Who we areWe
are a group of Quakers, most of whom are appointed as representatives
by Quaker Area Meetings in the North of Britain. Our purpose,
from our 1913 founding meeting, is ‘to advise and encourage Friends,
and through them their fellow citizens, in the active promotion of
peace in all its height and breadth’. We employ a full-time
Co-ordinator and part-time paid administrative help.
What we doWe
meet together and develop a range of activities, which are some-times
led by project groups. These address concerns under the broad
headings of ...
- Supporting Quakers’ peace witness
- Promoting a culture of peace and
- Challenging militarism
To these ends we...
- Arrange events, such as conferences and workshops.
- Produce resources, from printed materials to electronic media.
- Respond to enquiries on Quakers and peace and provide information and support to individuals and groups.
- Contribute a Quaker peace voice to other events and networks.
Some current areas of activity
(March 2008)Peace, Faith and RaceWe
are organising a series of conferences for Quakers and others to come
together to explore these areas of concern, particularly in relation to
the ‘unpeace’ that some parts of the country have experienced in their
communities.
Through these we are encouraging learning,
dialogue and action, and are also planning to promote wide
understanding and action for peace.
Challenging MilitarismThe
peace testimony of Friends is a tradition that seeks both to promote
peace and to oppose the military approach to resolving conflicts.
We seek to support Quakers and others in taking action to these ends
and are ourselves involved in giving voice at different levels.
We
promote peaceful and prayerful acts of witness at military bases in the
north of Britain – such as at Faslane in Scotland and at Menwith Hill
in Yorkshire. We provide briefing materials on particular aspects
of militarism and resources for people to use in their own acts of
witness. We also address these concerns directly to government,
both through correspondence and through meetings with officials.
Speaking our PeaceTwo
strands of work come under this heading. One is a series of
‘Peace Learning Days’ in which Quakers and others spend a day hearing
input from invited speakers on a particular peace-related theme and
work together in discussion, analysis and reflection. The other
strand is Speaking our Peace workshops, events for participants to
practice and to support one another in developing skills for
articulating our peace concerns in a clear and peaceful way. We
also maintain a weblog (peacepeaces.blogspot.com)
in order to a) promote a wider awareness of the range of initiatives
for peace being undertaken around the world and b) highlight valuable
resources to help understand and address peace concerns.
Young PeopleWe
are in the early stages of developing work for young people, having
taken on board comments and reflections from our members and from
younger Quakers in different parts of the north of Britain. We
are also looking at ways of encouraging wider participation by young
people in our existing activities.
How you can get involved and helpOur
work is funded chiefly by Quaker meetings in the north of Britain,
along with support from individuals. Any additional support is always welcome and we have a newsletter and mailing list to keep in touch with our funders and supporters.
Although
our activities mainly involve our members, we like to meet, reflect and
learn with others, Quakers and non-Quakers, in different parts of the
North. We particularly value the occasions when a Quaker Meeting
hosts us and joins with us in exploring particular peace
concerns. We can also involve other Quakers in our project work.
Please use the form below if you would like to learn more or to support our work in any of the ways indicated.
Send
this to: NFPB, Victoria Hall, Knowsley Street, Bolton BL1
2AS or email your enquiry to: nfpb@gn.apc.org, or phone
01204 382330
Your Name:
Address:
Email: Phone:
- Please add me to your newsletter mailing list [ ]
- I enclose a donation for your work
(payable
to Northern Friends Peace Board)
[ ] - Please send me a list of your publications and resources [ ]
- Please tell me more about: ...........
- I would like to be involved and my particular concerns/ interests/skills are: ......
- Please
get in touch with me with information about hosting NFPB for an event
at my Local Quaker Meeting [ ]
Northern Friends Peace Board, Victoria Hall, Knowsley Street, Bolton BL1 2AS
Tel: 01204 382330
Email: nfpb@gn.apc.org
Web: nfpb.gn.apc.org
Charity Number: SCO: 24632
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