Building a London-wide Quaker Community
You are invited to attend
a joint area meeting of the seven London Area Meetings
Organised by the clerks’ group of the seven London Area Meetings
on Saturday October 5th, 10.30 - 1.30
Hilda Clark Suite Friends House NW1 2BJ
Also blended online
Gather from 10.00 to start meeting for worship for business at 10.30
Proposed agenda to include
● 15 minutes all age worship
A parallel meeting for children and young people will then be facilitated by Julia Stacey
(London CYP Worker)
Parents and Carers are asked to complete a consent form when registering
● Introduction by the Elders and Clerks for this meeting
● Invitation for questions about the origin and form of the joint meeting
Previous papers and minutes available on the London Quakers website
https://londonquakers.org.uk/pan-london-governance/
● Community Building
● Coffee Break
● Are we ready to form a Nominations Committee?
● Appointment of the proposed names (up to two from each AM) to form the Nominations
Committee
● Consideration of the Terms of Reference for the London Development Group
● Report on the work of the London Development Group and Q & A
● Proposal to hold monthly Meetings for Worship for the Joint Area Meeting
● Date of next meeting(s) of the seven London area meetings
● Closing Worship with the children sharing their activities
Please register your attendance at
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/londonquakers/1373506
for logistics and to receive the Zoom link
You are welcome to eat your lunch in Friends House
or maybe go out with new and known friends
London Area Meeting Development Group
The main menu has change so there is a page for the development group. Minutes and announcements on it. THe former Steering Group has laid itself down.
Papers from the previous phase of work are now to be found under Commitment Papers. Someone told us that Commital is not to do with intention but with mental unwellness. Sorry.
What London Quakers
plan for 2024
London Quakers plan to run events as well as supporting meetings of the 7 AMs overseen by the London Area Meeting Development Group.
The Steering Group of London Quakers recognise that there's plenty to talk, discuss and learn about apart from governance, important though that is.
We will hold
- An active Hope workshop - September 28th
- Another event about reparations after Yearly Meeting when we have a better sense of the direction of travel of Quakers in Britain.
Where have the PLG papers gone to?
The Steering Group of Pan London Governance has laid itself down. Each of the 7 Area Quaker Meetings of London has been asked to appoint two members of a Development Group to take forward work on the governance of the Quakers of London.
We hope that names of these Development Group appointees will be known by the time of the meeting on 3rd February.
The PLG page and Plungs Papers page still contain:-
1 The very brief summary of the decision of the London AMs to move towards forming a single AM for London.
2 A summary of the decisions by the AMs plus a summary of ‘reservations’ retrieved from the AM minutes
3 A compilation of the minutes from the seven Area Meetings giving responses to the Invitation to Commit
4 Links to the papers upon which the Invitation to Commite was based.
We were reminded recently abot the August 2024 plenary meeting in South Africe of Friends World Committee for Consultation. These FWCC meetings bring together a group of Friends from all corners of the world. More information at https://fwcc.world/event/world-plenary-meeting-2024/ The theme of the World Plenary Meeting is ‘Living the spirit of Ubuntu: Responding with hope to God’s call to cherish creation – and one another’.
Welcome. Are you a Quaker living in or visiting London? Or someone who wants to find out more about Quakers, or find a meeting?
We aim to keep Quakers across London in touch with one another, and to give us a voice in addressing the wider world by organising events and helping us keep in touch with one another.
There are about forty Quaker meetings in London, grouped into seven Area Meetings. Most meet for worship each Sunday, and sometimes at other times too. Any of them will be glad to see you whenever you come.
Come and join us! Most of our events are open to all, just turn up. They are free, although some may have a collection. But if you cannot afford it, or don’t want to contribute, please don’t. We’d rather have you than not. (Courses are the exception – they have a small charge and need to be booked.)
Find your nearest Quaker meeting in London using our map facility.
Visit https://quakermeeting.org for an interactive tool to locate meetings throughout Britain.
Quakers are a free-thinking faith organisation with a long tradition of challenging accepted norms, helping the disadvantaged and working for peace.
Quakers seek to balance their inner and outer lives. We seek meaning and purpose by sitting in silence and stillness, waiting for promptings to guide our lives. For many, this leads to being actively involved in working to help others and change society for the benefit of all.
If you are already part of the Quaker community and would like to get involved in our initiatives or need help with your outreach, Discovering Quakers opens new insights.you can find out more here.
We aim to have Quaker internet material of interest to children, young people and their parents or carers. Read more…
Upcoming Events
Sat 14 September
THe Priests Tale
18:00-19:30
Venue: Wandsworth Quaker Meeting House, SW18 2PT,
A dedication to Peace has been central to Quakerism for centuries and we are delighted to be hosting a one-man play written and performed by our friend Michael Mears telling the story of a Hiroshima survivor, Protestant minister Father Wilhelm Kleinsorge,
The Priest’s Tale is the riveting story of a miraculous suitcase, a daring escape and the devastation wreaked on a city in a single instant by a nuclear bomb, and a clear-eyed depiction of the pity of the war and of the terror wrought at the start of our nuclear age. It is based on a 31,000 word article by American journalise John Hershey in The New Yorker in 1946. An note to the article said it had been published 'in the conviction that few of us have yet comprehended the all but incredible destructive power of this weapon, and that everyone might well take time to consider the terrible implications of its use.’
Given the expiration of the nuclear arms control START treaty in 2026 and the moves by the major players to update and increase their nuclear arsenals this could hardly be more topical.
Sun 15 September
Young Adult Quaker Meeting
17:00-18:00
Venue: Westminster Quaker Meeting House, 52 St Martin's Lane, London WC2N 4EA
3 March 2024 at 17:00 – 18:00
London Young Adult Quaker Meeting provides a supportive and nurturing space for young Quakers aged between 18 and 35 to connect, reflect, and share in silent worship.
It's also a great way to meet others who share our Quaker values and beliefs.
Takes place the first Sunday in every month at Westminster Quaker Meeting House
Sun 22 September
Quakers and philosophers
12:00
Venue: Wandsworth Quaker Meeting House SW18 2PT
Meeting for Learning after Meeting for Worship
Andrew Jack of Wandsworth Meeting will be talking about Philosophers and Quakers. Locke, Leibniz, Voltaire and Hume all wrote about Quakers. Some of what they wrote is funny. And we can learn about historical Quakerism’s relationship with Christianity by reading them. This will not be an academic talk but an opportunity to see Quakerism through the eyes of these eminent thinkers.