Issue 03-02-2012
Featured Story
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Thought for the Week: Words and meanings
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…
Top Stories
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The candlelight of peace
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…
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Reaching Out: Ourselves as others see us
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:
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Quakers and the Tobin 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… -
JRCT appoints new trust secretary
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.
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Eye - 03 February 2012
Quaker face final whistle Darlington Football Club, known as ‘The Quakers’, are on the brink of closing after one hundred and twenty-eight years.
All Articles
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Quakers urged to speak out
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… -
Quaker Tapestry in 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. -
Rachel Brett will be Swarthmore lecturer
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. -
Census convictions
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. -
Equality in our buildings
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: -
Quakers?
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! -
Are we afraid to die?
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… -
Letters - 03 February 2012
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.
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