Forty-five Friends attended the NFPB meeting held on 28th February, with most present at Darlington Meeting House and a number also online. This first meeting of the year took place on the day that news was coming through of the military action by the United States and Israel against Iran. The Board agreed a short … Read more
It will be no surprise to report that Friends involved in our work have found the context for promoting and taking action for peace very challenging this year. We hope it is also no surprise to note that Friends and others find it really important to meet with one another, to share concerns, ideas and … Read more
NFPB gathered in York, with some also online, for our third meeting of the year. Friends joined us from across the North – from North Scotland to Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Area Meeting, North Wales to North Yorkshire. We had invited Rachel Julian to give a talk on Building Peace in Troubled Times. Rachel is Professor … Read more
In an earlier blog piece, we shared the text of a statement from Northern Friends Peace Board made shortly after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. It was as clear then as it is to us today that nuclear weapons are both morally abhorrent and certaintly not a route to peace. For those … Read more
Thirty-one Friends gathered on 28 June, with 19 at Edinburgh Meeting House and 12 online during the day. As with our previous meeting in March, there had been significant events in relation to war and peace in the weeks leading up to the meeting, from the UK government’s reviews of defence and security, to the … Read more
The government’s ‘Strategic Defence Review’ was published last week, setting out an agenda for increases in nuclear weapons capacity, in the use of drones for warfare, in promotion of militarism to young people and wider society, and in arms production, amongst other points. All in the name of ‘war-fighting readiness’ and arguing that this provides … Read more
We are pleased to announce that we have received from the printers copies of our publication – Responses to War. Contributions cover responses that include the personal, practical, political and spiritual, informed by Friends’ insights and experiences from a range of backgrounds. We hear from peacebuilders, campaigners and academics as well as Friends who have … Read more
The very widely-reported forced-entry by police into Westminster Quaker Meeting House on 27 March has caused NFPB concern and alarm. We uphold those directly affected by this incident and those: – seeking to find nonviolent ways of expressing legitimate dissent to pressing issues of peace and climate justice; – working for change to the punitive … Read more
NFPB members met at the end of September, gathering at the Quaker Meeting House in Penrith and online via Zoom. We were joined by Ruth Harvey who, as well as being a Penrith Quaker, is currently serving as leader of the Iona Community. Ruth had been invited to talk about the Community’s peace concerns and … Read more
The weekend before the UK General Election, NFPB members gathered in Glasgow and online for their second full meeting of 2024. Parliamentary engagement We were pleased to be joined by Sarah Komashko, the Parliamentary Engagement Officer for Quakers in Scotland. In a full and informative presentation, Sarah gave a good insight into the ways that … Read more