by David Zarembka I suspect that we, my Kenyan wife, Gladys Kamonya and I, are Quakers who are members of the 1%. At least we are in my home town of Lumakanda in western Kenya. Here we are multi-millionaires in shillings, since there are 85 shillings to a US dollar so $11,764 makes one a…
By Hayley and Mia Hayley: We have been attending Quaker meetings for about a year and a half now. Mia has made friends and I often stay in the family room for the first part of the meeting to play games with the young ones. I found out about Quakerism through reading and researching on…
by Julia Ryberg The liturgical year is not observed among Quakers. In my parents’ childhood homes, neither Christmas nor Easter were celebrated. All days are holy days and all of life is sacramental. My mother, however, promised herself that this would change when she had a family! So, I have celebrated Christmas all my life,…
“Quakers believe that all committed relationships are equal,” said Paul Parker speaking to BBC Radio Five Live on Saturday morning about the announcement that the UK government will shortly publish its proposals for legalising same-sex marriage. Paul is the recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting and therefore often speaks as a representative of Quakers in…
By Stephanie Grant Why am I a Quaker? because it’s where God wants me to be, because it’s a place I can work out how to follow the teachings of Jesus without the rituals and creeds that troubled me in other churches, because I feel it’s where I belong, because it gives me a safe…
London-based charity Quaker Social Action (QSA) has won a national award for its anti-poverty work. QSA was one of five winners of The Guardian Charity Award for 2012, having been chosen from a field of almost 1,000 other entries. The award is given for Down to Earth, QSA’s work with bereaved families helping them to…
22/11/2012 Dear Barack Obama, I am one of your supporters, a dual national living in Sweden. As an 11th generation Quaker, I feel connected to you because your daughters attend a Quaker school – I am also a product of Quaker education! I feel more deeply connected because I believe that your most profound hopes…
A man appeared in court last month in connection with a fire that gutted Gloucester Friends’ meeting house. The fire, on 12/09/2012, caused substantial damage and has forced Gloucester Quakers to find new premises to meet for worship in. James Bryan, 23, from Gloucester entered no plea when he first appeared in court. Gloucester Quaker…
by Eleanor Coss Quaker Meetings for Worship are one of the things I find hardest to explain to people who have never experienced them. It sounds so dull: you sit in silence for an hour and try very hard not to think about what you’re going to have for lunch. Then someone stands up and…
By Caro Humphries Ordinary people can create extraordinary change. A pensioner started a petition to the government to cap interest rates charged by payday loan sharks. The campaign was championed by high-profile members of the House of Lords and the government has been pressured into taking action to regulate the industry. Campaigning organisation 38 degrees…