2 February 2018 £1.90 thediscover the contemporaryFriend quaker way

A Friend at Swarthmoor the Friend Independent Quaker Journalism Since 1843

Contents VOL 176 NO 5

3 Thought for the Week: Why am I a Quaker? Friendship R V Bailey We are called to obedient love even 4-6 News though we may not be feeling very 7 Dunblane Friends loving. Robin Davis Often it is through the performance 8-9 Letters of loving acts that loving feelings can be built up in us. 10-11 The Reformation and Friends: Thomas Müntzer We may start with small, perhaps Stuart Masters very tiny steps. 12-13 The ‘Great Beast’ It is only as we begin to allow Tony D’Souza Christ’s love to act in and through us that it can become a part of us. 14 A Friend at Swarthmoor David O’Donoghue Sandra Cronk, 1983

15 The Quaker business tradition Quaker faith & practice 22.03 Elizabeth Redfern 16 q-eye: a look at the Quaker world 17 Friends & Meetings

Cover image: Swarthmoor Hall. Photo courtesy of Swarthmoor Hall. See page 14.

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2 the Friend, 2 February 2018 Thought for the Week

Why am I a Quaker?

Is it because of all those abstract nouns – Integrity, Simplicity, et cetera? I’ve never

Been keen on abstract nouns myself, but Weary of all those quarrels in re God

I come home to them now. I reckon God’s Is the hand on the shoulder that means

It’s OK, I’m right behind you; or the voice In the ear, whispering This is the way;

Walk in it. Sometimes it’s in the pit Of the stomach (in rather tight-lipped tones),

Just DO it.

Or else the conversation’s philosophical: There’s More than this life. If there hadn’t been

(Of course, you fool) I’d have TOLD you. Greedy, Cowardly, idle: I haven’t what you’d call

A very convincing moral CV. These voices (when I’m listening) help. And what helps too

Are other people (God in them, perhaps); Brave hearts in dowdy clothes – Fox, and Fry,

And Naylor. And some you meet in the Co-op, or The street. Or even on Sundays at Meeting. They hear

Voices, too.

R V Bailey Wotton-under-Edge Meeting

the Friend, 2 February 2018 3 News Kindness and Kindertransport

The role the Quakers played in helping Jewish people in the second world war escape from Nazi Germany to Britain was the subject of a presentation at Bootham School in York on 31 January. Peter Kurer, who was brought to England in 1938 from Vienna by Quakers, gave a talk entitled ‘Kindertransport and the Quakers’ and discussed his life and experience as an immigrant in Britain. According to Peter Kurer, who has spent years researching the subject, Friends rescued an estimated 27,000 Jews in the second world war and enabled around 7,000 Jews to enter the UK. His research also suggests that the 20,000-strong Quaker movement paid £350,000 (the equivalent of £17.5 million at today’s rates) in Home Office costs as a guarantee to the British government to accept the refugees. Quakers also brought in a further 6,000 Jews as Photo: Pigalle / flickr CC. Photo: Pigalle / flickr domestic workers. ‘Children of the Kindertransport’ statue, Peter Kurer described how his father came to Liverpool Street Station. Britain in 1936 seeking contacts to help his family and met Horatio and Mary Goodwin, a Quaker Holocaust Centre in Jerusalem) archive. couple in Whalley Range, south Manchester. Quaker Kurt Strauss also shared his experiences Peter Kurer’s research led the Religious Society of of leaving Germany in 1939 to start a new life in a Friends being added to the Yad Vashem (the World Quaker hostel. Friend takes issue BYM backs Oxfam ‘inequality report’ with army adverts Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) has called for the ‘inequality gap’ to end, following a report by Oxfam which shows that the gap between A London-based Friend the richest and the poorest has widened. BYM tweeted: ‘Last year, eighty- has criticised the British army two per cent of wealth created worldwide went to the top one per cent. recruitment adverts to ‘find where The poorest half saw no increase at all. Such inequality must end. We will you belong’ in an article in The Big continue to challenge it and address its damaging effects.’ According to Issue. Oxfam’s report, forty-two people hold as much wealth as the 3.7 billion Ellis Brooks, writing in the 19 who make up the poorest half of the world’s population. January edition of the magazine, argued that research suggests Pledge to reduce animal products that exposure to war increases the likelihood that soldiers would Friends House has announced to reduce the amount of animal behave in violent ways towards it will make a public commitment products it uses by twenty per cent themselves and others. to further promote sustainable, over the next two years. The Friends In the article he quoted research compassionate eating by becoming House Café held a vegan day to from Medact that suggests young a ‘CreatureKind’ institution. It plans kick-start the pledge on 31 January. people recruited to the military Quaker-Buddhist crossover are at higher risk of post-traumatic stress, self-harm and suicide. The A Quaker and Buddhist scholar is a keynote speaker at the 2018 new adverts’ ‘belonging’ message, he Earlham School of Religion (ESR) Spirituality Gathering in the USA this argued, attempts to mislead recruits spring. Sallie King, professor emerita of Philosophy and Religion at James by suggesting their mental health Madison University, and Buddhist Studies at Georgetown University, will will be looked after. talk about the crossover between the two peace-based world religions.

4 the Friend, 2 February 2018 reported by Rebecca Hardy [email protected] Sharing sustainability stories The Friends World Committee for Consultation We all face different challenges, so sustainability (FWCC) is gathering stories of Quaker sustainability- doesn’t look the same all over the world. Sharing stories in-action projects from around the world. helps to build a positive conversation. So much of The organisation has already brought together the dialogue around climate change is scary and off- testimonies from Rwanda, the United States, Bolivia, putting. We’re keen to celebrate the positive actions.’ Switzerland, and European and Middle East Young Projects so far include Rwandan Friends’ efforts Friends (EMEYF). to promote sustainable farming, reduce burning Gretchen Castle, general secretary of FWCC, told the of firewood and plant trees on church land. The Friend: ‘Quakers work everywhere. Our task is to help Friends International Bilingual Center in Boliva has people know that every action contributes to a larger been holding workshops to teach children about the collective action. It’s the weave of the fabric, to know we challenges of climate change and how they can help by have a strong voice and can bring about change.’ filtering rainwater so it is safe to drink. According to Susanna Mattingly, sustainability North London Area Meeting will also be looking at communications officer at FWCC, the initiative came sustainability-in-action at their next Area Meeting. out of the Pisac Sustainability Minute approved at the Susanna Mattingly said: ‘It’s not about going 100 World Plenary Meeting in Peru in 2016. This minute per cent green, but engaging with the issue and taking asked Yearly Meetings to take on at least two concrete small steps. This could be simply having a conversation actions to tackle climate change. with a neighbour about climate change. Research She told the Friend: ‘In this newly created role I am shows two-thirds of people in the UK have never had a trying to engage with Friends to see what’s happening. conversation about it.’ Numbers of those in poverty will rise in 2018, says JRF This year is set to be an Heykoop, writing on the JRF Food, energy and travel costs increasingly difficult one for low- website, low-income families will have also been rising significantly. income households, the Joseph also be hit hard by rising transport The JRF says that a fifth of Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has costs, increased energy and food low income families experience predicted, with average price prices, and the benefit freeze, problem debt, most commonly in inflation for the UK standing at its which by 2020-21 will have pushed connection with council tax or rent highest since April 2012. almost half a million more people arrears, followed by energy and According to economist Laurie into poverty. water. Quakers back straw campaign but say more must be done Quakers have backed the Evening Standard’s ‘Last Straw’ campaign but called for more action in the fight against climate change. The campaign, initiated recently by the free London newspaper, highlights the environmental damage caused by plastic straws. Sunniva Taylor, programme manager for sustainability and peace at Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW), told the Friend: ‘Campaigning against plastic straws is a good thing. Small, achievable campaigns can grow. But we must face up to the scale of the crisis. The challenge – and the opportunity – that climate change and pollution presents requires a lot bigger and bolder action too. Friends in Britain Yearly Meeting are motivated by faith and committed CC. / flickr Photo: D Coetzee to addressing the root causes of climate change: campaign. The charity made the point that straws are histories of unequal power, economic injustice, and a used for twenty minutes on average but take up to 500 culture of overconsumption.’ years to break down. The organisation has called for the Friends of the Earth have also supported the ban to be extended to all single-use plastic.

the Friend, 2 February 2018 5 News Friends welcome cut in Dignity Simple Funeral costs Quaker Social Action years of running the Fair Funerals raise the safety net, which still sadly (QSA) has welcomed the news that campaign, one of our key aims has sits at under forty per cent of a basic the UK’s biggest privately-owned been to encourage funeral directors funeral’s cost.’ funeral operator, Dignity, recently to improve price transparency and Many other funeral homes announced it is reducing the cost to consider those on the lowest around the UK already offer lower- of its Simple Funeral by twenty-five incomes when setting prices for cost funeral packages for bereaved per cent. their simplest options. families, but, according to QSA, Dignity has slashed the price ‘While funeral poverty continues funeral costs increased fifty per cent of its Simple Funeral to £1,995 in to grow, it is pleasing to have both in five years. England and Wales and to £1,695 in of the largest funeral directors in QSA, in a tweet, described the Scotland in a move that could mean the UK, Dignity and Co-Operative decision by Dignity as ‘big news for greater choice for bereaved families. Funeral Care, adjusting our @endfuneralpov campaign’ and The company owns over 800 funeral their options and improving urged Friends in Britain to ‘support homes and operates forty-four transparency. the #BurytheDebt campaign by crematoria around the UK. ‘However, there will always be signing a petition’ that calls on the Giles Robinson, who works in people who cannot afford to pay. chancellor of the exchequer Philip communication and marketing at Our efforts continue to be focused Hammond to raise the state funeral QSA, told the Friend: ‘Over the four on pressuring the government to fund. Peacemakers branch out in new decade Friends visiting the Quaker Meeting House in due to the financial support given by various trusts Bull Street, Birmingham, can enjoy seeing the creative and Quakers’. results of a special anniversary day held last year: a She added: ‘The development in its work all came ‘Peace Tree’. together for me when the project celebrated its 2018 marks the beginning of a new decade of thirtieth birthday with a children’s peace summit and possibility and challenge for the West Midlands a supporters’ birthday party, both, fittingly, on the 21 Quaker Peace Education Project, or Peacemakers as it September 2017, the International Day of Peace.’ is known in schools. It was set up in 1987. During the day children from eight primary schools Anne Ullathorne has been a member of the in the West Midlands came together to explore various West Midlands Quaker Peace Education Project’s themes, including ‘Inner Peace’, ‘Peace on the Streets’, Management Committee for the last eight years. ‘Peace at School’ and ‘Peace in the World’. She said she had seen things go ‘from strength to Anne Ullathorne explained: ‘As a result of this they strength during that time, partly due to the enthusiasm then wrote their own pledges for peace, which were and commitment of our director, Sara Hagel, but also hung on a Peace Tree.’ Yorkshire Friends petition MPs for nuclear ban Huddersfield Quakers July where 122 nations approved Pakistan. We didn’t even attend. have written to four Kirklees the groundbreaking Treaty on the So, Janet Fenton suggested we MPs asking them to sign the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. write to our MPs. The government parliamentary nuclear ban pledge. Robin Bowles, an elder of isn’t going to sign it, but we So far one, Thelma Walker, MP Huddersfield Meeting, told the can put pressure on our MPs to for Colne Valley, Huddersfield, has Friend: ‘The UN pledge was support the pledge.’ signed. massively unreported in this ‘So far we haven’t heard back Huddersfield Meeting raised country and we are one of the from the other MPs but we’re funds in their monthly collection few countries who didn’t sign the going to follow it up. We hope our to help Janet Fenton, who attended pledge, including the US, China, clerk will write a reminder and we the UN talks in New York last France, Russia, Israel, India and will arrange some visits soon.’

6 the Friend, 2 February 2018 Report

Dunblane Friends

Robin Davis reflects on the jubilee celebrations at Dunblane Meeting in Scotland and the life of Friends there ifty years ago our Friends Bill and Betsy Aitken hosted a Meeting for Worship in their home in Dunblane. The seed prospered and three years Flater we began to meet in the Chapel of Scottish Churches House in Dunblane. Several moves later we currently rent rooms in the Braeport Centre, just up the hill from there. We have been through many ups and downs, from the wonderful years of supporting Peace House, the peace education concern of Helen Steven and Ellen Moxley, through the trauma of the Dunblane shootings of March 1996. Children have grown from infancy to adulthood and we have always nurtured a Children’s Meeting. Our members have contributed much to the life of the Religious Society of Friends, locally and nationally. The life of a religious society consists in something There were good grounds for a celebration. more than the body of principles it professes and the Last summer we revived a tradition by holding outer garments of organisation which it wears. These Meeting for Worship one Sunday in a small kirk in things have their own importance: they embody the Glen Artney (about fifteen miles away), followed by a society to the world, and protect it from the chance picnic by the Water of Ruchill. and change of circumstance; but the springs of life On 28 October 2017 we met again in what is now Old lie deeper, and often escape recognition. They are Churches House, Dunblane, for a day to celebrate the to be found in the vital union of the members of life and community that is Dunblane Local Meeting. the society with God and with one another, a union Friends whom we had not seen for years came along which allows the free flowing through the society of to join us. We cut a cake and sang Happy Birthday. the spiritual life which is its strength. We produced a ‘Dunblane Book’ as a souvenir. Young Friends urged us to ponder what we find necessary and William Charles Braithwaite, 1905 what is mere indulgence. One told us of her recent visit to Palestine. Older Quaker faith & practice 10.04 Friends discovered how far they had come to be there that day, and who had been the first to join the Meeting. We spent time reflecting on what was special about our Society and Dunblane Meeting in particular, and what belonging to a Meeting means. We read some sections of chapter ten of Quaker faith & practice and looked forward to many more years of worshipping together. In the evening we adjourned to the Victoria Hall, a local community hall, for a ceilidh. This had been advertised widely in the town and a number of local folks joined us, as did some Young Friends who travelled out from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Robin is a member of Dunblane Meeting Hancock. Photos: Peter

the Friend, 2 February 2018 7 Letters All views expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Friend

Thanks and applause because we must ensure that our structures always Thank you for the letter from Jan Lethbridge (19 serve the testimonies. January) concerning ‘thanks and applause’. As Jesus said, the Sabbath was made for man, not I may be able to explain this practice, which man for the Sabbath, and the elders at Balby have probably dates back to early Friends’ rejection of reminded us of Paul’s words, that ‘the letter killeth, ‘flourish’ and exaggeration that led to what became but the spirit giveth life’ (2 Corinthians 3:6). We have known as ‘plain speech’. been warned. When it comes to structure, let us travel When I was a child it was explained to me that since lightly. it was anticipated Friends would do what was expected Martin Drummond of them, thanks for doing it were unnecessary and Wymondham Meeting, Norfolk might be regarded as insincere. Later, at my Friends’ school, we were awarded no Many lights and one light prizes at the end of the school year. We were expected In his ‘Thought for the Week’, entitled ‘Godself’, David to do our best and any success was seen as sufficient Saunders (26 January) writes: ‘God is not above, reward in itself. By the 1950s this practice had been beyond, and outside, but at work within’. Why that slightly diluted with praise. This was not a great ‘but’? incentive for the average child! I have long wondered where self ends and begins. In This seems harsh to modern minds, and current a world of interconnected energy where heredity and child-rearing practice veers rather to the practice of environment are intertwined, can we not go beyond lavish praise for the slightest achievement as a means the limited spatial metaphor of ‘within’ and embrace of encouragement. the ‘between’ also? I am not an atomistic fragment However, when clerking Business Meetings, I have bounded by my skin. The inner and the outer life are tried to be moderate in the wording of minutes. one continuum. Hence, when releasing someone from service, or My understanding and experience of the divine is recording the conclusion of a piece of work, I have deepened in relationship both with the animate and listened to the echoes of bygone Friends and used the inanimate. I wonder sometimes whether our talk restrained wording; for example: ‘We thank our Friend of individual personal growth is a modern version of for…’ the old Protestant idea of personal salvation. I do agree I am aware that some newer/younger people regard with David’s conclusion, however. Spiritual growth this as chilly and strangulated and would wish people leads to an awareness of the world around, where we to be thanked in more fulsome ways. But old habits die are lit by each other’s light, many lights that are the hard, and I can be more expansive in other contexts. reflections of one light, within and without. Barbara Pensom Harvey Gillman Charlbury Meeting, Oxfordshire Rye Meeting, East Sussex Travel lightly Quakers Sharing Experience Raymond Hudson’s complaint that Friends are I share Martin Hartog’s sadness (26 January) following ignoring ‘correct’ procedure (12 January) brings to the comment of a member of Friargate Meeting: ‘How mind the parable told by Jiddu Krishnamurti, the little we know of the spiritual beliefs of those who philosopher, teacher and writer, when he dissolved the sit alongside us.’ But I was delighted to see, in the Order of the Star, set up to hail him as ‘World Teacher’. same issue, Lea Cowin’s welcome report of a Quakers The devil saw a man pocket something he had found Sharing Experience (QSE) gathering held at Malvern in the road, and an imp asked what it was. ‘A piece of Meeting. The aim of QSE is to help Meetings create a the Truth,’ replied the devil. ‘Bad news for us then,’ sense of community and to inspire Friends to ‘know said the imp. ‘Oh no, not at all,’ said the devil, ‘I am one another in that which is eternal’. going to let him organise it.’ I began to trial QSE sessions in 2015 and now, If nominations discern that a Friend not in through the help and imagination of Eoin McCarthy, membership would make a good overseer, as occurs they are available to Meetings throughout Britain in our Area Meeting as well as in Raymond’s, Yearly Meeting (BYM). then procedural niceties should not obstruct the We look forward to the day when Friends choose appointment. Right ordering does not exist for its own to learn for themselves the simple techniques we have sake, but to allow us to respond to actual needs. developed and become able to conduct QSE sessions The future of Quakerism does not depend on as part of the life of their Area Meetings. For the time printing Church government separately from faith & being, though, we are available to visit Area Meetings, practice, as Raymond suggests, but rather the reverse, Local r Meetings and Quaker gatherings everywhere.

8 the Friend, 2 February 2018 [email protected]

Personal experience lies at the heart of the Quaker wedding guest becomes a ‘sadder and a wiser man’. faith, yet Friends rarely talk about it. QSE helps us I commend it to Friends. to know more of the spiritual beliefs of those who sit Bernard R Bligh alongside us. Sessions can be as short as a morning or Kingston on Thames Meeting, Surrey as long as a weekend. Anyone who is interested should get in touch with me at [email protected] or Eoin Care homes questions at [email protected]. I would like to thank Janet Thomas (19 January) for Geoffrey Durham initiating some thoughts and questions on Quaker care North West London Area Meeting homes. A good place to start, I would suggest, is John Kennedy’s Care Home Inquiry report of 2014, a personal The word ‘overseer’ inquiry supported by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation What is your first thought (apart from any Quaker and the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust. usage) when you hear the word ‘overseer’? We did a In the foreword, Julia Unwin notes that in the ‘care test in our discussion group. About forty per cent of home of the future… we want care that is based on those present connected it with slavery of one kind relationships and respect, provided with kindness and or another. We did this after one attender, on being compassion’. told she had been allocated an overseer, said she Helen Watts wasn’t coming any more. Mind you, she may have had Warden, Frenchay Meeting House, Bristol other reasons for telling us she wasn’t coming. This prompted that little exercise. What are we? So, I raise the question as to whether we should I am a member of Britain Yearly Meeting. I am also replace the word ‘overseer’ by another word with less in fellowship with the independent group Friends in negative associations. We have decided that henceforth Christ. Yearly Meeting has, in my opinion, rejected our overseers will become ‘personal contacts’. Another Christ. We were the people of God, redeemed by the idea was ‘link person’. What do you think? blood of Christ. Now what are we, with numbers Eric Walker diminishing? Ipswich Meeting, Suffolk John Ross Banbury, Oxfordshire ‘Thee’ and ‘thou’ Arthur Kincaid’s letter (26 January) deals with Quaker A change of title language in America. My father was born in 1909 in David Boulton’s letter (12 January) reminded me of a Hertfordshire. In his home it was definitely ‘thee has’ seminar given by bishop John Shelby Spong in which and not ‘thou hast’. he recalled that his publisher changed the ‘and’ to ‘or’ in Of course, it all stems from the early Friends’ his book Resurrection: Myth or Reality? on the basis that concern for equality. Addressing someone as ‘you’ and this altered title would sell more books. not ‘thou’ implied a higher social standing. It is ironic Harold Yardley that the only people latterly treated as equals in this Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire way were fellow Friends. In Birmingham, in about 1964, I was greeted by an elderly Quaker with: ‘Friend, what is thy name?’ I like In essentials unity, to practise that usage. in non-essentials liberty, Richard Seebohm in all things charity. Oxford Meeting, Oxfordshire

‘Rime’ and reasons The Friend welcomes your views. Recently, extracts from ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge were read in Do keep letters short (maximum 250 words). our Meeting for Worship. Purists might object to ‘planned’ ministry, but I believe it was justified for Please include your full postal address, even five reasons. when sending emails, and specify whether you First, the ministry was from the heart. Second, the wish for your postal or email address or Meeting albatross is an endangered species by reason of bits name to be used with your name. of plastic in the oceans. Third, the Ancient Mariner Letters are published at the editor’s discretion pleads for forgiveness because of his crime. Fourth, and may be edited. there is a prayer at the end of the rime. Fifth, the

the Friend, 2 February 2018 9 The Reformation and Friends

Thomas Müntzer

Stuart Masters, in the first of a three-part series, writes about early Quakers and some key figures in the Radical Reformation

he early Quaker movement emerged out of church, after the death of the pupils of the apostles, the radical wing of the Reformation, and was soon became a whore because of the seductive influenced by the ideas of a range of radical priests. Treligious groups and individuals. One such figure Prague Manifesto, 1521 is Thomas Müntzer (1489-1525). He was a German theologian who became a rebel leader during the Radical anticlericalism German Peasants’ War. Although initially a follower of Martin Luther, he believed that the questioning of Müntzer’s passionate anticlericalism was characteristic traditional authority, promoted by the mainstream of the religious radicalism of the sixteenth and Reformers, should not be confined to the spiritual seventeenth centuries. He accused the priesthood of sphere, but should also be applied to politics and being a barrier between people and God. Because economics. they were unable to hear the divine voice themselves, Thomas Müntzer preached a radical message of the the clergy taught that divine revelation had ceased. coming of God’s kingdom, as an egalitarian society, However, true ministers turned people to the divine in which all things would be shared in common. voice which could be heard within them. God, acting After the battle of Frankenhausen, in May 1525, he as an inward teacher, undermined the authority of the was captured, tortured and executed. Despite this, his priesthood: ideas have remained influential, and he has become a revolutionary hero and martyr for generations of So, as long as heaven and earth stand, these criminal, religious and political radicals. turn-coat priests will not be of the slightest use to the There appear to be strong similarities between churches, for they deny the voice of the bridegroom, aspects of the message preached by early Friends which is the real and certain sign that they are devils during and following the English civil war and Thomas pure and simple. Müntzer’s spirituality and theology. I have identified six key areas of connection, supplemented by short Prague Manifesto, 1521 quotations from his writings. Müntzer drew deeply on the Medieval mystical The great apostasy tradition, claiming that, through the Holy Spirit, God was directly available to all people. This had the effect Like early Friends, Thomas Müntzer believed that true of undermining both the authority and the purpose of Christianity had become corrupted shortly after the the institutional Church. We see early Friends making death of the apostles at the end of the first century. a similar point, when they proclaimed that Christ had Instead of living under the direct inspiration of the come to teach his people himself: Spirit of Christ, the Church had begun to focus instead on outward human authorities, such as a set-apart I affirm and swear by the living God: anyone who priesthood: does not hear from the mouth of God, the real living Word of God, and the distinction between Bible and I have read here and there the history of the early Babel, is a dead thing and nothing else. But God’s fathers, and I find that the immaculate, virginal Word, which courses through the heart, brain, hair,

10 the Friend, 2 February 2018 bone, marrow, sap, might and strength surely has the regeneration would prompt a revolutionary right to canter along in quite a different way from transformation of church, government and society. the fairy-tales told by our clownish, testiculared The Spirit of Christ would conquer the earthy powers. doctors. Otherwise no one can be saved; otherwise The powerful would be brought low, and the lowly no one can be found. would be raised up. God’s revolution would turn the world upside down: Prague Manifesto, 1521 Go to it; go to it, while the fire is hot! Don’t let your Deification as liberation sword grow cold, don’t let it hang down limply! Hammer away ding dong on the anvils of Nimrod, Müntzer asserted that the Holy Spirit alone had the cast down their tower to the ground! As long as they power to transform people. It could bring them into live, it is impossible for you to rid yourselves of the union with God, and liberate them from fear of the fear of men. One cannot say anything to you about earthly powers. He understood this as a process of God as long as they rule over you. Go to it, go to it, deification in which the Spirit restored the original while it is day! God goes before you; follow, follow! harmony between creature and Creator. Such inner transformation had revolutionary implications, since it To the People of Allstedt, 1525 ended human dependence on the powers of this world, and established God’s reign of justice and liberation: Biblical understanding

Just as happens to all of us when we came to faith: In terms of the anticlerical, mystical, charismatic, we must believe that we fleshly, earthly men are to universalist and apocalyptic aspects of his theology, become Gods through Christ becoming man, and Müntzer’s vision appears to share a great deal in thus become God’s pupils with him – to be taught common with that of the early Quaker movement; in by Christ himself, and become divine, yes and far particular, by maintaining a rigorously biblical and more – to be totally transfigured into him, so that Hebraic understanding of the Holy Spirit, Müntzer this earthly life swings up into heaven. avoided the rigid spirit-matter dualism often associated with the Radical Reformation spiritualists. Testimony on the First Chapter of Luke, 1524 The key issue on which Müntzer and early Quakers differ concerns the method by which the Kingdom of Christian universalism God is to be established on earth. Both Müntzer and early Friends believed that the people of God were Because he believed that all people could enjoy a direct being enlisted to fight with God in a war to destroy and intimate relationship with God, unencumbered all evil and injustice. For Müntzer this required an by the limitations of nation, race, creed or social outward war, and the physical destruction of the status, like early Friends, Müntzer preached a form of powers. Christian universalism. The Spirit had been poured For early Friends, however, the Lamb’s War was upon all flesh, and so, in addition to professing primarily a spiritual struggle focused on conquering Christians, the true people of God could include the evil within the human heart and within Creation. Jew, the Turk and the righteous Pagan: Given that many early Friends had been soldiers in the New Model Army, taking part in a bloody civil war, If we Christians should ever want to unite… with which they hoped would establish God’s kingdom, all the elect of all dispersions, races and religions… it is not surprising that their apocalyptic language, we must know how a man feels who was brought up and assertive tactics, often led those in power to fear among unbelievers, but has come to know the true that the movement, like Müntzer and the rebellious work and the true meaning of God without having peasants, was intent on violent revolution. been assisted by any book. In the midst of the turmoil of the Interregnum, Quakers shared many of Thomas Müntzer’s ideas. A Manifest Exposé of False Faith, 1524 However, it was the Christian communism of the Diggers, and the apocalyptic violence of the The world turned upside down Fifth Monarchists, that most closely enacted his revolutionary practice. For Müntzer spiritual transformation led inexorably to social transformation, establishing the Kingdom Stuart is a tutor at Woodbrooke, and a member of of God on earth through the Lamb’s War. Spiritual Central England Area Meeting.

the Friend, 2 February 2018 11 Faith

The ‘Great Beast’

Tony D’Souza reflects on religion in the modern world hat is the problem with religion in the movement, seems unable or unwilling to make few contemporary world? Never in human comments on the unfolding tragedy of the Muslim history have so many people prayed to a minority in her own country. WGod unseen, and never in human history has so much suffering, mayhem and death been caused by the An idea of God followers of religion. In 2003 coalition forces invaded Iraq, which When it comes to religious violence, none of this is destabilised that country and the effects continue new. Sadly, there is no shortage of historical examples. to this day. This was followed by the collapse of the The religious violence of the Crusades was on an epic Gaddafi dictatorship in Libya and the unspeakable scale and went on for nearly 200 years. There was the horror of the civil war in Syria. All this made possible wholesale slaughter of the Inquisition, witch-burning the sudden rise of the murderous death cult known as and the attempted genocide of the native people of Isis. Thousands of people have died and millions have South America, North America and Australia. In more been affected. modern times, the genocide against the Jews we know as the Holocaust had its roots in virulent (Christian) Hatred and division religious bigotry. The religious war in Sri Lanka went on for twenty-six years and cost the lives of thousands, The mass migration of people fleeing war and terror as did the deadly violence of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern now threatens to destabilise the Western democracies. Ireland. The bloody effects of the Hindu-Muslim riots The atmosphere of fear and loathing, at least in part in India in 1947 still rumble on in Kashmir. fuelled by the mass media, has created a climate in What is going on? What has religion to do with all which populism has bloomed and thrived. Along with this? Well, here is one answer. Religion, I believe, has its simplistic solutions, this populism has brought a not got very much to do with God. All the mystics form of hatred and division to our societies the like agree on this. If we approach the idea of God, we of which we have not seen since the end of the second approach an idea which is unintelligible in that it is world war. beyond human concepts. We can have some vague The West is not alone. In Myanmar (the country intimation of it but no more. The problem with formerly known as Burma) the minority Muslim religion, for me, is that it does give us an idea of God community known as the Rohingya Muslims are that is pre-digested and easily assimilated. In this it horribly repressed and discriminated against. Denied also gives us something tha can be disastrous, because citizenship by their own government, they are confined it gives us the safety of the collective mind, the safety to small isolated areas that they are not allowed to of the social. leave. The collective, I feel, is like a herd of wildebeest, or The press in Myanmar, encouraged by fundamentalist a flock of birds or a shoal of fish. It offers security to Buddhist monks, brand the Rohingya Muslims as less each individual member (even if that security is an than human. ‘Lower than dogs’ is one of their more illusion). In much the same way, religion offers the charitable descriptions. This dehumanisation of the security of belonging. When we belong to a group ‘other’ is often the precursor to dreadful human rights our capacity for individual thought is soon eroded as violations. Meanwhile, Aung San Suu Kyi, the erstwhile we consciously and unconsciously take up the values, darling of the West and figurehead of the democracy mores and beliefs of the group. We start believing what

12 the Friend, 2 February 2018 The great religions are ships; poets the lifeboats. Every sane person I know has jumped overboard.

Hafiz Photo: Ziv Turner / flickr CC. / flickr Turner Photo: Ziv the group believes and we soon come to like what it virtue of the social you will always find anger or other likes and disapprove of what it disapproves of. That is strange manifestations of psychological repression. The the (largely unknown) cost of belonging. much-loved staple of the Sunday newspaper, the vicar discovered in flagrante, is just such an example. Truth and security Enemies In the social or collective we lose the truth and settle, instead, for a security blanket in the shape of a collective The social not only provides a safe haven and a false self-deception. It is a self-deception that we and our morality but also provides something the ego needs co-religionists will vociferously defend. We will die for almost above all else – an enemy. As soon as we belong, it and often be happy to kill defending it. This is the we are automatically aware of those who do not belong. disaster of the social, the collective mind or the ‘Great If we belong to a religion, there are all those who do Beast’. Here is what Simone Weil says about it: not belong to our particular brand of religion. If there are believers, there are unbelievers. If there is the elect, It is only by entering the transcendental, the there is the unelect, the adherent and an infidel. supernatural, the authentically spiritual order that So, religion becomes a tribal affair, a bit like man rises above the social. Until then, whatever he supporting a football team or belonging to any form may do, the social is transcendent in relation to him. of social collective. However, as we have seen from the ‘He to whom little is forgiven, loveth little.’ This examples above, religion is capable of violence on a far concerns someone with whom social virtue occupies greater scale than most collectives, apart perhaps from a very large place. Grace finds little room to spare in the national collective when an army is mobilised to do him. Obedience to the Great Beast, which conforms violence on behalf of the state. Even then, religion and to the good – that is social virtue. its qualities of group identity often play a part. A Pharisee is someone who is virtuous out of Yet, religion is not all bad. Without it nobody would obedience to the Great Beast. learn how to transcend the purely selfish, and without its moral guidance man would be lost to his worst The social allows a man to feel virtuous, but the instincts and desires. Religion provides a sense of virtue is an ersatz virtue– and it belongs to the created meaning for many and at its best is indisputably a force order, so must call for a reaction. This is why we have for good. the phenomenon of so-called holy followers of religion Perhaps the last word should go to the great Sufi behaving badly in private. The ‘street saint and the poet Hafiz: ‘The great religions are ships; poets the indoor sinner’ can be common among believers; it lifeboats. Every sane person I know has jumped is psychologically inescapable. Carl Jung, the great overboard.’ psychologist, said that we should observe how a pious or ‘saintly’ man behaves in private. If his virtue is the Tony is from Finchley Meeting.

the Friend, 2 February 2018 13 Quaker life

A Friend at Swarthmoor

An Irish Friend, David O’Donoghue, ponders his work as a resident Quaker volunteer in the heart of 1652 country here is perhaps no better place to mix past out half my ancestors at Glenflesk Castle in Kerry ghosts and future hopes than at Swarthmoor during his bloody forays in Ireland.) Hall, the so-called ‘cradle’ of Quakerism. Visitors can don an array of mock seventeenth TNestling in Cumbria, on the edge of England’s Lake century clothing while admiring the centrepiece, a District, the Tudor manor (built in 1586) holds a 1541 Beck Bible that belonged to George Fox. cherished place in the history of English Quakers. It Friends in Residence at Swarthmoor Hall was to this impressive house, then home to Thomas can expect to undertake a wide variety of tasks, Fell and his wife Margaret, that George Fox, the from welcoming guests and attempting flower founder of Quakerism, came in June 1652. He was a arrangements for Meeting for Worship to taking twenty-seven-year-old travelling preacher seeking an tours around the Hall. The latter duty was my alternative path to the established Church of England favourite, despite some unforeseen challenges, such as and other Christian churches. when a group from the University of the Third Age In that turbulent era, just after the civil war in (U3A) wanted to know what Quakerism meant ‘in England, George Fox was sheltered by a local judge, a nutshell’! Terms including ‘silent worship of God’, Thomas Fell. Unlike her husband, Margaret Fell ‘gender equality’ and ‘pacifism’ tripped off my tongue became an early convert to the Quaker cause and as I managed to field that query in a mad dash to the made a significant contribution to the development finishing line. of the new Quaker movement. In 1669, eleven years A minibus full of young Irish Friends were easier after the judge’s death, she married George Fox. to deal with, not needing a blow-by-blow account of Part of my duties as a summer Friend in Residence Quaker history. But a town-twinning tour (English at Swarthmoor included opening up the Hall’s Lake District meets Italian equivalent) was a different numerous rooms on three floors. Whenever I kettle of fish. Luckily Swarthmoor’s renowned café approached George Fox’s room I could not help boasts an Italian chef (Fabrizio from Pisa) – so we imagining a gentleman clad in seventeenth century took it in turns to provide a bilingual visit. clothes and laying the full length of his bed. But, of It is something of a miracle that Swarthmoor Hall course, the room was always empty except for some has survived for over four centuries. In the 1750s it old Bibles, a 1694 first edition of George Fox’s Journal drifted out of Quaker hands, and was only saved from (published three years after his death), a trunk and destruction in 1912 when it was bought by Emma the famous folding bed, which was carried along the Clarke Abraham, a direct descendant of Thomas Fell’s east coast of America on horseback during his travels daughter Rachel. She supervised extensive repairs. In to the New World from 1671 to 1673. 1951 the Religious Society of Friends purchased the Meetings for Worship are still held in the ground building for £9,000. Today, Swarthmoor is embracing floor room adjoining Thomas Fell’s study, from where the twenty-first century. he is said to have followed proceedings through an As well as the original building, the site boasts open door. The ground floor also houses a small sixteen bed-and-breakfast rooms and a conference library. The floor above contains several bedrooms, centre that hosts weekend seminars. In addition, while the top floor has an archive, along with an attic there are extensive gardens alongside a shop and a where parliamentary troops are said to have sought café/restaurant. There are also plans to further extend refuge after a skirmish with royalist forces. the premises by converting an adjoining barn. A (For my part, having to say anything positive about bright future beckons for this Lake District gem. Oliver Cromwell – to be fair, I didn’t have to – would have been a problem, given that his forces had wiped David is a member of Monkstown Meeting, Dublin.

14 the Friend, 2 February 2018 Books The Quaker business tradition

Elizabeth Redfern welcomes a book on Quakers, business and industry

en years ago I came to Quakers as a direct result irrelevant, as business was always seen as credible and of repeatedly hearing, over the years I was in worthy work. business, that there were famous businesses of Then there is the great American ‘captain of Tyesteryear run by a group of people called Quakers, industry’ Joseph Wharton, who made armaments who were leaders in industrial innovation and driven during the American civil war and yet also established by their religious fervour. These businesses were not a world-famous business school, and was seen as a simply successful and well managed – and, of course, model Quaker in how he lived his life. not all were – they treated their employees, suppliers, It is heartening to know that there was this customers and the rest of the community with respect, pragmatism to ensure that, where possible, businesses and worked with honesty and integrity. I thought that were successful enough to generate sufficient income I should learn more about these Quaker people, as that to pay wages, and ultimately put food on employees’ was how I tried to run our business, and I eventually tables. The thing I was most proud of in business became one. was that we employed people, and were privileged to The Quakers and Business (Q&B) Group, of which contribute to their lives. I was the clerk for six years until last year, has seen, With nine chapters, including a number written by since the financial crisis of 2007, an increasing interest Q&B Group members, the book has a comprehensive in these historical Quaker businesses. So, what can introduction written by the editors. It includes a we learn from them? I think the answer is a sense of number of chapters that look at specific Quaker balance, pragmatism and compromise. These values business people and their families, and how their are evident in so many instances in Quakers, Business, faith influenced their business careers, including in and Industry: Quakers and the Disciplines: Volume 4, the UK George Bradshaw, the Rowntrees, and many edited by Stephen W Angell and Pink Dandelion. (Paul Birmingham Quakers such as the Cadbury, Gibbins Anderson is the series editor.) and Sturge families, and in the US William Penn, These Quakers in business realised that there was Joseph Wharton and Herbert Hoover. no absolute answer, and that rules were there to be The book emphasises how closely involved members applied with a bit of give and take where needed, of Meetings were in businesses, for example in the large with Meeting-wide discernment to help think things Birmingham Bull Street Meeting, in what we call today through. ‘governance’ – looking at trading details and giving Having already read most of the easily accessible advice. There was also a trusted communications Quaker business history books, Quakers, Business, and network between family members – especially Industry certainly backs up what I had heard elsewhere, though marriage – and between Meetings. This but more importantly fills in a lot of gaps and shows provided much-needed work opportunities, including that not all was plain sailing. It also contradicts some apprenticeships, finance and knowledge. I encourage of the business myths that have been handed down and you to read this book to get a realistic view of what explains – in an accessible way – what did happen and was, in reality, a balanced business environment. why? A good example is the situation with debt and bankruptcy. There were many situations where debt Elizabeth is a member of Northampton Meeting and the was taken on in a managed fashion, and bankrupts Quakers and Business Group. were not automatically removed from membership (as is often believed) if they took advice from others and Quakers, Business, and Industry: Quakers and the worked hard to repair damage. Another myth is that Disciplines: Volume 4 edited by Stephen W Angell and Quakers went into business in the early days largely Pink Dandelion is published by the Friends Association because they couldn’t enter higher education. This is for Higher Education at £15.44. ISBN: 9780998337449.

the Friend, 2 February 2018 15 a look at the Quaker world [email protected]

An inspiring exit Photo: imagesbystefan.com / flickr CC. / flickr Photo: imagesbystefan.com

A visit to the British Museum’s exhibition ‘Living ‘It was not attributed to anyone but I had a strong with Gods: people, places and worlds beyond’ has reaction and was drawn to write immediately. This is inspired one Friend to put pen to paper. my reply…’ The exhibition examines how people believe, rather than what, by exploring stories, objects, images, It is the turn in my ribs prayers and rituals. It builds on a Radio 4 series of as I breathe thirty programmes that are available on BBC iPlayer. It is the thickness of silence Lesley Morris, of Witney Meeting, told Eye that It sits under the yew tree ‘Living with Gods’ was ‘wonderful’ and the content in the throat of a bird ‘arranged in a new and illuminating way’. It is a thread in my DNA She went on: ‘At the exit to the exhibition were the It lies in the curved cup of my skull words: and the arch of my instep It is the colour I can’t yet see It is wholly indeterminate and the sound that remains It has no specific traits when the noise has abated It is entirely ineffable It hovers in the mist It is never seen above a blade of grass It is not accessible. on a Spring morning A tongue-in-cheek tale A weather eye

A jocular offering from Jamie Wrench, of Southern Connie Hazell, of Marches Area Meeting, tells the story of four people. Their names? Bournemouth Meeting, spied a Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody… mention of Friends in a history of forecasting in a November edition ‘There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to of the Daily Express: do it. Everybody knew Anybody could have done it, but was sure that ‘The term “weather front”… – Somebody would do it, so didn’t do it himself. meaning the weather that arises ‘In fact, Nobody did it. along a narrow zone where warm ‘Everybody got angry about that, because as far as Everybody was air meets cold – came from the concerned, although Anybody could have done it, Somebody really zones of trenches in the first world should have done it. war. It was coined by Lewis Fry ‘Anybody could indeed have done it (and Everybody thought Richardson, a pacifist and Quaker, Somebody might have asked him to), but Nobody realised that who was attached to an infantry Everybody wouldn’t do it, so Nobody did it. division as an ambulance worker… ‘So, in the end, Everybody blamed Somebody because Nobody did [He was an] uncle of the actor what Anybody could have done. Ralph Richardson and the great ‘Which is a bit rich when you think Everybody was asked to do it in uncle of Julian Hunt… who ran the the first place.’ Met Office in the 1990s.’

16 the Friend, 2 February 2018 2 Feb 29/1/18 16:54 Page 7

Friends&Meetings Deaths Quaker Peace Studies Trust Gwendoline (Gwen) BARKER 16 January, peacefully at St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester. Member of Eva Pinthus Awards Chichester Meeting. Aged 95. In recognition of the many contributions for peace made by Eva Funeral and Quaker Meeting to Pinthus, awards are offered of up to £5,000 to Quaker students celebrate her life at Chichester studying peace at the University of Bradford in 2018-19. Crematorium 3.30pm Wednesday 7 February. Further information at www.evapinthusaward.wordpress.com Details from Christy Bischoff, [email protected], or Robert CLARK 25 January, peace- telephone 01274 921 379. fully. Partner of Susan Costello. Closing date for applications: 1 April 2018. Registered charity 529095. Member of Friends House Meeting, formerly Westminster. Aged 71. Funeral 11am Thursday 8 February Meetings BORN TO FLY, A DAY WITH at Golders Green Crematorium. MARGARET SILF Saturday 24 February. 10.30am-4pm. £30 BOURNE END MEETING FOR Dennis COMPTON 17 January (£20 Concession) at The Meditatio WORSHIP at Bourne End Centre, London EC1R 1XX. after a brief illness. Husband of the Community Centre, Bucks SL8 5SX, late Betty, father of Jane, grand- Enquiries/booking: 020 7278 2070 for a trial period following a meeting or [email protected] father of Mary, Heidi, Joseph and in January. Further meetings on Jack and great-grandfather of Mondays 5 February and 5 March, Poppy. Member of Witney Meeting, SEEING THROUGH THE GREAT 10–10.40am. Supported by High DELUSION with George Wilson, formerly of Blackheath, Faringdon Wycombe LM. [email protected] and Oxford, and with Betty former Saturday 3 March, 10.30am–4pm. warden at Charney Manor. Aged 101. £30 (£20 Concession) at The Funeral at 12 noon Wednesday Changes to meeting Meditatio Centre, London EC1R 7 February at South Oxfordshire 1XX. Enquiries/booking: 020 7278 Crematorium, Garford, Abingdon. MACCLESFIELD MEETING 2070 or [email protected] Enquiries to Jennifer Barraclough, From 4 February regular Meeting Witney LM co-Clerk 01993 883648 for Worship on first Sunday each Notices or [email protected] month only at King Edward Street Unitarian Chapel at 2.30pm. Other TRUSTEES OF THE QUAKER Calls for contributions Meetings in Friends homes. For INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL details, please call Tom North TRUST (QuIET) responsible for 01625 425038. Bunty (Ida) BIGGS (1919-2017) Brummana High School Lebanon, Gloucestershire AM are seeking are pleased to announce that the PRESTON MEETING HOUSE will Board of Governors of the school material suitable for inclusion in a be closed for renovation. From Testimony to the Grace of God in have appointed a successor to Dr Sundays 14 January - 1 April inclusive Walid Khoury (Principal since Bunty's life. Remember especially Meeting for Worship will be at her work during/after WW2 with 2001). David Gray, currently Head 10.30am at 23 Foregate, Fulwood, of Erskine Stewart’s Meville Schools evacuees and in Germany; in South Preston PR2 8LA. Enquiries to Africa as clerk of YM, Black Sash Edinburgh and a former governor the Clerk, Don McQueen: of The Mount School, York, will and advocacy for victims of forced 01772 729974. removals; and finally with Amnesty, take up the post in January 2019. Labour Party and Oxfam. Vernon Paul High [email protected] Gibberd, Foxdown, Marsh Lane, Diary Follow us on Facebook: Leonard Stanley, GL10 3NJ. www.facebook.com/ quakerinternationaleducational trust 01453824863 [email protected] MUSICIANS FOR PEACE AND DISARMAMENT Concert for For how to place a notice on Peace. Emma Kirkby and colleagues. Stay in touch and let this page please contact our Music for voices, lute and viola da Advertisement Manager, gamba. Speaker: ex-MP Martin Bell. everyone know... Thursday 22 February 7.30pm, George Penaluna, email Rosslyn Hill Chapel, London NW3 Be sure to put all your [email protected] or tele- 1NG. Tickets on door. family announcements in phone 01535 630230. [email protected] the Friend!

the Friend, 2 February 2018 17 2 Feb 29/1/18 16:55 Page 8

Classified advertisements George Penaluna, Advertisement Manager, 54a Main Street, Cononley, Keighley BD20 8LL Tel: 01535 630230 E: [email protected] volunteers where to stay COTTAGES & SELF-CATERING 1652 COUNTRY, HOWGILL, SEDBERGH. VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY. GUESTHOUSES, HOTELS, B&BS Quaker One-bedroom 4 star holiday cottage. Tapestry, Kendal. Stay one/two weeks in Yorkshire Dales National Park overlooking our on-site flat (sleeps 3) in the Lakes. B&B AT WOODBROOKE, BIRMINGHAM. Explore Birmingham and the Midlands Firbank Fell. Walks and Quaker trails from Enjoy welcoming visitors in our exhibition the door. B&B also available. Tuesday-Saturday. £50pp pw contribution or relax in 10 acres of gardens and woodland. Close to Bournville and public www.AshHiningFarm.co.uk requested. Book now for February - Dec- Jim Mattinson 07774 281767. ember 2018. [email protected] transport. Wonderful library, delicious meals, Friendly welcome. Great value. Book at www.woodbrooke.org.uk or call A WARM PEMBROKESHIRE WELCOME 0121 472 5171. awaits you in 2 cosy well equipped services offered cottages each sleeps 4. Woodburners, sea views, coastal path 2 miles. 01348 LIVE-IN CARER/COMPANION. CAUTLEY, SEDBERGH, 1652 COUNTRY 891286. [email protected] Our family is looking for a good position Cross Keys Temperance Inn (formerly www.stonescottages.co.uk for the wonderful carer who has looked home of early Quaker Gervase Benson). after our wheelchair-bound mother for Quality en-suite B&B £42.50pppn. Evening meals available. Friendly Quaker CORNWALL, 14TH CENTURY COTTAGE the past 4 years. Her skills and experience overlooking sea. £195-230 pw. Short cover all personal care, meal preparation hosts. 015396 20284. [email protected] www.cautleyspout.co.uk breaks. www.wix.com/beryldestone/ and helping with simple physical exercises cornishcottage 0117 951 4384. and keeping the house spotless. She has experience of early dementia care. EDINBURGH. City centre accommodation Excellent references. Contact: 01280 at Emmaus House. Tel. 0131 228 1066. COUNTRY COTTAGES near Ludlow. 848989 or [email protected] www.emmaushouse-edinburgh.co.uk Walking, wildlife. Short breaks. Families. Email: [email protected] Pets. Green awards. Ffriends’ discount. Scottish charity SC042957. 01547 540441. Classified ads www.mocktreeholidays.co.uk Standard linage 59p a word, semi- THE DELL HOUSE, MALVERN. Relaxing COTSWOLDS. Spacious barn conversion display 89p a word. Rates incl. vat. B&B for individuals, couples and groups Min. 12 words. Series discounts: in Charlbury near Woodstock. Sleeps 2+. (up to twenty). Vegetarian options. Perfect Woodburner. Lovely walking. 01608 10% on 5 insertions, 15% on 10 or for walking, historic houses, gardens. more. Cheques payable ‘The Friend.’ 811558. [email protected]. www.thedellhouse.co.uk / 01684 564448. www.cotswoldsbarn.com

DELIGHTFUL COTTAGE. Picturesque village in North York Moors. Superb views. Sleeps 6. Garden, Aga, open fire. Perfect base for walking holidays. [email protected]

SHREWSBURY MEETING HOUSE. Simple accommodation for one or two ACKWORTH SCHOOL Friends/Attenders. No set charge but Ackworth, Pontefract, West Yorkshire WF7 7LT appropriate donations requested. Booking clerk: [email protected] or tel. Tel: 01977 611401 E-mail: [email protected] 01743 860793.

SIMPLE PEACE AND QUIET. West Cornwall. GENERAL MEETING Cottage on smallholding. Sea view. will be held at the School on Sleeps 2. Tel. 01736 763803. Saturday 12 May 2018 OVERSEAS HOLIDAYS • The Meeting is an opportunity for all members of Britain Yearly Meeting to see the School. We hope that as many as possible will attend to see ENJOY 'REAL' GREEK VILLAGE. the exciting work undertaken. Ffriend offers tailormade week's holiday. Relax and plan (together) to explore • Members wishing to attend on a personal basis are asked to make countryside, beaches, culture, cuisine... contact with the School, to receive associated papers. Private suite, large garden, semi-home • In addition to the normal business, this meeting will be asked to stay. Contact Anne: 07732 782118, approve alterations to the Rules for Government of Ackworth Schoool. [email protected] Details of these alterations and copies of the Rules, and the full agenda, are available from the Bursar. SOUTHERN FRANCE Centre Quaker Congénies. Walk, cycle, lovely valley. Share From 10.30am Coffee camaraderie/worship with Friends. Relax in our pleasant garden. S/C Kitchen. 3.45pm Tea and dispersal www.centre-quaker-congenies.org or call Jane Wheatley - Clerk of Ackworth General Meeting +33 466 71 46 41, +33 466 35 27 16. Registered charity no. 529280.

18 the Friend, 2 February 2018 2 Feb 29/1/18 16:55 Page 9

RETREAT/HOLIDAY RESIDENCE in SW France. Broadband. Quiet village location. books courses & events Near rail and air. www.faugeres.co.uk Contact: [email protected] with QUAKER UNIVERSALIST GROUP discount code: FHLSoF18. INNER LIGHT BOOKS Conference on Truth. 13-15 April 2018 at Editions concerning traditional Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, Quaker Faith & Practice Birmingham. The annual QUG conference accommodation is entitled Quaker understandings of truth For a list of publications or for more – in religion, in a Quaker context and in WANTED information on particular titles visit the media. Our three guest speakers are www.innerlightbooks.com Ben Wood, Joycelin Dawes and Stephen MATURE WOMAN, WRITER/EDITOR, or write: Editor, Inner Light Books Cox. Full-time residential cost £220. sense of humour, seeks room with Wifi to 54 Lapidge Street Details are on our website: rent in London area, use of kitchen and San Francisco CA 94110, USA http://qug.org.uk/ or contact Tony bathroom, for minimum three months, Philpott (2 Willow Rise, Haddenham, starting March. Maximum rental £100pw. Aylesbury, HP17 8JR). References/deposit can be supplied. Please mention the Friend whenever Please contact gill.trethowan@gmail. com you reply to an advertisement. miscellaneous

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the Friend, 2 February 2018 19 2 Feb 29/1/18 16:55 Page 10 vol

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