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London Friends Together

The pan-London Quaker organisation meets for worship every Tuesday on Zoom beginning at 19:00.  Group discussions follow a meeting for worship.  Joining instructions are on the home page of London Quakers.

Yearly Meeting dates next year

The next Yearly Meeting will take place from 28 April–1 May 2023. It will be a blended meeting in Friends House, London and online. Bookings will open on 10 January.  More information here.

Peace, climate, and social justice

Quakers endorse calls for stop to blockage of climate compensation

Quakers are among more than 20 organisations to have put their name to a new brief calling for a loss and damage finance facility to be agreed at COP27. This would help to compensate communities experiencing the impact of the climate crisis. Read more

Safe Passage on Ukrainian refugees

This asylum charity reports that non-Ukrainian nationals, members of the Roma and traveller communities, and unaccompanied children are all struggling to access a safe route to the UK. Even Ukrainian nationals are finding it difficult to obtain the correct paperwork or lack the support they need to send an application.

Wars are not only in Ukraine

A side-effect of the war in Ukraine is that it has almost entirely eradicated coverage of all other armed conflicts around the world. When, for example, did you last read or watch a news report about the wars in Yemen, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Somalia or even formerly newsworthy Afghanistan?  Dixe Wills reflects on the importance of remembering all victims of war around the world.

Quaker school student held without charge by Israeli military

A 16-year-old student at Ramallah Friends School in Palestine has been arrested and held without charge by the Israeli military since 18 October. Shadi Khoury was beaten and dragged from his family home in Jerusalem in the early hours. Read more.

War and misinformation

Misinformation fuels conflict and war and is itself a weapon of war, spread through biased news channels and social media. This Woodbrooke course considers how people create and believe narratives that foster violence and hate, how to untangle these and how the Quaker Truth testimony can help. 4 November–12 December, online.

Quaker life and work

Integrity in public life

Quakers concerned about the decline of integrity in public life and beyond have released a declaration, asking others to work with them.  Find out more here.

Survey on racism by Eva Koch scholar at Woodbrooke

Kate McNally is investigating what work Friends in Europe are doing in the area of anti-racism. She is conducting a survey that should take 10-15 minutes to complete.  Click here to share your thoughts.

Quaker Council for European Affairs based Brussels publishes a quarterly newsletter, Around Europe, which you can read online.

Quaker Housing Trust

Following significant changes to housing policy during the pandemic, we are now returning to previous patterns of homelessness. Quaker Housing Trust is taking practical action to address this, helping to provide safe, stable homes, creating new housing and funding housing projects. Read more

Woodbrooke on Quaker discipline

What is Quaker discipline? Find out more about what Quakers mean by this on this Woodbrooke Zoom session. Thursday 10 November, 7–9pm. Find out more

Remembering John Woolman

John Woolman was a colonial American Quaker and advocate against slavery and the slave trade, cruelty to animals, economic injustices and oppression, and conscription.

The Bristol EarthQuakes group organised a meeting for worship outside the Vanguard offices in the City of London. It was coordinated with Friends in the US and held exactly 250 years after the death of John Woolman. Find out about this unique act of witness.

Quaker ecumenical work

Britain Yearly Meeting was a founding member of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (formerly British Council of Churches).  Janet Baker explains why, and why ecumenical work is still important.

Reflections from party conferences

BYM’s Public Affairs and Media Manager, Grace Da Costa, attended the Labour and Conservative party conferences this year. The aim was to find out what the two main parties were planning, to build relationships, and to promote Quaker priorities. Read more

Swarthmoor Hall update

Before there was Friends House, there was Swarthmoor Hall in Cumbria.  Originally the home of Margaret Fell, the Hall was where it all began when George Fox visited Margaret there in 1652.  You can find out more, including plans for “re-interpreting” the Hall here.

Quakers fight deportation of Zimbabwean Quaker human rights defender

Josy Sipiwe Jenje-Mudimbu, 56, who has attended Norton Quaker Meeting in County Durham since arriving in 2018, is already on crutches after a failed deportation attempt.

Now Norton Quakers have launched a petition and GoFundMe campaign to fight the removal of their much-loved friend.  More information here.

Quakers welcome report on sentencing

Quakers in Criminal Justice have endorsed a Justice Committee report on Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. The report found IPPs to be irredeemably flawed. The Justice Committee said these sentences caused profound psychological harm and mental torture. Read more

Pendle Hill is the American Woodbrooke.  It has a new blog called Seed.

Anti-racism at BYM

Deputy Recording Clerk Siobhán Haire shares how Quakers are taking action on becoming an anti-racist employer and faith community.  More here

Life cycle of Quaker meetings

An international group of Friends is exploring this topic. A collection of articles including reflections, queries, personal stories, and historical accounts of ways that Quaker Meetings experience the same life-cycle as the natural world has been published online by New York Yearly Meeting.  More information here

Financial support for psychotherapy

Quaker Mental Health Fund (UK) is now able to help Quakers in need of financial support to pay for therapy. It also funds Quaker-led projects related to mental health. For more information and application forms, visit their website.

Quaker Rainbow is the Quaker LGBTQ+ community. They have changed their email address to: hello@quaker-rainbow.org.uk.

Links, opportunities, resources
Join weekly online meeting for worship.

Woodbrooke is hiring
Woodbrooke Learning & Research is developing and expanding to meet the needs of Friends and to support the reinvigoration of Quakerism. There are now five exciting new opportunities for you to help us deliver effective, high quality and relevant programmes.
Woodbrooke is looking for:

Programme Coordinator - Racial & Social Justice
Programme Coordinator – Quaker Service & Roles
Programme Coordinator – Worship & Spirituality
Project Manager - Climate Crisis
Communications Officer
All of these roles are flexible part-time posts, Woodbrooke welcomes applicants based around the world, and being a Quaker is not a requirement for any of these roles!
For more information download our info pack and job descriptions.

QSA: Help with cost of living: info and support
The cost of living is rising rapidly, putting huge pressure on people across the country. This page includes links to external information that could help if you are struggling financially.

Grants for Young Adult Friends
Financial Relief Grants of up to £500 are available to improve the quality of life for young adult Friends (aged 18–35) who have impaired quality of life due to low income (usually defined as earning below the living wage). They can be used for living expenses, emergency/unexpected costs, travel and hobbies or training. Find out more and apply.

Quaker Quest Euston, for newcomers to Quakerism
Online, 7pm to 8.30pm
Sessions are interactive, friendly and welcoming. One of the Quaker Quest team introduces a subject. Recent and forthcoming topics include: silence, forgiveness, community, work, God and worship – and the Quaker testimonies. The introduction is followed by a discussion of about 45 minutes in which Quakers and newcomers can share their views. A short meeting for worship follows.
Join through the MeetUp group. Signing up for a session provides the Zoom link and also gives the team some idea of how many questors might be attending. 

Supporting our Meeting

Do you give sufficient time to sharing with others in the meeting…? Do you give a right proportion of your money to support Quaker work? (Advices and Queries 20)

If you would like to offer your gifts and time to the meeting please speak to your Overseer or a member of the nominations committee who help us find Friends for our various roles in the meeting. For financial contributions, we recognise that everyone’s circumstances are different and so the Meeting asks that people give what they can. All contributions large or small are welcomed. Our money supports the life and witness of our meeting and other wider meetings of which we are a part.

Support for Britain Yearly Meeting

Britain Yearly Meeting works on behalf of all Quakers in Britain to strengthen the Quaker community, speak out in the world and promote peace, justice, equality and sustainability. You can support this work by giving money or time.

Quake!
BYM is keeping in touch with Friends through its weekly e-newsletter Quake!. You are welcome to sign up.