Our region has four Area Meetings: Banbury & Evesham, Chilterns, Mid-Thames, and Oxford & Swindon. Twice a year we take it in turns to host a Sharing and Learning day for the region.
At our next meeting we will look at, and celebrate, the key elements of Quaker spirituality and our shared assumptions as a faith group. The day will be led by Ben Pink Dandelion, a prominent Quaker teacher and researcher. The meeting will be held at Swindon Meeting House.
For more information, visit The Heart of the Quaker Way.
5 April 2025 at 10:30 – 16:00 Regional Meetings
Venue: Jordans Meeting House
Yearly Meeting in 2022 asked British Quakers to consider what reparations might be made for our part in transatlantic trafficking of enslaved people, colonialism, and economic exploitation, We were challenged to discern what love and justice required of us. Our region focused on these questions at our meeting in Jordans in March 2023, much enriched by thought-provoking input from 4 Kenyan Quakers.
At this upcoming regional meeting, two years on, we will take stock of where we are now, and hear more about developments within our region, elsewhere in Britain, and in the wider Quaker world. For example, during that time BYM Trustees have established a Reparations Working Group to advise on what could be done at BYM level. And in August 2024, representatives of Quakers around the world met in Johannesburg and online; one of the three key themes was Healing relationships in the light of historical and ongoing injustice. We’ll hear something about both of these.
We’ll also reflect on the picture across BYM. Some British Friends have been thinking about this for a while, some only more recently. Some haven't started yet, and some question the need to travel in this direction or whether other journeys are more urgent. Some point out, quite rightly, that we have poverty in the UK, and great inequality, and suggest that this should be the priority. Other meetings and Quaker groups are looking what they can do, and some are taking action. All these responses can be found in our region and this will be an opportunity to share and learn from each other.
If you are interested in coming, please email office@jordansquakercentre.org and we will send you more information nearer the time.
10 May 2025 at 10:30 – 15:00 OSAM Meetings
Venue: Faringdon Meeting House
AM in the morning; spiritual nurture session in the afternoon. Refreshments will be provided, but please bring your own lunch.