Dear Friends
What did it mean to be a Quaker in 2023? How was our faith expressed in our communities and in the world? What difference did our Quakerism make, to ourselves, to the people around us, to the planet we share?
We live in a time of crises: a crisis of peace, with wars on the doorstep of Europe; a crisis of justice, with poverty and inequality rising; a planetary climate crisis, with lives and livelihoods being lost to global heating; a crisis of wellbeing, with mental health suffering; a crisis of integrity, with truth in public life harder to find and democratic freedoms under threat.
In a time of crises, our simple form of worship sustains us and provides a refuge from the busyness and turbulence of the world around. In a time of crises our radical faith commits us to action in the world for peace, justice and truth. In a time of crises our spirituality, our connection with the divine, gives our lives meaning, inspiration and strength.
In Friendship,
Paul Parker, Recording Clerk
Simple. Radical. Spiritual.
As an expression of Quaker faith, these three words get straight to the point. Ours is, after all, a simple spirituality that inspires us to embody and work for the radical change needed in the world.
Developed by Quakers in Wales, ‘Simple. Radical. Spiritual.’ was the theme of Quaker Week 2023. Quaker communities across Britain seized the opportunity to attract new people and share their faith. Outreach events included climate vigils, talks on Quaker peace work and art exhibitions.
In Wales, Quaker Week was held in August to coincide with Eisteddfod. Welsh-speaking Quakers went along to the week-long cultural event and held meetings for worship in the festival field. We helped them reach out to festival-goers with bilingual T-shirts, badges and tote bags.
Recognising truth
In response to Quakers’ growing concern for integrity in public life, we set up the Quaker Truth and Integrity Group. To recognise exceptional contributions by a British individual or organisation to the enhancement of truth and integrity in public life, the group awarded the first Quaker truth award to investigative journalist Carole Cadwalladr.
To help foster honest, respectful dialogue and find a common way forward, our public affairs team held a quiet diplomacy dinner in Westminster and the Quaker Truth and Integrity Group held two webinars. Truth and integrity was also a key topic of discussion at Yearly Meeting 2023, at which Diane Randall gave a talk on how US Quakers are working to uphold democracy by speaking the truth.
Calling for equality
After four years of being Churches Together in England’s ‘empty chair’ president, Hannah Brock Womack explained how it felt to be prevented from taking up the role.
At Yearly Meeting, Esther Loukin (left) delivered the annual Swarthmore Lecture. In it she focused on inclusivity and asked how we can change society.
Meeting in the spirit
We were delighted to welcome 1,500 Friends to Yearly Meeting 2023, 240 of whom attended for the very first time. Many useful discussions were held on the theme of truth and integrity:
“Quakers can show leadership and offer counsel that will help [address] the degradation of public truth, the climate and ecological crisis, and divisive public commentaries around people’s identities and associated rights.”
Yearly Meeting Epistle
Friends also explored how we can simplify our structures to release energy and prevent overlap:
“We are seeking changes that could release energy within our corporate structures, emphasise the importance of spirit-led discernment, allow wider and more diverse participation in decision-making, and improve communication…”
Minute 30
We look forward to continuing our discussions on truth and integrity and Quaker structures at Yearly Meeting 2024 in July.
Thriving Quaker communities
Connecting children and families in Scotland
Friends in Scotland can be widely dispersed, and most meetings aren’t regularly attended by children. Quaker children and families can feel lonely and unwelcome in adult Quaker spaces, leading them to leave meetings. This is a devastating loss to our faith community.
We’ve found that residential and weekend events that bring Friends together from across Scotland are a great way to help dispersed children and families feel in tune with each other.
So we turned to our CYP Advocates, who promote the inclusion of children and young people in the life of Quaker meetings. Supported by our local development worker in Scotland, they organised and ran a Children and Families Weekend in May 2023.
Young people, parents, carers, and grandparents all came together for fun, worship and community-building at the Atholl Centre in Pitlochry, Perthshire. The theme for the weekend was ‘Peace at the heart’, inspired by the travelling exhibition that later called in at Holyrood.
The weekend helped build connections and foster honest sharing among age groups. We heard continuing support for young Friends’ Summer Shindig and a clear understanding of the principles of the ‘Peace at the heart’ exhibition, plus potential new venues for its tour.
Friends were made and bonds developed across the vast geographical distances of Scotland. The weekend really strengthened our all-age community. We can’t wait for the next one!
“It was really nice and fun. I loved playing with all the children. It’s good to see other people from my culture and what I believe in, because I don’t really see that a lot.”
An 8-year-old who attended the weekend
Embracing our differences
Together with our Inclusion & Diversity Coordinator, our local development worker for North West England has been working with elders at Liverpool Meeting (right) to create a more inclusive community. They have established a series of online and in-person events to explore how the eldership team can be truly open to all Friends in the meeting, respecting and valuing their differences.
Liverpool Friends are now working on a statement of inclusive beliefs and behaviours for the meeting to affirm, which could then be used as a template for other Quaker communities. While there is still plenty to do, Friends in Liverpool have told us they already feel a renewed sense of connection with the meeting.
Photo: John Hall
Charitable changes
In September we held a conference for Quaker trustees and treasurers in Milton Keynes and online. Under the theme ‘Spirited governance: what does Quaker renewal require of us?’, Friends came together to explore a range of topics. These included imagining and responding to the future, our meeting houses, and encouraging more Friends and attenders to give.
A key thread running through the conference was how we resource our meetings financially, spiritually and practically. We looked at the differences between a role in Quaker governance and a similar role in a secular charity. Friends learnt how charity structures are changing and how this might affect their area meetings.
“For me, renewal includes remaining relevant, with messages that speak to people’s condition today.”
Fit for the future
Our local development worker for Cumberland & North East England has been supporting local Friends to develop Pardshaw Quaker Centre as a resource for Quakers and the wider community. Their vision is of a place for worship, relaxation, learning, and creativity, as well as for short, affordable breaks in a peaceful setting.
In late 2022 Cumberland Area Meeting, as owners, granted a seven-year lease to Friends of Pardshaw Quaker Centre. They set themselves up as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and have now attracted sufficient pledged funding for everyday maintenance and minor works. In 2023 they were granted planning permission to reinstate the original 1729 main door, upgrade the large meeting room and make the building accessible.
Our local development worker has focused on helping Pardshaw Friends to explore funding and ways to attract new groups to the Centre. Their aim is to preserve the heritage of the site while making it appealing to future generations.
Nationally, we continue to offer online and in-person events to help Friends manage their Quaker premises. During 2023 our ‘Meeting House Matters’ online events provided vital support, information and opportunities for discussion to Friends running meeting houses.
Find out more about managing Quaker property.
Together in truth
In April young people aged 15 to 18 gathered in Northamptonshire for Junior Yearly Meeting (JYM). They engaged deeply with the theme of ‘Speaking truth to power’:
“I learnt that everyone’s truth is different, but as Quakers we sit in a circle of equality where views unite and create a force to bring change and light to our worlds.”
“Speaking truth to power can be applied in everyday life. It doesn’t have to be an act of protest or defiance, just being true to yourself.”
Swarthmoor Hall
After extensive renovations, Swarthmoor Hall reopened in April 2024 for retreats, pilgrimages and visitor tours. The 17th-century house in Cumbria was home to the Fell family. When George Fox visited in 1652, it became the headquarters of the budding Quaker movement.
Its reopening coincides with the 400th anniversary of George Fox’s birth, and a host of events are planned. In mid-July Swarthmoor Hall will celebrate the role of George Fox and Margaret Fell in the founding of Quakerism. The week will include music, family activities, crafts, talks and tours, culminating in a garden party at the Hall.
Find out how you can get involved in the George Fox 400 celebrations.
Disciplined revision
The Book of Discipline Revision Committee has now completed initial drafts of 11 of the 22 planned topics for the new book.
These include revisions of the two topics shared with Friends in 2022. Based on their feedback, Friends are broadly happy with the ‘voice of the book’, the accessibility of the text and the balance of drafted text and quotations. Friends also encouraged the use of inclusive language to make sure all audiences feel seen and heard.
The committee aims to have all topics drafted by the end of 2025. It has also begun to explore the overall structure of the book and how to approach interconnecting topics.
There's still plenty of time for Friends to contribute to the development of the new book of discipline.
A sustainable and peaceful world
Righting wrongs
Since committing to addressing the lasting injustices of the slave trade, Quakers in Britain have been looking at ways to make practical reparations. In June we had positive discussions on reparations and restorative justice with a delegation of Jamaican Christians. And in October our Deputy Recording Clerk gave a speech at the APPG-AR UK Reparations Conference.
Our Reparations Working Group has been building connections with others working on reparations, and with communities affected by the legacy of the slave trade. Quaker meetings in Britain have begun to consider how they might engage with reparations.
Caption: Pastor Stephen Jennings with fellow Jamaican Christians at Friends House in June 2023. Photo: Michael Preston for Quakers in Britain
Pushing for peace
In September Quakers came in numbers to London’s biennial DSEI arms fair to protest the human cost of the arms trade. And in November Telford Quakers opposed an arms fair at the Telford International Centre.
As violence escalated in Gaza, we called for an immediate ceasefire and urged the international community to recognise that only a just peace based on international law will bring a permanent end to the violence.
In a widely read blog the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel explained how we can all act in solidarity with those suffering as a result of the conflict.
In December, during a week of action, we delivered letters to the Russian and Ukrainian embassies in London, calling on them to safeguard the right to conscientious objection to military service. This universal right is guaranteed under Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which both countries are party to.
Climate justice
A year of learning and spiritual reflection
“This has been an extremely informative course. Although I started with feelings of despair about the future, I have experienced hope and joy throughout. I think this is being part of something bigger than myself. I feel connected. Thank you.”
In August our Exploring Faith and Climate Justice programme came to an end. In 2023 we explored what happens if we don’t focus on justice, how we might live in right relationship with the earth and what solidarity and friendship look like across social justice movements.
The programme was a great success. We brought together around 100 Quakers and Quaker-curious people from across the UK, as well as from the USA, Uganda, Kenya and Burundi.
Coming together for a hybrid gathering
After the course Woodbrooke and Quakers in Britain staff worked with a small group of programme attendees to design and organise a follow-on gathering. This took place in November and was the first hybrid gathering of its kind. It offered attendees a space to come together and reflect on their year of learning. It was a great opportunity for people to dream, foster new connections and take forward conversations on the themes that had emerged.
Disrupting unjust systems
Across the world, communities are rising up to oppose dangerous fossil fuel projects and demand that insurers protect communities, not polluters. In April we published an open letter from 24 faith leaders to Lloyd’s of London, a major insurance company that covers much of the global energy market. We asked Lloyd’s to stop insuring new fossil fuel projects, and in particular to rule out the East African Crude Oil Pipeline.
The letter was published and reported on in The Times, an unprecedented media appearance for the Insure Our Future campaign. We followed up with a vigil, at which we handed a copy of the letter to the Lloyd’s Head of Security. We also supported Quakers to attend the AGMs of two major insurance companies, and ran workshops to share the insurance campaign with interested Friends.
We attended our third Make Polluters Pay Action Day. Highlights included our striking stunt outside Parliament that captured media attention and saw the Make Polluters Pay campaign mentioned in local and national newspapers. Quakers took part in lots of local actions to explain why polluters must pay for the environmental loss and damage they have caused.
We continued to connect and galvanise faith voices speaking out for climate justice. By joining Make Polluters Pay and Insure Our Future campaigns, as well as jointly hosting prayer vigils during Interfaith Week and COP28, we strengthened our collective voice.
Putting peace at the heart of schools
Our peace education team has been busy promoting the recommendations of its Peace at the heart report. The report shows that schools that have embraced peace education have increased wellbeing, reduced exclusions and enabled rights to flourish.
In August 2023 we previewed our ‘Peace at the heart of Scottish schools’ travelling exhibition at the AGM of Scotland’s largest teaching union, the EIS. This allowed staff to present the exhibition and explain the report’s principles and proposals directly to teachers.
Quakers in Britain now has provider status from the Scottish Trades Union Congress and has partnered with the EIS to offer teacher training.
Meanwhile, Mary Troup – CYP Advocate for Quakers in Scotland – worked with children from Glasgow’s Oakgrove Primary School and students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland to stage a musical performance of Jeanette Winter’s Wangari’s trees of peace in the Scottish Parliament.
Their performance, on the International Day of Peace, was greeted by a standing ovation. Michelle Thomson MSP, who sponsored the event and our exhibition, said it was a privilege to hear their work in Parliament.
The following week gave us the chance to share the exhibition with MSPs as they went to and from the chamber. We discussed how peace education could be strengthened and promoted a motion that has won cross-party support.
The performance at Holyrood brought together MSPs and representatives of organisations engaged in peace and mediation work in Scottish schools, including Peace Education Scotland and the IDEAS network. These organisations are now keen to work more closely with Quakers in Scotland to rekindle political support for peace education.
“We’ve developed a lot since we first started… and it’s important that young people’s voices are heard in places like the Scottish Parliament.”
A pupil from Oakgrove Primary School in Glasgow
Thank you
It’s only because of your generosity that this work can happen. Giving to Quaker work gives us the means and the profile to make a real impact, as a thriving faith community working nationally and internationally for peace, justice, equality and sustainability. To support this work with a gift, visit www.quaker.org.uk/giving.
Legacy giving has always been important for Quaker work. The generosity and deep values of Friends who came before are very much by our side. They put their faith into action for a sustainable and peaceful world. If you would like to give the gift of Quakerism to the next generation, please contact us at contributions@quaker.org.uk so we can tell you more.
Moving forwards with your support
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