 “For us it is about creating heaven here… not about an insurance policy to make it better in the next lifeâ€, says Marigold Bentley, speaking about being a Quaker on 4thought.tv. Being a Quaker “give me access to be surrounded by radical thinkers and radical activists.†Many years ago Marigold Bentley went to work in…
By Sophie Bowman Two months ago I went to North Korea. Well, as much as is physically possible for a foreign person in South Korea. I went and visited the demilitarised zone and Panmunjom, crossing into North Korea within the confines of one of the blue meeting rooms that straddles the border in the Joint…
Quakers in Britain addressed the queen today as part of her diamond jubilee events. Here is the full text: Loyal Address to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain (Quakers) on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee “May it please The Queen As representatives of the Religious…
Representatives from Quakers in Britain, Liberal Judaism and the Unitarian and Free Christian Churches welcomed the announcement last week of the government consultation to consider how to make civil marriage available to same-sex couples. Quakers in Britain, Unitarians and Liberal Judaism have long campaigned for equality in marriage because of their deeply held beliefs in…
by Hannah Brock ‘Good luck in that godforsaken place’ Those were the words a colleague of mine was left with by a friend as she left her office in the UK for the last time before joining the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). I too am serving in the West Bank as…
by Stephen Cox A review of Pushing at the frontiers of change: A memoir of Quaker involvement with homosexuality by David Blamires and published by Quaker Books David writes that “it is a little odd being a historian of your own life…â€Â This book sets out how Quakers moved from having little particularly interesting to…
by Stuart Masters Advices and Queries no.35 – Respect the laws of the state but let your first loyalty be to God’s purposes. In the authorised version of Quaker history it is received wisdom that James Nayler, although a man of deep spirituality with a significant gift for preaching and writing, was an unstable and…
The 1948 Lecture by Edmond Privat, reviewed by John Hall: The Swarthmore Lecture that wasn’t The 1948 Yearly Meeting was held for the first time in Scotland: in Edinburgh. The Swarthmore Lecture was to be given by the Swiss Quaker, Edmond Privat (1889-1962) who was an ardent pacifist, human-rights activist, writer and journalist.  He was…
An Ecumenical Accompanier has won a prestigious music award for a song about the situation in Palestine and Israel. Penny Stone took part in the Ecumenical Accompanier Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) in 2010 and from her experience the song “Breaking the Silence” was written and won the Alistair Hulett Memorial Trust Song Competition.…
Five Christians, who were forcibly removed from the steps of saint Paul’s cathedral in London as they prayed during the eviction of the Occupy London camp, have today delivered a letter to the canon pastor of the cathedral, Michael Colclough. In the letter they ask the cathedral authorities to clarify whether they gave the police…