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Norwegian Quakers celebrate 200 years’ presence

Norwegian Quakers are gathering today for their annual yearly meeting and are celebrating a continuing presence of Quakers in Norway for 200 years since 1814. The Norwegians’ Society of Friends began in 1814 when released Norwegian prisoners from prison ships in England returned home and began silent meetings for worship in Stavanger and Oslo (which…

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Quaker values at the heart of being British

Quaker values are at the heart of what it means to be British, it was claimed by a Conservative politician in a Westminster Hall debate last month. Tony Baldry, the member of parliament for north Oxfordshire, was taking part in a debate about teaching British values when he drew on the Quaker faith for inspiration.…

Quakers in Britain restate opposition to nuclear weapons

Quakers in Britain have re-stated their opposition to nuclear weapons ahead of the publication of Trident Commission report that examined whether the UK should retain its nuclear deterrent. The Trident Commission was set up by the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) and funders include the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Ploughshares Fund. The…

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Quaker Social Action tackling funeral poverty

The issue of funeral poverty has been highlighted by Quaker Social Action this month as they raised the issue of high funeral costs on BBC Radio 4’s consumer programme, You and Yours. Speaking on the programme, funeral poverty campaigner Heather Kennedy said: “There’s this Victorian legacy of shame around not being able to give someone…

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Youth give voice to military recruitment concerns

This week sees the launch of a new short film made by young people questioning the promotion of military activities in their schools. The film, “Engage: the military and young people” is set to launched on Thursday 26/06/2014 with the first showing taking place at Friends House in London. Commissioned by campaigning organisation ForcesWatch and made…

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Two thousand people set to attend yearly meeting

The organisers of the annual meeting of Quakers in Britain, Yearly Meeting Gathering, have announced that this year’s event in Bath in 08/2014 is so full that people not booked to attend must not come. Over 1,900 people are booked to attend the event, meaning that the number of Quakers gathered together in Britain will…

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Quaker company comes under fire for sexist signs

Over 10,000 people have signed a petition calling on a historically Quaker-owned company to end its sexist signs promoting boys and girls shoes. C&J Clark International Ltd, known as Clarks, has faced widespread criticism from shoppers who object to the slogans in its stores that say “Because boys test their shoes to destruction, so do…

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Ian Kirk-Smith shares insights from life as a Quaker and a journalist

Former broadcaster and current editor of The Friend Ian Kirk-Smith shared insights from his career in the media on Friday night at a public lecture at The King’s Hospital School in Dublin, as Quakers gathered for Ireland Yearly Meeting. Ian Kirk-Smith drew on his diverse experiences across anthropological fieldwork, writing, radio production and film directing…

Quakers renew support for young Zimbabweans despite college closure

Quaker support for young Zimbabweans is set to continue, it has been announced, despite the forthcoming closure of the The Hlekweni Friends Rural Service Centre in Zimbabwe later this year. Friends of Hlekweni, the British charity that supports the activities around Hlekweni near Bulawayo in southern Zimbabwean, has made the announcement that their support for…