Category Archives: General Quaker interest

General Quaker interest, MfW+Creative Conversation, NFN Events, Non-theism

MfW + Creative Conversation Thursday 7th September

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Dear Friends,
We hope this note finds you well.  We are back from our summer holiday and hope you will join us for our next Quaker Meeting and Creative Conversation in September.  
7 September’s QM+CC at 7PM BST/2PM EDT by Zoom, will introduce the concern, Thank God for Nontheism.
General layout: 
• Zoom Room opens at 6:45PM UK time, please arrive early.
• 7PM UK time: Welcome and Quaker Meeting (~20 minutes): Sharing silence with one another for quietly gathering ourselves and connecting.
• Creative Conversation and Discussion (~1 hour): Different participants will introduce a thought provoking, occasionally debatable question, brief statement, and/or reading.  This will be followed by an inspired discussion amongst all participants for creative exchanges and opportunities to disagree.
• Conclusion: Thoughts and a few moments to share silence.
• After Announcements the Zoom Room will remain open for friendly chats and community.
• Duration:1hr:30m-2hr:00m

Additional information about our QM+CC can be found on our website.

If you are interested in attending and have not registered for our Creative Conversations, please email clerk@nontheist-quakers.org.uk to register
If you previously registered, there is no need to re-register, you are on the list.  You will automatically receive Zoom links to this and subsequent Meetings, approximately one week before each Meeting and a reminder the day of.  We ask that you please do not share the Zoom link with interested Friends, but encourage them to email the Clerk (clerk@nontheist-quakers.org.uk) to register. You may unregister/unsubscribe at any time by replying to this email address.

In Friendship,
The QM+CC Working group (Gisela Creed, John Senior, William Purser, and Kiera Faber)
Nontheist Friends Network, UK

General Quaker interest, Publications

Articles and newsletters

2 Comments

No newsletters have been produced since August 2022. This is because the general view (of members and Steering Group) seems to be that newsletters are no longer necessary given our regular monthly meetings online and email communications. But see Tim’s comment below. In addition, we have no-one who wants to produce one. It is possible that occasional newsletters may appear in future – probably in email form.

But do have a scroll down through NFN Articles from 2012 to 2023 here, (https://nontheist-quakers.org.uk/articles/) where you will also find all the newsletters from 2013 to 2022.

General Quaker interest, NFN Events

Nontheist Friends (NTF) – Stateside News

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Mary Pagurelias and other nontheist Friends in America are establishing further regular online meetup groups.

Mary wrote recently:
1. NTF Discussion is a Monthly Sunday Gathering. There is a “planning” or “steering” committee that has a basic function of keeping us organized . Anyone who attends this Monthly Discussion can and is welcomed to offer a topic, query, reading, etc and can adjust the time of the gathering.

2. Our Tuesday “contemplative group” meets twice a month on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays at 4:00 PM EDT.

3. A Saturday “contemplative group” will be meeting for the first time this Saturday, July 8 at 11:00 AM EDT.

4. Anyone who wants to start a group in their time zone at an hour and day that is most convenient for them. So, Izzy, Gerry, Trevor, Elizabeth, et. al. can have one that meets their needs.

What we see here is that we are building a wonderful world-wide community … something we have all been craving for far too long.
Build it and they will come… (I have no idea who said that but it is true.)

LOVE
Mary

To convert EDT (Eastern Daylight time I think) to British Summer Time, add 5 hours or 6 hours for Central European Summer Time.

Friends can get in touch via the NTF google group: https://groups.google.com/g/nontheist-friends?hl=en  and see the NTF website here: https://nontheistfriends.org/email-discussion

News from the NTF website (which updates automatically from their RSS Feed I think) can be found at the foot of the right-hand column here (on a laptop) but their most recent update is from December 2021! These items are reproduced here (and should all open in a new tab or window):

General Quaker interest, MfW+Creative Conversation, NFN Events

MfW + Creative Conversation – Thursday 1 June – Building Community

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My sincere apologies for not posting this before the meeting! Posted now for completeness of the record. Sorry I was unable to attend due to travelling at the time.  More to follow and see you in September! Trevor

A friendly reminder!  This is our last QM+CC till we resume in Autumn.  If we miss you, have a brilliant and enjoyable summer.  Take care.

Yours,
NFN QM+CC working group

1 June’s QM+CC will introduce the concern Building Community.

Please arrive early, as the Meeting will start promptly at 7PM BST/2PM EDT.  The Zoom Room opens at 6:45PM.
Format:
• Zoom Room opens at 6:45PM (UK time), please arrive early.
• 7PM: Welcome and Quaker Meeting (~20 minutes): Sharing silence with one another for quietly gathering ourselves and connecting.
• Creative Conversation and Discussion (~1 hour): Concern introduced; followed by interactive discussions in break-out rooms and in the plenary with all participants.
• Conclusion: Thoughts and a few moments to share silence.
• After Announcements the Zoom Room will remain open for friendly chats and community.
• Duration:1hr:30m-2hr:00m
You will automatically receive Zoom links to subsequent Meetings, approximately one week beforehand and a reminder the day of.  There is no need to re-register. We ask that you please do not share the Zoom link with interested Friends, but encourage them to email the Clerk (clerk@nontheist-quakers.org.uk) to register. You may unregister/unsubscribe at any time by replying to this email address.

You will automatically receive Zoom links to subsequent Meetings, approximately one week beforehand and a reminder the day of.  There is no need to re-register. We ask that you please do not share the Zoom link with interested Friends, but encourage them to email the Clerk (clerk@nontheist-quakers.org.uk) to register. You may unregister/unsubscribe at any time by replying to this email address.

See you soon!

In Friendship,
The QM+CC Working group (Gisela Creed, John Senior, William Purser, and Kiera Faber)
Nontheist Friends Network

General Quaker interest, MfW+Creative Conversation, NFN Events, Non-theism

MfW+Creative Conversation Thursday 4 May – Are Nontheist Quakers Humanists?

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Dear Friends,
We hope this finds you well.  Many thanks to John Richter for inspiring participants to reflect and share diverse perspectives during April’s Meeting.
Please join us for our next Quaker Meeting and Creative Conversation in May.
4 May QM+CC at 7PM BST/2PM EDT by Zoom, will introduce the concern, Are Nontheist Quakers Humanists? (A conversation between Friends).
For additional context and preparation, we encourage you to enjoy a talk delivered by Andrew Copson, executive director of Humanists UK (British Humanists Association), from NFN’s July 2021 conference, That’s the Spirit! – Dimensions of Spirituality.
You can also read David Boulton’s QUG pamphlet ‘The Faith of a Quaker Humanist‘.
General layout: 
• Zoom Room opens at 6:45PM UK time, please arrive early. 
• 7PM UK time: Welcome and Quaker Meeting (~20 minutes): Sharing silence with one another for quietly gathering ourselves and connecting. 
• Creative Conversation and Discussion (~1 hour): Different participants will introduce a thought provoking, occasionally debatable question, brief statement, and/or reading.  This will be followed by an inspired discussion amongst all participants for creative exchanges and opportunities to disagree.
• Conclusion: Thoughts and a few moments to share silence. 
• After Announcements the Zoom Room will remain open for friendly chats and community. 
• Duration:1hr:30m-2hr:00m Additional information about our QM+CC can be found on our website. If you are interested in attending and have not registered, please reply to this email.If you previously registered, there is no need to re-register, you are on the list.  You will automatically receive Zoom links to this and subsequent Meetings, approximately one week before each Meeting and a reminder the day of.  We ask that you please do not share the Zoom link with interested Friends, but encourage them to email the Clerk (clerk@nontheist-quakers.org.uk) to register. You may unregister/unsubscribe at any time by replying to this email address.In Friendship,
The QM+CC Working group (Gisela Creed, John Senior, William Purser, and Kiera Faber)
Nontheist Friends Network ALL are welcome to attend Nontheist Friends Network events regardless of Membership, beliefs, and/or religious affiliation. If you would like to support NFN and our endeavours, please consider renewing your membership, becoming a new member, or making a donation by filling out our Membership and Donations Form.  Thank you in advance for your generous support!
General Quaker interest, NFN Events, Non-theism

MfW+Creative Conversation Thursday 6 April – Steps to Fulfillment

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Dear Friends,
We hope spring is finding its way to you and that this note finds you well.  Many thanks to David Boulton for sharing with us in March and inspiring an engaging discussion.
Please join us for our next Quaker Meeting and Creative Conversation in April.
6 April’s QM+CC at 7PM BST/2PM EDT by Zoom, will introduce the concern, Steps to Fulfillment.
General layout: 
• Zoom Room opens at 6:45PM UK time, please arrive early. 
• 7PM UK time: Welcome and Quaker Meeting (~20 minutes): Sharing silence with one another for quietly gathering ourselves and connecting. 
• Creative Conversation and Discussion (~1 hour): Different participants will introduce a thought provoking, occasionally debatable question, brief statement, and/or reading.  This will be followed by an inspired discussion amongst all participants for creative exchanges and opportunities to disagree.
• Conclusion: Thoughts and a few moments to share silence. 
• After Announcements the Zoom Room will remain open for friendly chats and community. 
• Duration:1hr:30m-2hr:00m Additional information about our QM+CC can be found on our website. 

If you are interested in attending and have not registered, please  email the clerk as below.

If you previously registered, there is no need to re-register, you are on the list.  You will automatically receive Zoom links to this and subsequent Meetings, approximately one week before each Meeting and a reminder the day of.  We ask that you please do not share the Zoom link with interested Friends, but encourage them to email the Clerk (clerk@nontheist-quakers.org.uk) to register. You may unregister/unsubscribe at any time by replying to this email address.

In Friendship,
The QM+CC Working group (Gisela Creed, John Senior, William Purser, and Kiera Faber)
Nontheist Friends Network 

ALL are welcome to attend Nontheist Friends Network events regardless of Membership, beliefs, and/or religious affiliation. If you would like to support NFN and our endeavours, please consider renewing your membership, becoming a new member, or making a donation by filling out our Membership and Donations Form.  Thank you in advance for your generous support!

Conferences, General Quaker interest, Publications

News from Quaker Universalist Group UK

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I thought nontheist Friends might be interested to see the latest news from QUG and reproduce their recent newsletter below with a last opportunity perhaps to book a conference stay at Woodbrooke before it closes in the autumn.

I have not included the QUG conference application form so you will need to go through their website if you did want to book (12th-14th May).

QUAKER  UNIVERSALIST  GROUP  NEWSLETTER MARCH 2023

Dear QUG supporter

Our annual conference in 2023 – Friday May 12th to Sunday May 14th at Woodbrooke and online

Universalism and Creativity – how creativity expresses and enhances spirituality across the world.
We have been writing to you about our forthcoming conference for some months, and we urge you to apply now if you wish to come. Although places may be available nearer the time of the conference, to guarantee your place please apply now.

As you may have heard, Woodbrooke will close to the public by 31 October 2023 (see https://thewoodbrookecentre.co.uk/) so this is your last chance to attend a QUG conference at Woodbrooke. This is an extra reason to come in person to Woodbrooke this year!

Our topic is universalism and creativity. We will explore this through our speakers, through practical work and in small groups. There will also be plenty of time to socialise and (at Woodbrooke) enjoy the house and grounds.

We have six speakers and we expect all or most of them to be at Woodbrooke throughout the conference. Further details of the speakers are on our website, but, in brief, they are (with the title of their talks):

Helen Otter – An Introduction to Creativity and Spirituality: An Artist’s View

Philip Gross – What’s Living in the Space Between Us – Poetry, Collaboration, Listening

Jaana Erkkilä – Creativity and Nature in the Nordic Tradition

Roger Hill – Daoism and Creativity

David Brown – Despacho (prayer bundle) in the context of Shamanism

Charles Monkhouse – The Spirituality of Colour

The conference is from Friday May 12th at 6 p.m. to Sunday May 14th at 2 p.m. We encourage you to attend the whole conference, but rates for those who can’t come to the whole conference are on the application form.

Costs for the weekend are £250 at Woodbrooke. There are a few rooms available for two people sharing and this will cost £425. To join us online (for any part of the conference) the cost is £40.

All are welcome. You do not need to be a Quaker or a member of the Quaker Universalist Group to attend.

Application forms are available on our website https://qug.org.uk under ‘Conferences’ and we have put a form at the end of this newsletter which you can fill in and post, or send as an email attachment. The email address and postal address of our Conference Applications Secretary are on the form.

Monthly meeting for worship and sharing
Our meetings for worship and sharing continue by Zoom on the third Wednesday of each month.
The next two are:

  • Wednesday March 15th – Introduction by Trevor Bending under the title A nontheist’s view of God and …
  • Wednesday April 19th – Introduction by John Tissandier under the title Nonduality.

The meetings start at 7.00 p.m. The Zoom will open at 6.45 p.m. We send out reminders two or three days beforehand to everyone who has registered. If you do not have the joining instructions and would like them please send an email to contact@qug.org.uk

QUG at Britain Yearly Meeting – April 2023
As usual, QUG will be present at Britain Yearly Meeting. Our events are:

  • Saturday 22nd April – Our Special Interest Meeting online. Title – The future of faith and religion.Speaker – Peter Varney. From 9.30 to 10.45 a.m. Programme – talk, breakout groups, plenary.
  • Saturday 22nd April – Groups Fair online – 5.00 to 6.30 p.m.
  • Saturday 29th April – Groups Fair in person at Friends House, London – 1.00 to 2.00 p.m.

We hope to meet many of you online or in person. The Zoom joining codes will be available through the BYM website.

QUG Annual Conference 2024
We are planning our 2024 conference. It will be on the topic of the future of faith and religion (though the exact title is still being discussed). Since Woodbrooke will be unavailable, we are looking at alternative venues. We will inform you of dates and venue when we have more information. In the meantime, if you have experienced conferences at venues to which you would recommend we make enquiries for 2024, please do let us know as soon as possible at  contact@qug.uk.org

Universalist – February 2023

If you are a QUG member you should have received the February Universalist. We have had one or two reports of the package coming without stamps, and members having to pay a sum to the post office to retrieve the package. We are very sorry about this.

We are looking for more articles for the October 2023 Universalist: articles should be sent to contact@qug.org.uk by July 31st 2023.

QUG Membership
We do encourage you to join QUG if you have not already done so. Our journal Universalist is well worth a read, as is the pamphlet we produce in the summer following our conference. E-copies of Universalist cost £12.00 per year and hard copies £18.00 per year. Hard copies of the pamphlet are sent to all members.
Renewals for QUG membership for 2023 are due on the anniversary of when you last paid.

Full details of membership (including our bank details and a standing order form) are on our website https://qug.org.uk

Contacting us, questions and unsubscribing
If you have any questions or wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter please reply directly or send an email to contact@qug.org.uk

General Quaker interest, NFN Events

MfW+Creative Conversation – 2 March – David Boulton – Blessed are the peacemakers

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Dear Friends,
Thank you for registering for our Quaker Meeting and Creative Conversation, organized by the NFN, UK.

2 March’s QM+CC will introduce the concern Blessed are the peacemakers
How should we interpret our Peace Testimony in the light of current world conflicts, particularly Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Are we pacifists, passivists or peacemakers? Our commitment to peace was rooted in a theistic understanding of what was required of us. When we have taken leave of God, what is the basis of that commitment? 
David Boulton is a former president of Friends Historical Society, a former editor of the CND journal Sanity and his books include Objection Overruled, described by The Observer as “the classic account of conscientious objection in World War 1”.
Please arrive early, as the Meeting will start promptly at 7PM GMT/2PM EST.  The Zoom Room opens at 6:45PM.
We ask that you please do not share the Zoom link with interested Friends, but encourage them to email the Clerk (clerk@nontheist-quakers.org.uk) to register. You may unregister/unsubscribe at any time by replying to this email address.
Format:
• Zoom Room opens at 6:45PM (UK time), please arrive early.
• 7PM: Welcome and Quaker Meeting (~20 minutes): Sharing silence with one another for quietly gathering ourselves and connecting.
• Creative Conversation and Discussion (~1 hour): Concern introduced; followed by interactive discussions in break-out rooms and in the plenary with all participants.
• Conclusion: Thoughts and a few moments to share silence.
• After Announcements the Zoom Room will remain open for friendly chats and community.
• Duration:1hr:30m-2hr:00m

You will automatically receive Zoom links to subsequent Meetings, approximately one week beforehand and a reminder the day of.  There is no need to re-register. We ask that you please do not share the Zoom link with interested Friends, but encourage them to email the Clerk (clerk@nontheist-quakers.org.uk) to register. You may unregister/unsubscribe at any time by replying to this email address.

See you soon.

In Friendship,
The QM+CC Working group (Gisela Creed, John Senior, William Purser, and Kiera Faber)
Nontheist Friends Network

Conferences, General Quaker interest, NFN Events

Meetings of interest to NFN members.

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Our next Meeting + Creative Conversation is due on Thursday 2nd March at 7pm UK time. https://nontheist-quakers.org.uk/events/

Nontheist Friends in America are having their next meeting online: “The next NTF online gathering will be at 4-5:30pm ET on February 26, the last Sunday in February. We will be responding to The Atheist’s Guide to Quaker Process: Spirit-Led Decisions for the Secular by Selden Smith (Pendle Hill Pamphlet #472). Happily, the author will be with us. He is eager to hear what you have to say.”

I think this will be 9-10.30 pm in UK, Ireland and Portugal and 10-11.30 pm in most of Europe but please check with a time converter from Eastern Time (East coast of USA).
You can find details on their google group: https://groups.google.com/g/nontheist-friends  (if you can’t access this you can email Robin Alpern <robin.alpern@gmail.com> with an explanation of your Quaker/nontheist interest to ask to join.) (Their website appears to be down again at present).

The Quaker Universalist Group (QUG) are having their next meeting for worship and sharing  on Wednesday February 15th at 7 p.m. It will be introduced by Hazel Barker under the title The Power of Intention. https://qug.org.uk/february-meeting-for-worship-and-sharing/

We are still looking forward to volunteers coming forward to organise an NFN Conference. In the meantime, QUG’s upcoming conference is at Woodbrooke: Friday May 12th to Sunday May 14th (At Woodbrooke and online) on the topic How creativity expresses and enhances spirituality across the world.
 https://qug.org.uk/conferences/conference-2023/

 

AGM, General Quaker interest, NFN Events

NFN Website Report 2022 (for Jan 2023 AGM)

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Our next Quaker Meeting and Creative Conversation will be on
2 February QM+CC at 7PM GMT/2PM EST by Zoom, and will introduce the concern, How have I reached a non-theist position – or have I?
Before the meeting, registered participants will receive the Zoom link along with a selection of questions and definitions to ponder.
Details have already been sent out by email and will follow here later. (Not the Zoom link, you should email for that if not already registered)

In the meantime, our AGM is  at 7pm UK time this Thursday the 19th of January 2023 and an agenda and the Zoom link to members will follow soon.

Here is my NFN Website Report 2022 (for Jan 2023 AGM) (.doc) (.pdf)

Trevor