Quakers in Sheffield have been giving practical support to their local Occupy group including access to their toilets and kitchen for washing up. (See this Nayler post.) In Norfolk, Quakers agreed to give financial and practical support to Occupy Norwich, after hearing about the group at their Area Meeting for business. They were informed by…
“Everyone had a role to play and my grandparents did their bit,†says Christine Ball, speaking of her grandparents’ role working for the Friends War Victims’ Relief Committee during the first world war. “Grandpa may not have wanted to fight but he gave something back,†she added. The story of Christine’s grandparents’ work is told in a…
by Jez Smith London Quakers continued their witness alongside Occupy London on Sunday afternoon, with around 50 Friends and others taking part in a Meeting for Worship by the encampment. Their presence has been boosted by a statement of support from Oxford Quakers. During the Meeting for Worship one Friend sat holding a sign explaining…
By Hayley Fern At all of my first dozen meetings, someone new has asked me how I came to discover Quakers. My reply is always the same: I happened to read a book which talked about it with such agreeable descriptions that I became curious. The book was Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale. …
Why I am a Quaker is first of all because faith took me over. About sixteen years ago, in response to trauma and in a dark time, something was going on within me that I did not understand but felt powerless to resist. I went into churches and ran out. Not what I was looking…
Philip Gross – The Wasting Game 1994-1998 by Jay Clark Philip Gross is a Quaker and a poet. When talking about his poetry in the radio programme ‘listen to them breathing’ he described having been a Quaker and a poet for a long time, but only recently seeing where these two areas of his life…
This ministry on Quaker Business Method was prepared for the opening session of British Quakers’ Yearly Meeting Gathering in 07/2011 and has been edited for Nayler. By Rachel Swancott There will be an introduction to an item during a Quaker Meeting for Worship for Business, for example and Area Meeting event or a membership application,…
by Jay Clark Melvyn Freake is treasurer of the Art and Spirituality Network, a group of artists, writers and performers who run workshops that seek to explore faith and search for meaning through art. He talked to Nayler about his involvement with the network, and how he sees his Quaker spirituality influenced by creativity. What…
by Jay Clark Listen to Them Breathing is a rich and insightful radio programme in which Sibyl Ruth, a Quaker and poet, talks to others about how they see their Quakerism and poetry influence and challenge one another. One of Ruth’s own poems, as well as those by Dorothy Nimmo, UA Fanthorpe and Philip Gross…
Welcome to the podcast series from Nayler, from Yearly Meeting Gathering 2011, the annual meeting of Quakers in Britain. This podcast doesn’t use material from Yearly Meeting Gathering as such. Instead, there is an interview with Chris Goodchild. Chris is the author of A painful gift: the journey of a soul with autism. It is…