengthy telephone conversation. News, free content 2012-01-12T07:18:44+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/james-nayler-foundation-closes/ http://thefriend.org/article/james-nayler-foundation-closes/#When:07:16:40Z James Nayler Foundation set to close after 14 years The James Nayler Foundation has announced that it is to close. The foundation was started in 1998 following an article in the Friend and a BBC television Panorama documentary on the prison work of consultant psychiatrist Bob Johnson. It aimed to embed Quaker values in work with people with severe personality disorders. News 2012-01-12T07:16:40+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/gordon-hirabayashi-dies/ http://thefriend.org/article/gordon-hirabayashi-dies/#When:07:14:19Z Quaker human rights activist dies aged 93 A Quaker who spent decades fighting for human rights has died in the USA. Gordon Hirabayashi was described as a ‘civil rights icon’ by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). He was 93. News 2012-01-12T07:14:19+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/pews-and-views/ http://thefriend.org/article/pews-and-views/#When:07:12:01Z David Butler to speak at upcoming conference The Quaker architectural historian and writer David Butler is to speak at a forthcoming conference devoted to the non-conformist contribution to the story of pews, benches and chairs. News 2012-01-12T07:12:01+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/a-matter-of-funding/ http://thefriend.org/article/a-matter-of-funding/#When:07:10:28Z Jennifer Armstrong considers some challenges facing Circles of Support and Accountability Circles of Support and Accountability have two main, interconnected aims: to protect the public and to reduce re-offending. A Circle comprises trained volunteers, usually four, and the offender, known as the core member. Volunteers are supervised by a paid coordinator and work with other bodies such as the probation service, police and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). The Circle seeks to help the core member, a high-risk sex offender now living in the community, to establish an independent, non-offending way of life. The Circle supports the core member through regular meetings, befriending them while not becoming friends in the usual meaning of that word. Most importantly, volunteers believe that change is possible. At the same time, they will hold the core member to account by challenging attitudes and behaviour that may signal a risk to the community. This can result in a return to prison. 2012-01-12T07:10:28+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/letters-13-january-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/letters-13-january-2012/#When:07:08:09Z From the winter fuel allowance to Fox's pulpit Winter fuel allowance Have all the people who feel a need to publicly give away their winter fuel allowance considered that they may convince the government that it can be legitimately stopped? If you don’t need it, be grateful and pass it on quietly but please seek to preserve the allowance for those who do. Jennifer Duerden 2012-01-12T07:08:09+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/eye-13-january-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/eye-13-january-2012/#When:07:06:00Z From ghostly figures to the life of Bright An Area Meeting yet to come… The clerk was at the table now And Friends were quiet and still. She counted all the people there The usual faces on each chair (though two of them were ill). Q-eye 2012-01-12T07:06:00+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-in-meeting/ http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-in-meeting/#When:07:04:10Z David Lockyer reflects on the peace of Meeting for Worship A moment of quiet. A collection of my thoughts. A ragbag stuffed with the past: overfull sometimes, memories spilling out of it and spitting venom at me. Then the silence of the moment begins to absorb them all like old-fashioned blotting paper. There is the sense of others settling and finding their own inner peace, of their quietening as they sit, almost radiating their inner calm. free content 2012-01-12T07:04:10+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-quaker-quest-ten-years-on/ http://thefriend.org/article/reaching-out-quaker-quest-ten-years-on/#When:09:58:25Z In the first of a new series, Alec Davison describes the origins and developments of Quaker Quest and celebrates a decade of an experimental vision As we travelled, we came near a very great hill, called Pendle Hill, and I was moved of the Lord to go up to the top of it… From the top of this hill the Lord let me see in what places he had a great people to be gathered. - George Fox Our ‘Pendle Hill experience’ was to imagine viewing, from the summit of the London Eye, the vastness of one of the largest cities in the world – and the invisibility of Quakers. So few of us amongst a populace of so many: so much to offer but so feeble the proffering. We felt the stirring of a leading. featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-01-05T09:58:25+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/peace-activist-faces-asbo/ http://thefriend.org/article/peace-activist-faces-asbo/#When:09:55:04Z The Metropolitan Police are threatening pacifist campaigner Chris Cole with an ASBO A pacifist campaigner has been threatened with an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) by the Metropolitan Police. Chris Cole, a Roman Catholic peace activist from Oxford, has already served several prison sentences for offences committed in the course of nonviolent protests (see ‘More faith than hope’, 4 February 2011). News, featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2012-01-05T09:55:04+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/time-without-food/ http://thefriend.org/article/time-without-food/#When:09:48:06Z Raymond Mgadzah considers the experience of fasting My stomach is grumbling. It is lunchtime on Wednesday. Nothing unusual about that except that, for the past few weeks, I have been fasting: once a week with no food between 6am and 5pm. Only water permitted. I have to push back my thoughts of eating lunch again. featured in the homepage carousel 2012-01-05T09:48:06+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/eye-06-january-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/eye-06-january-2012/#When:09:39:56Z Dolls at Sibford to New Year thoughts Dolls at Sibford A unique collection of dolls has found a new home at Sibford School near Banbury. The dolls, each dressed meticulously in accurate period costume, are part of a collection that was put together by Beatrice Saxon Snell, a Quaker who lived from 1900 to 1982. The dolls were used to illustrate lectures on costume and were an adjunct to the Oxfordshire Drama Wardrobe, which Beatrice founded. They are now being lovingly restored by staff and pupils at the Quaker-run school and regular ‘Dolly Hospitals’ are held to help bring them back to their former glory. Q-eye, featured in the homepage carousel 2012-01-05T09:39:56+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/court-for-census-boycotter/ http://thefriend.org/article/court-for-census-boycotter/#When:09:34:59Z John Voysey the first Quaker census boycotter summoned to court An eighty-two-year-old Quaker is ready to go to prison over his boycott of the census. John Voysey, of Ludlow Meeting, has said he will refuse to pay a fine if found guilty. He will face magistrates on 1 February. A boycott campaign began after the government awarded the contract for running last year’s census in England and Wales to a division of the multinational arms company Lockheed Martin. A similar campaign was launched in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the census was run by arms firm CACI. News 2012-01-05T09:34:59+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/ministers-massaging-aid-money/ http://thefriend.org/article/ministers-massaging-aid-money/#When:09:33:39Z Debt cancellation to be counted towards aid targets for the first time Ministers have been accused of using ‘made-up money’ to meet their overseas aid targets. They plan to cancel a debt owed by Sudan and have said the money involved will be counted as aid. The Department for International Development made the admission in an email to Jubilee Debt Campaign. The campaigners say the debt is based on (apparently arbitrary) interest rates and was not expected to be repaid. News 2012-01-05T09:33:39+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/arms-export-guidelines-broken/ http://thefriend.org/article/arms-export-guidelines-broken/#When:09:29:13Z Arms sales delegations to visit governments with questionable human rights records 2012 will see UK ministers sending arms sales delegations to governments with a reputation for using violence against their own citizens. The arms wing of UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the government’s export promotion unit, is planning missions to countries including Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Representatives will visit the new Libyan government, as well as Colombia, Nigeria and Kazakhstan. News 2012-01-05T09:29:13+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/pioneering-project-in-uganda/ http://thefriend.org/article/pioneering-project-in-uganda/#When:09:27:47Z Plastic recycling scheme to tackle environmental problems and provide employment opportunities A Quaker couple in Uganda have pioneered a new project aimed at tackling environmental problems and securing employment for disabled people. Mike and Liz Watson, of Skipton Meeting, moved to Uganda to work on health issues with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). After a two-year placement, they will return to Britain next month. They have worked with local people to establish a scheme for recycling plastic in Gulu, in the north of the country. Plastic bottles are reported both to litter the streets and to block drains, causing a health hazard. News 2012-01-05T09:27:47+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-a-spiritual-path-for-our-time/ http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-a-spiritual-path-for-our-time/#When:09:23:10Z Ian Kirk-Smith reflects on Quaker Quest This year is the tenth anniversary of the birth of Quaker Quest. It began as a tentative idea. Friends in London had a concern. A concern about the future of their faith. How could they ‘reach out’ to people, particularly the broad community of spiritual ‘seekers’, who knew nothing about Quakerism. They gathered together and, as is the case with many good ideas, threshed their thoughts over time to see what might emerge. The idea they finally decided to develop was, at that stage, only a seed. It was nurtured carefully, tenderly and thoughtfully. It grew. free content 2012-01-05T09:23:10+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/spiritual-needs/ http://thefriend.org/article/spiritual-needs/#When:09:22:48Z Reg Naulty considers the benefits of religious association In a recent Australian census, seventy-five per cent of the population put themselves down as religious believers, but only about fifteen per cent attended any kind of religious service on a Sunday. It is unlikely to have changed much. It seems that the great mass of believers is unconvinced of the benefits of religious association. 2012-01-05T09:22:48+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/driving-safely/ http://thefriend.org/article/driving-safely/#When:09:19:13Z George Smith offers some thoughts on a Quakerly approach to driving Most of us are road users and probably drivers too. So there must be a Quakerly approach to driving, where personal behaviour and actions on the road reflect the principles of nonviolence, simplicity, equality and justice. 2012-01-05T09:19:13+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/letters-06-january-2012/ http://thefriend.org/article/letters-06-january-2012/#When:09:13:23Z From population to Plain Friends Population Elizabeth Hocking (11 November 2011) mentions ‘technological changes, possible economic collapse, the exploitation and destruction of the world’s resources and, above all, the explosion in population.’ Population gets occasional mention in the letters column, but rarely with any response. This is much the way that people in general react, but I had long hoped that Friends, with their ability to go ahead of general public opinion, would be prepared to discuss this subject properly, with a view to being as concerned about it as they are with consumption and poverty. 2012-01-05T09:13:23+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/work-virtue-or-vice/ http://thefriend.org/article/work-virtue-or-vice/#When:09:12:23Z Anthony Boulton invites us to work to live The protest outside St Paul’s Cathedral has raised the public’s consciousness of the inequalities of our present economic system, yet even the protesters themselves admitted that they had no solutions to the problem, nor does it seem has anyone else. Could it be, therefore, that there is no solution? And would this hypothesis, if entertained, lead us to the inevitable conclusion that our present way of life is hopelessly skewed and unsustainable, and compel us to try to ascertain how we came to be in this woeful plight? 2012-01-05T09:12:23+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/practising-the-presence/ http://thefriend.org/article/practising-the-presence/#When:09:04:45Z Practising the Presence by Kenneth Bird There is a chamber of the mind prepared for me. When I am ready, willing to surrender. When I am quiet, I may enter there To find a place of stillness, a place already occupied By the light of the welcoming Presence. Culture, Arts 2012-01-05T09:04:45+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/climb-up-to-the-moor/ http://thefriend.org/article/climb-up-to-the-moor/#When:09:15:12Z Linda Murgatroyd reviews a new illustrated book by Judith Bromley Judith Bromley paints as a way to discover, explore and express the relationship between her inner being and everything around her. She says: ‘For me, the process of drawing and painting is a meditative experience.’ Through this book, Judith’s painting and writing has also become a powerful ministry, creating beauty and opening up quiet spaces and strengthening connections with the natural world for other people. Culture, Arts 2011-12-22T09:15:12+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/letters-23-30-december-2011/ http://thefriend.org/article/letters-23-30-december-2011/#When:09:13:58Z From Quaker business method to the winter fuel allowance Quaker business method Jill Segger (9 December) writes that the Quaker business method ensures that ‘the confident cannot gain advantage over the diffident and the unforeseen stands on an equal footing with the expected’. I am far from sure that this is so. 2011-12-22T09:13:58+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/magical-stories/ http://thefriend.org/article/magical-stories/#When:09:09:59Z Trish Carn heard from Natalie and Louise Solon and Isla Kirby about three books for Christmas The Tear Thief, The Greatest Gift and The Barefoot Book of Mother and Daughter Tales are three recent releases by Barefoot Books. Culture, Reviews 2011-12-22T09:09:59+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/journey-home/ http://thefriend.org/article/journey-home/#When:09:04:23Z Jennifer Kavanagh describes the background of the new board game to Hannah Lynn Jennifer, where did you find your inspiration for the game? Well, the initial inspiration, of course, came from my book, The O of Home. However, the real idea came as what you might call a ‘middle of the night’ inspiration – I woke up and suddenly thought: ‘It could be made into a game’! 2011-12-22T09:04:23+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/the-missing-chapter/ http://thefriend.org/article/the-missing-chapter/#When:08:48:39Z Peter Kurer’s family escaped from Nazi Germany with the help of British Quakers. He tells his story to Ian Kirk-Smith. ‘If anyone was in any doubt what the Nazis were about, and what they represented, then ‘Kristallnacht’ should have opened their eyes. Not one country in the world showed the slightest interest.’ There is anger, and a trace of despair, in Peter Kurer’s voice. On Kristallnacht, the ‘Night of Broken Glass’, in November 1938, Jewish homes and shops all over Nazi Europe were attacked. Around 1,668 synagogues in were ransacked and 267 set on fire. In Vienna alone 95 were destroyed. 2011-12-22T08:48:39+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/meeting-for-worship/ http://thefriend.org/article/meeting-for-worship/#When:08:47:30Z From the archive . . . I lug this great laundry basket to Meeting Filled with damp twisted bundles of problems, tasks and commitments, And I shake them out one by one and peg them on the invisible line. Culture, Arts 2011-12-22T08:47:30+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/meanings/ http://thefriend.org/article/meanings/#When:08:42:59Z From the archive . . . There he was, standing among them, and they were startled and frightened and thought they were seeing a ghost (Luke 24:36-7). The risen Christ was not a disembodied spirit, in Luke’s view: he had the flesh and bone of a physical man; he could be touched, he could eat physical food. We may understand Jesus’ resurrection appearances as spiritual experiences, but for Luke they were a physical reality. In the same way, at Jesus’ baptism, where Mark is content to say that the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove, Luke adds that it came down in physical form as a dove. Culture, Arts 2011-12-22T08:42:59+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/lost-dreams-fertile-ground/ http://thefriend.org/article/lost-dreams-fertile-ground/#When:08:31:27Z Jenny Webb reflects on the festive season in recession On the seafront at Eastbourne, coaches continue to bring tourists to smart hotels. Nearby, the town centre is humming. The smart chain stores alternately swallow and disgorge their customers in a pre-Christmas frenzy that appears to be untouched by recession. 2011-12-22T08:31:27+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/a-blessin/ http://thefriend.org/article/a-blessin/#When:08:30:10Z Janet Scott reflects on the gospel of Matthew There they are on the Christmas cards – three men on camels striding across a desert – sometimes in silhouette, sometimes seen with crowns, gorgeous robes and treasure chests. They have come to us through pictures and carols as part of a ‘Christmas story’. They have changed character from astronomers to kings. They have been linked with shepherds and stables – another story altogether. And when we tell their story, we stop at the ‘happy ending’ of their return home and ignore the massacre that their enquiries provoked. 2011-12-22T08:30:10+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/christmas-stories/ http://thefriend.org/article/christmas-stories/#When:08:28:47Z Michael Wright considers the stories that make up the fabric of our childhood The gospel readings report wonderful, fantastic events. A virgin, visited by an angel, is told she will be impregnated by the Holy Spirit and give birth to a son. Believe it or not – she agrees to this. When the boy is born a choir of heavenly angels sing joyful melodies in the heavens. Shepherds on night duty leave their flocks untended as they hasten to pay their respects. free content 2011-12-22T08:28:47+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/the-story-of-carols/ http://thefriend.org/article/the-story-of-carols/#When:08:18:13Z David L Saunders reviews a book that provides some interesting insights into ten favourite Christmas carols The carols we love to sing, like Christmas itself, owe much to pre-Christmas midwinter rejoicings at having reached the shortest day – with the prospect of new growth and abundance to come. The many references, for example, in ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ to evergreens refer to the need to celebrate signs of life at a time of year when so much else is dormant. ‘Why was the Partridge in a Pear Tree?’: The History of Christmas Carols is a pocket-sized book that tells the story of ten of the best loved carols and does a thorough detective job on them. Culture, Reviews, featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2011-12-22T08:18:13+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/helping-the-homeless/ http://thefriend.org/article/helping-the-homeless/#When:07:48:06Z Jeffery Smith remembers the first London ‘Open Christmas’ It is forty years since the first Open Christmas. In a way, it is a personal anniversary for me. I got to know the woman who would be my wife there. Heather came to be the behind-the-scenes kitchen organiser. But the story is bigger than that. Together with other Friends, we in the London Quaker Action Group (LQAG) had decided to emulate an ‘Open Christmas’ for the homeless, which had been organised the previous year by a Manchester nonviolent action group. featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2011-12-22T07:48:06+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/born-of-a-virgin/ http://thefriend.org/article/born-of-a-virgin/#When:07:45:15Z Beth Allen offers a personal response A physical impossibility! How could anyone possibly believe that? Why would anyone even want to believe that? Well, yes, it is what Friends used to call ‘the season the world calls Christmas’ but, surely, in the twenty-first century we don’t have to look at rubbish like this – why is the Friend even printing an article with that headline? featured in the homepage carousel 2011-12-22T07:45:15+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/words-for-the-journey/ http://thefriend.org/article/words-for-the-journey/#When:07:40:41Z Philip Gross looks at travelling and the arrival home On the face of it, if you want a verse for a corporate Christmas card, I’d be the last person to ask. The phrase ‘greetings card verse’ could sum up most things a serious working poet would want not to be. More than that, I’m a Quaker, and one of our historical particularities is that Quakers don’t set special store by Christmas –­ not more special, that is, than every other day of the year. I am more than averagely sceptical about 25 December. I am happy to share a sense of deep winter, of the solstice, when the sun begins its journey back, with many faiths and stories – the Norse Yule, Hindu Diwali, Roman Saturnalia to name a few. But Jesus’s birthday? Unlikely, most Biblical scholars would agree… and that’s without the awkward inconsistencies between the New Testament narratives, the ones, that is, that mention it at all. Meanwhile, the massive commercial blackmail modern Christmas exerts on families… Do I need to go on? Culture, Arts, featured in the homepage carousel 2011-12-22T07:40:41+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/civil-partnership-threat-rejected/ http://thefriend.org/article/civil-partnership-threat-rejected/#When:15:51:05Z House of Lords rejects motion to annul new civil partnership provision The House of Lords has rejected a last-ditch attempt to prevent same-sex civil partnerships being registered on religious premises in England and Wales. The news has been welcomed by representatives of British Quakers, who have been lobbying for a change in the law. News, free content 2011-12-16T15:51:05+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/end-of-the-roses-quaker-meeting/ http://thefriend.org/article/end-of-the-roses-quaker-meeting/#When:06:25:05Z A prose poem by Susan Vickerman Her shadow on the carpet paler and paler, although no cloud has come over the sun; her hair thinner even than an hour ago when she was wheeled in. Although I did feel something coming over as I was arriving. It was the sky itself, a heavy silence, then this room inhaling and exhaling, this frail Quaker like a bird gone back to featherless or a fledgling still blinded by mucus, tiny lungs inflating and deflating under brittle chest-bones, tiny lungs of a little bald chick. The hour ticking towards its end. Culture, Arts, featured in the homepage carousel 2011-12-15T06:25:05+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-fairness/ http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-fairness/#When:06:20:30Z Malcolm Edmunds reflects on the evolution of 'fairness' We have heard a lot about fairness recently. Is it fair for bankers to be rewarded with millions of pounds every year? Are the government cuts affecting everyone fairly? What do we really mean by fairness? Where do our ideas of fairness come from? featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2011-12-15T06:20:30+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/my-life-my-faith/ http://thefriend.org/article/my-life-my-faith/#When:06:15:39Z Rachel Rees reports on an initiative in Leicester Meeting that combines conversations, publications and outreach to other faith communities. Like many other Meetings, we wonder how we can get to know one another better. Every week after Meeting we drink tea together and talk. But there are lots of us and many things to attend to: meetings, rotas, you know the sort of thing. Then there is the important task of making sure newcomers are welcomed. Culture, Arts, featured in the homepage carousel, free content 2011-12-15T06:15:39+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/rise-in-homelessness-expected/ http://thefriend.org/article/rise-in-homelessness-expected/#When:06:10:30Z More people are expected to visit Christmas shelters following government cuts Quaker Homeless Action (QHA) are expecting more people than usual to visit their Christmas shelter this year – as a result of government cuts. ‘I suspect that the numbers of people we encounter this Christmas will be up,’ said QHA’s director, Kate Mellor. She expects to see ‘more people telling us they’ve become homeless because they can’t afford to pay their rent’. She told the Friend that cuts to social housing are a particular problem. They have been exacerbated by funding cuts for charities supporting people in poverty. Kate described the situation as ‘heartbreaking’. News, featured in the homepage carousel 2011-12-15T06:10:30+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/threat-to-civil-partnerships-in-religious-buildings/ http://thefriend.org/article/threat-to-civil-partnerships-in-religious-buildings/#When:06:05:43Z House of Lords to debate motion to annul provision Quakers in England and Wales are now able to host same-sex civil partnership ceremonies in their Meeting houses. The legal ban on the use of religious buildings to host the ceremonies was lifted on 5 December. News 2011-12-15T06:05:43+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/occupy-spreads-to-universities/ http://thefriend.org/article/occupy-spreads-to-universities/#When:06:00:15Z Quakers involved in Occupy camp at the University of Warwick As the ‘Occupy’ movement spreads to universities, at least one protest camp has included several Quakers, a Meeting for Worship and a very visible Quaker banner. News 2011-12-15T06:00:15+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/quaker-charity-wins-national-award/ http://thefriend.org/article/quaker-charity-wins-national-award/#When:05:55:50Z Life in Palestine wins Plain English Award A Quaker charity has won a national Plain English Award. The charity, Life in Palestine, is run by six Quaker trustees from across the South Lakes region and received the award, from the Plain English Campaign, for their booklet Children of War. News 2011-12-15T05:55:50+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/planning-to-retire/ http://thefriend.org/article/planning-to-retire/#When:05:50:36Z QCEA repesentatives Martina Weitsch and Liz Scurfield to retire in 2012 Martina Weitsch and Liz Scurfield, joint representatives at the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA), are planning to retire in the autumn of 2012. The QCEA was founded in 1979 and is based in Brussels. It promotes the values of the Religious Society of Friends in a European context and works closely with members of the European Parliament. News 2011-12-15T05:50:36+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/co-ops-and-peace/ http://thefriend.org/article/co-ops-and-peace/#When:05:45:55Z Co-operative Institute for the Promotion of Peace and Social Cohesion proposed Campaigns for economic alternatives should be linked to movements for peace. That’s the message coming from delegates at a world gathering of co-operatives meeting in Cancun, Mexico. News 2011-12-15T05:45:55+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/meeting-for-sufferings-changes-at-the-retreat/ http://thefriend.org/article/meeting-for-sufferings-changes-at-the-retreat/#When:05:40:50Z The Quaker influence at The Retreat in York is being strengthened and revitalised, Trish Carn reports Meeting for Sufferings, which met at Friends House in London on 3 December, heard how changes at The Retreat aim to renew Quaker influence and connect the vision of founder William Tuke with the mental health issues of today. News 2011-12-15T05:40:50+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/being-salt-and-light/ http://thefriend.org/article/being-salt-and-light/#When:05:35:45Z Mike Glover reports on a recent conference at Glenthorne The growth of several new Quaker groups in the former Soviet Union, partly due to the influence of the internet, was one of the interesting facts to emerge from a lively conference held in late November at the Glenthorne Quaker Centre in Cumbria. The conference, led by Jocelyn Bell Burnell, was intended as a preparation for Friends planning to take part in the 2012 World Conference of Friends in Kenya, but it was also for any Friends interested in the theme. In fact, of the thirty who took part, only four were intending to go to Kenya. 2011-12-15T05:35:45+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/letters-16-december-2011/ http://thefriend.org/article/letters-16-december-2011/#When:05:30:14Z From legalised counterfeiting to the winter fuel allowance Legalised counterfeiting Sue Holden (4 November) says that ninety-seven percent of our money has been invented by commercial banks. I do not know if her horrifying percentage is correct, but, however much it is, it is too much – it is nothing but legalised counterfeiting. 2011-12-15T05:30:14+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/going-green-at-swarthmoor/ http://thefriend.org/article/going-green-at-swarthmoor/#When:05:25:02Z Alan Headech reports on the ‘greening’ of Swarthmoor Quaker Meeting House The Meeting House at Swarthmoor was gifted to Friends by George Fox in 1686. Much of the structure is probably at least 350 years old, has exterior walls two foot thick, is not well insulated, has suffered from long term damp, and is difficult to heat either effectively or efficiently. Even the more recently added toilets and kitchen provide little in currently expected heating and insulation standards. 2011-12-15T05:25:02+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/making-change-happen/ http://thefriend.org/article/making-change-happen/#When:05:20:53Z Symon Hill reviews a new book on activism and nonviolent resistance to power I approached this book with caution. I have read many books about ‘making change happen’ and been disappointed. Some consist of tortuously convoluted theories that fall to dust as soon as an attempt is made to apply them to the messiness of real-life struggles. Tim Gee’s Counterpower: Making change happen could not be more different. This is without doubt the best book on activism, and resistance to power, that I have ever read. Culture, Reviews 2011-12-15T05:20:53+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/the-spirit-alternative-views/ http://thefriend.org/article/the-spirit-alternative-views/#When:05:15:51Z Julian Brotherton considers some descriptions of the inner voice ‘No, I’m not religious, but I am spiritual!’ We regularly hear this nowadays and often from members of the Religious Society of Friends. It could mean various things. For some it involves serious doubts about traditional pictures of God ‘out there’ as a Super person, although Simon Best in his George Gorman lecture confidently used ‘God’ in a fairly old-fashioned manner. 2011-12-15T05:15:51+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-quaker-business-method/ http://thefriend.org/article/thought-for-the-week-quaker-business-method/#When:06:00:34Z Jill Segger considers how the Quaker business method can be both antithesis and antidote to current decision-making processes One-upmanship, adversarialism, having the last word, getting the upper hand. All these destructive tendencies are commonplace in our daily lives – in the workplace, at Westminster, on the streets and in our interactions with authority and commerce. We live in a culture which has been made mistrustful through fear of being ‘taken for a ride’ and which, increasingly, believes in getting its retaliation in first. This pervasive, low-level suspicion and hostility does not make for cooperation, nor for the creative thinking which seeks solutions rather than dominance. It cannot create a respectful and nourishing space in which old ideas may evolve and new thinking can flourish. It affects us all because it is the atmosphere we breathe and the climate in which we plant and cultivate our spiritual, intellectual and emotional responses. free content 2011-12-08T06:00:34+00:00 http://thefriend.org/article/love-thy-neighbour/ http://thefriend.org/article/love-thy-neighbour/#When:05:55:16Z Lois Lodge reports on a recent conference and asks: what have refugees done for Britain? Well, they founded Marks & Spencer, Burtons, and the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency. They designed the Millenium Dome (Richard Rogers), and they include Albert Einstein and the Freud family (Sigmund, Anna, Clement and Lucein). Dorking and area Quakers, with Churches Together in Dorking, discovered this whilst investigating the plight of seekers of asylum and refuge in Britain today at a conference called ‘Love Thy Neighbour?’ held in October. The conference had been prompted by concerns first raised about the treatment of child and adult detainees in the Gatwick area. 2011-12-08T05:55:16+00:00