Issue 20-08-2010
Featured Story
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Worshipful space
Recently I was lucky enough to be able to attend Meeting for Worship at Live Oak Friends Meeting in Houston, Texas. On a still, calm, warm morning, the simple ‘early’ Meeting was profoundly quiet. The sounds of birdsong from the surrounding trees and gardens were woven through by the haunting…
Top Stories
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Q-Eye – 20 August 2010
The simplicity police There have been interesting developments at Hampstead Meeting in north London, Eye learns. An irreverent piece in the local newsletter by Rod Harper explores the simplicity testimony. ‘Looking round the Meeting house on a Sunday one has to say, I think, that we are not doing too…
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Quakers in a seventh century steeplehouse
In 654 AD saint Cedd arrived with fellow monks from Lastingham in Yorkshire on a mission to the east Saxons. He built his first worship centre out of the stones of the ruined fort of Othona, abandoned by the departing Roman legions, two centuries before. By good fortune, this primitive,…
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Joy in the work
The experience of being a Quaker prison chaplain (QPC) is one of interesting demands and challenges. It is also one of great joy and, surprisingly, fun. Despite the constraints and frustrations of the prison system, working with all types of offenders, including sex offenders, my experience has been greatly fulfilling.…
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A Quaker trust and its trustees
One of the engaging and challenging aspects about being a trustee is that it is an exercise in empathy, getting into the head and heart of someone who could well be very different from yourself. -
Activists make mountain stand
An investigation by the Indian government has struck a blow to plans by Vedanta Resources for a bauxite mine in Odisha. Concern over Vedanta recently led the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust to sell its shares in the company (‘JRCT sells Vedanta shares due to alleged human rights abuses’, 5 March).…
All Articles
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Flesh defeated, spirit undimmed
I have been recalling some people who have been ‘lighthouses’ in my spiritual journey. Having been appointed to a post similar to mine, Sarah asked to ‘pick my brains’. We ‘clicked’ immediately. I felt I was meeting a friend I had known for years. I found out (not from her)… -
Letters – 20 August 2010
Opportunity missed? Recently, I visited the new Quaker Centre at Friends House for the first time (I am seldom in London and rarely during work hours). I was impressed with the physical space, including the worship area – when I had managed to find it. The staff were busy but… -
Justice system advices and queries
It is clear that our spiritual beliefs have an impact on the way we play our roles (as chaplain, magistrate, barrister, probation or police or prison officer, offender or victim) within the justice system. But what benefit does the experience of these roles bring to our spiritual faith? We may… -
Pakistan’s floods: a human crisis
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Ifield Meeting House restored
After nine months the scaffolding is down! Ifield Quaker Meeting House was built in 1676 and is Grade I listed. The stonework has been stabilised, the oak window frames repaired and, thanks to donations totalling £6,475, the bill for the specialist restoration of their original leaded light windows has been… -
Trident: surprising allies as costs row escalates
The future of the Trident nuclear weapons system has been thrown into doubt by a row between government ministers over who will pay for it. Concerns over costs have fuelled criticism of Trident from pro-military commentators, providing strange bedfellows for peace activists. Funding for nuclear arms is generally separate from… -
BAE seals arms deal to India
The Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) has refuted the prime minister’s claim that his recent arms deal with the Indian government will bring benefits to both the UK and India. -
Outside from the inside
This poem was written by men serving life sentences who regularly attend a Quaker discussion group in prison. A selection of photos including wild creatures, autumn woods, a waterfall and a gorge were presented. Each person chose one and was asked to reflect on why a particular image ‘spoke’ to…
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