By Oliver Robertson This talk boils down to three basic questions: Which parts of our life bring us closer to God? Which parts are spiritually deadening? And how can we change the second type into the first? For me, one of the crowning geniuses of the early Quakers was the Meeting for Worship for Business,…
by Julia Lim In this short and engrossing book, Small change big deal, Jennifer Kavanagh explores some of the major themes in recent spiritually- and ethically-based thinking about the problematic nature of our current financial systems. She does this through writing about a very specific area: the microcredit schemes developed by Mohammed Yunus (Grameen Bank),…
By Don Badgley We few remaining Friends, find ourselves ever more diminished among the world’s myriad faith communities. We are scattered in small pockets around the globe, loosely connected, diverse in background, culture and theology. Our founders envisioned “a great people to be gathered†and for a brief time it was so. Yet, today we…
The 1913 Swarthmore Lecture by Joshua Rowntree, reviewed by John Hall The name of Joshua Rowntree is not as familiar to twenty-first century Friends as other historical members of his clan. However, as the nineteenth century turned into the twentieth, Joshua Rowntree (1844-1915) was well known to his contemporaries in the Society. He was the…
Class and environmental nonviolent direct action for Friends: an introduction to this article by British Quaker Sam Walton Class and nonviolent direction aren’t usually discussed in the same article, but American Quaker George Lakey thinks they should be. And he should know, he’s led over 1,500 workshops on five continents; training coal miners, homeless people,…
By Chris Diskin Before arriving at the Quaker United Nations Office Summer School in early July 2012 I was unsure of quite what to expect of the course, the QUNO staff or the other participants. I had worked for Friends House in London for a couple of years and while I thought I had a…
Advices & Queries 37 by John Hall. #37 Are you honest and truthful in all you say and do? Do you maintain strict integrity in business transactions and in your dealings with individuals and organisations? Do you use money and information entrusted to you with discretion and responsibility? Taking oaths implies a double standard of…
By Craig Barnett Last weekend at Woodbrooke was billed as a ‘threshing event’, exploring the potential for a renewal of the Religious Society of Friends for the 21st Century. It is an initiative of Britain Yearly Meeting’ recording clerk, Paul Parker. Paul has been visiting Meetings throughout the country, gathering a sense of new confidence…
by Jez Smith Over £11bn for 18 days of sport. It is quite a tough one to accept, that. And particularly as a Quaker trying to live out a value of equality. To me equality means seeking, finding and giving the Light in everyone the opportunity to shine. In practical terms this means giving everyone…
By Andrew Williams In June 1660 Margaret Fell delivered to Charles II a paper directed to the king and both houses of parliament, making clear the corporate testimony of Friends ‘against all strife and wars.’ Introduction to 19.46, Quaker Faith and Practice Earlier this year Meeting for Sufferings received an invitation from Buckingham Palace to…