The Quill

Quakers in London's Online Community

Author: Josh

  • London Development Group update March 2026

    This group has been working together on the development of the single London Area meeting since March 2024, all the minutes of our meetings can be found on the QiL website.  We now have three part-time paid free-lancers supporting our work: Sarah Donaldson focusing on project management and legal matters; Linda Craig working on the financial aspects and Kayla Hemsley appointed to support the administration of QiL and the LDG work.

    This short report highlights the main matters we are dealing with at the moment:

    • Preparing a listing of the further matters for discernment in 2026 by JLAM.
    • Preparation of legal documents for the merger of existing Area Meeting charities and a timetable for required discernment leading to merger.
    • Preparation of guidance for friends on how we will assume individual membership within the new QiL charity.
    • Preparation of plans for the consolidation of AM funds across London and the management of day to day costs and income generated.
    • Planning for further briefing meetings with AM Clerks and AM Trustees.

    The LDG consists of Friends from each of the current AMs and LQPT, who are here to answer your questions and pass on any concerns, please reach out to them.

  • Notices Copy & Paste – April

    Clerks are busy people. To make their lives a little easier this page gives a list of up to date events and updates that can be copied and pasted into your own newsletters or after meeting notices.

    Quaker dialogues

    A series of events hoping to bring Quakers together from across London over shared interests. These could be one-off conversations, or could be the starting point for ongoing work and networking based on those topics.

    Future Quaker dialogues:

    • Online worship across London.  Can we build an online worshipping community across the city?

    22nd April  7pm  Online (Zoom details to follow) Postponed! More details to follow.

    With guest Ruth Moore Williams from North Wales AM, sharing her experience of setting up an entirely online Local Meeting.

    • Working with universities. How do we best engage with universities and colleges?

    21st May  7pm  Online (Zoom details to follow)

    With guest Helen Chambers from Bristol AM, sharing her experience of Bristol’s thriving university engagement.

    • A Gen Z Quaker revival?  Why are so many young adults coming through our doors, and how do we provide a spiritual home?

    TBC in June.  In person.  More details to follow.

    With guest Lamorna Ash, author of Don’t Forget We’re Here Forever: A New Generation’s Search for Religion.

    Being Quaker

    A Quaker course for newcomers.

    The course has now run four times across the city, providing space to explore the Quaker Way to around 60 new attenders.  These have all been evening sessions so far, so we are trying out weekend day-long sessions. There will also be children’s provision at these events, so please do encourage newer families to sign up too!

    There are two events “How do Quakers Worship?” and “How do Quakers Live?”  Both will contain different material, but people are free to sign up to one, or the other, or both as they see fit.

    • How do Quakers Live?  What are the testimonies? What does it mean to live a Quaker life? How do Quakers organise themselves? How have Quakers lives out their faith in the past?

    18th April   10am – 4pm.  Westminster meeting house.

    To book places on this course, please email beingquaker@londonquakers.org.uk specifying which of the days you would like to attend, or whether you plan to attend both.

    Also, this is the first time we are trying this format.  If you hear any feedback from Local Quakers, eg, I’d love to go, but its too long etc. then please do feed that back.  The plan is to put something on for people for whom the evening is difficult to make, so want it to be as accessible as possible.

    The Future of the Being Quaker course

    We are hoping to make the course a resource that would be easy for Local Meetings or Area Meetings to put on themselves. There is an online resource available to help with this, and Friends around London who have volunteered to help with hosting, speaking and organising events.  If this is something your LM or AM would be interested in doing, then please get in touch. 

    The hope is that we can put on a rolling programme of courses so that we can offer the best welcome possible to those who are exploring Quakerism for the first time.  (Often it seems the speakers and hosts get more out of the sessions that the participants, so I would definitely recommend giving it a go!)

    Quakers in London mail list

    I currently send these emails out as on a very ad hoc basis, mostly to clerks and other people in LMs that I know play a key role in sharing information.  Eventually I’ll just be using the Quakers in London mailing list, so if you haven’t signed up to that and still want to keep up to date with events, then please do sign up here.

  • Quaker Family Together Day – 8th March 2026

    Simply Joyful: Quaker Families Together at Walthamstow Meeting

    Hello, I’m Julia, the London Children and Youth Development Worker. As part of my job I work with local meetings from across London to run Quaker Families Together Days (QFTD)  At these events families come together to enjoy all-age worship, shared lunch and fun activities, all while exploring the Quaker testimonies. Recently Walthamstow meeting welcomed nine families from across London for our third QFTD. Our ages ranged from 9 months to 11 years old (well besides all the adults who declined to share their exact ages). 

    In the morning we shared a full hour of all-age worship. This was a first time experience for many adults and children alike, and it was embraced with open minds and souls. As we were exploring the simplicity testimony the children took turns reading the story “Too Much Stuff” and all were invited to create a collage about simple things they enjoy. Ffriends gave ministry in response to the all-age worship, and in afterword I thanked the meeting for warmly welcoming all-age worship. 

    We then enjoyed a delicious shared lunch, accompanied by lots of jolly conversation and running around in the garden. After this refreshment we said goodbye to the local meeting and got ready for exploring the simplicity testimony through games and crafts. 

    The afternoon activities were led by Laurie, who regularly facilitates the Walthamstow Children’s Meeting. We began by playing “the simplest games” which included tag and What Time is it Mr Wolf. Then we had to think about ways we could simplify the games further! Some suggestions included using a 24 hour clock for Mr Wolf or giving Mr Wolf a shorter working day of just 9:00 am – 9:00 pm (which feels very long still, Mr Wolf needs better working conditions).

    After these games we played with “the simplest toy” which was a massive pile of cardboard boxes and our imaginations. Great fun was had, from building houses, rowing a boat down the stream, to crafting a dazzling crown. Plentiful fruit, biscuits and squash was available to fuel the hard working imaginations. 

    Towards the end of the day everyone was invited to think of a “Family Journey through Meeting for Worship”. We plotted this out on paper, and thought of the challenges and obstacles families could face in coming to meeting, and what simple solutions there could be. One example was the difficulty of holding a baby and enjoying shared lunch at the same time. The solution is the parents will ask the meeting house to purchase a high chair. I would encourage every meeting to try this activity out, it showed that oftentimes the challenges are easily and simply remedied. 

    Finally we got ready to say goodbye, cleaning up all together. We all left tired, but very happy. And we left excited that our next QFTD is confirmed for 5 July at Streatham and Brixton meeting! Sign ups are already open, so mark it in the calendar and share the event poster far and wide. 

    We would like to host more QFTD this year. If your meeting is interested in hosting one of these events please get in touch at julias@quaker.org.uk You don’t have to have a children’s meeting to host, just an open heart and mind. 

    In friendship,

    Julia 

  • Attending the Newcomers Course at Bunhill Fields – Lucy Cane

    I do not remember exactly why I walked into a Quaker meeting for first time earlier this year. I do remember being struck by the peaceful atmosphere of the simple room behind a hectic high street, the way the silent worship created space in my mind, and the willingness of Friends to chat about politics after the meeting. When I heard there was an introductory course starting for newcomers across London, I signed up to discern if there was a space for me in this community.

    We met at Bunhill Fields on a Monday evening, an historical oasis of calm in the centre of the city. This first session focused on Quaker worship, and we were presented with a flow chart to help us determine when it is appropriate to speak – to deliver “ministry” – during meetings for worship. The first question in the flow chart was, “Is this a message from the Holy Spirit”? If one does not perceive one’s thought to be a message from the Holy Spirit, I learned, one must not speak. I suddenly felt that maybe my attending Quaker meetings had all been a mistake. I have never believed in a Holy Spirit, let alone one that speaks through me. What was I thinking joining a religious community?

    After mulling this over in my mind, I decided to share my doubts with the group. I was not ready to end my short-lived Quaker journey on the basis of a flow chart without first ensuring that I was understanding the guidelines correctly. I was relieved to find that my doubts were met with openness and interest. Others shared their own questions and doubts, none of which were taken to be disqualifying. While we did not reach any final conclusions about the Holy Spirit, I left the meeting feeling both calm and enlivened, both autonomous and connected.

    The second meeting focused on Quaker beliefs and lifestyle and, again, I carried in my doubts about whether I could square my belief that some circumstances justify armed resistance with the well-known Quaker commitment to pacifism. Our guest speaker reassured me, explaining that there is a range of opinion amongst Quakers on the question of pacifism. But surely, I objected, the Quaker commitment to a simple lifestyle would be disqualifying for me. (Only the day before I had ordered a large number of new books without first checking if they were in the library!) No, once again, my confession about the books was met with curiosity and humour as we discussed the various intentions one might have in acquiring books.

    As the Spring weather warmed up, we were able to start leaving the front and back doors to the meeting house open. The breeze and the gentle sound of birds wafted through the space as we sat and talked. Our third meeting was about Quaker business, and we grappled with the principle that Quakers must reach unity in order to make a decision. Some of us questioned whether a diverse group could ever really reach unity without supressing the views of dissenters. It was only after the session, when our guide Josh sent out the minute on Gaza from the Yearly Meeting, that I grasped how this was possible.

    When we met for our final session, we began by each sharing something we had learned so far. One Friend said, with relief, that she had learned that “not all Quakers are political activists.” I echoed, “not all Quakers are pacifists,” and a third Friend added, “not all Quakers are religious.” One might question whether, with all of this inclusivity, Quakerism is devoid of content. But I do feel that I have gathered some essence of the Society of Friends. It is within that feeling I was left with after our first session: a harmonisation of peace with critical questioning, of individuality with community. There is much more for me to understand about Quakers, but I now understand enough to keep coming back.

  • Focus: Being Quaker

    Focus: Being Quaker

    It has been exciting to see so many people across the city express an interest in our Quaker Way, with most of London’s Local Meetings reporting an increase in new Friends, especially among young adults.

    This poses the question – how well are we welcoming our new friends?

    Whilst some Local Meetings are able to put on their own newcomers sessions, some are unable to do this. This is why Being Quaker was launched. The idea was to put on a simple, London-wide course, exploring the central themes of Quakerism, that anyone in the city could attend.

    The first course ran in May of 2025 in Bunhill Fields with subsequent courses being held in Wimbledon, Westminster and Walthamstow meetings. A total of 60 participants, from 20 Local Meetings have taken part to date, with 25 Friends from across London helping with the speaking, organising, administration and hosting of the events. It truly has been a joint-London effort!

    Each session follows a very simple format. A couple of speakers will come and share their understanding on a certain theme, and then the rest of the time is given over to discussion and questions. Many of those attending have already done extensive research before ever setting foot through the doors of a Meeting House, so the course provides more of an opportunity to ask questions and build confidence more than anything else.

    Now that Being Quaker has been established and has run several times, the hope is that Local Meetings will take it on, and think whether they might be able to host the next series of sessions. Resources are available online and there is a list of Friends from across the city who are willing to serve as speakers, hosts and administrators, so there is lots of support to make it happen.

    If you think you or your Local Meeting might be interested in organising the next Being Quaker course, email beingquaker@londonquakers.org.uk.

    Those who have been involved with running the course often seem to get more out of the experience than the participants, often stating that there is something truly infectious about the excitement of someone who has recently discovered the Quaker Way.

    For a report written by a participant who attended the Bunhill Fields course, click here.

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