QUAKER UNIVERSALIST GROUP NEWSLETTER MARCH 2025
Dear QUG supporter
Annual Conference – April 25th to 27th 2025
High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, and online.
Women’s Spiritual Journeys
Here is the latest news about our conference. The conference is now full for participants at High Leigh, but there are many places available online. We feel that £45 for the whole weekend is good value for money, so do apply to join us on Zoom.
All the details, including application forms, are on our website. Please go to https://qug.org.uk/conference-2025-women-and-spirituality/ There is also an application form at the end of this newsletter.
Please either send the completed form by email (e.g. as an attachment) to contact@qug.org.uk or by post to QUG Conference, 2 Willow Rise, Haddenham, Aylesbury, HP17 8JR.
The various talks and activities will include:
- Women, the divine and spirituality.
- Women and Quakers.
- Women and their spiritual journeys.
- Women and their spiritual thinking.
- Women mystics and art.
- Women’s activism and spirituality from different cultures.
Some people have come to our conferences with their fees paid, in part or in full, by their area or local meetings. Do ask your Quaker meetings for help if necessary. It is useful to us too if you report back to your meetings: this makes QUG better known to Quakers in general.
Anyone can come to our conference. You do not have to be a Quaker or a member of QUG to attend.
We have an exciting line-up of speakers. Rhiannon Grant, who spoke last October at the national Future of Quakerism conference, will give two talks. Janet Monahan will lead a workshop on differences in thinking between women and men. Dora Bek will chair and speak at a session entitled ‘some women’s spiritual journeys’: she will be joined by others. Frances Martin will talk to us online about women, art and spirituality. Susan Norris will lead the Saturday epilogue. Finally, Georgina Wright will give the concluding talk to the conference on the Sunday. As usual, there will also be breakout groups, free time, meeting for worship and the QUG AGM.
Our Wednesday evening meetings for worship and sharing
These are our next three meetings:
April 16th Lee Drummond will talk under the title A Quaker Animism and a Heathen Relational Cosmology.
May 21st Paddy Watkins will talk about her spiritual journey.
June 18th Thecla Geraghty will introduce the meeting, with a provisional title of Friends in Many Faiths.
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
Conference 2026 – Music and Spirituality across the World
Our conference in April 2026 has already been booked in Launde Abbey in Leicestershire. It will be about music and spirituality across the world.
We hope to include speakers from different faiths. For example, you may know possible speakers who are members or attenders at Quaker meetings. If anyone knows someone who they think might help could they please let our committee member Peter Varney know as he is gathering ideas for the conference. Speakers can come from anywhere but as the conference will be at Launde Abbey we hope Friends in Leicestershire or nearby might know someone who would find the centre easy to reach.
If you would like to help plan this conference, or have any ideas of possible speakers and topics, please email Peter Varney at peterv@qug.org.uk.
QUG at Britain Yearly Meeting
QUG will have a presence at Yearly Meeting this May, so do join us if you can.
All the Special Interest Meetings are online and ours is on Saturday May 3rd at 12 noon. Our speaker will be Georgina Wright. The title of her talk will be Women’s activism and spirituality.Georgina is a teacher, blogger, poet and novelist. Her novel The Call of the Wild Valley was published in 2023.
We will be in person at the Groups Fair at Friends House in London on Saturday 24th May from 12.45 to 14.15. Do come and talk to us and look at our publications.
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
The application form for the conference is below
QUG Annual Conference Booking Form – 2025
Friday 25th April at 6.00 pm to Sunday 27th April 2025 at 2.00 pm
High Leigh Conference Centre, Lord Street, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 8SG
Please indicate one participation option below by writing YES against your preference. If residential, you can pay a deposit now to secure your place, or pay in full.
Option 1- Residential: per person: £290. Deposit £60 (non-returnable)
Option 2- Residential couple* sharing a twin room: £500. Deposit £120 (non-returnable)
*please provide the second person’s name and special requirements on a second form and submit both forms together.
Option 3- Zoom Participation only: £45 (Please make full payment)
Special Note: If you are unable to attend the conference, having paid, we regret that we will not refund your money. If you have any concerns, e.g. due to health issues, please make your own insurance arrangements.
Attendee Name: ___
Address: ___
Post code: ____
Tel no: ___
E-mail: ___
Do you need an accessible room? YES / NO
Do you require a lift or wheelchair access? YES / NO
Please state any specific dietary requirements (e.g. food allergies, vegetarian, gluten free, pescatarian, lactose intolerant, vegan or any other dietary requirements):
Please indicate one payment option below by writing YES against your preference:
A) Bank transfer to: TSB. The Quaker Universalist Group. Sort Code: 30-97-35. Account No: 00016421. Please use Reference ‘QUG25-Your Surname‘ (e.g. QUG25-SMITH) to ease payment tracking.
B) PayPal – Please ensure you provide full contact details so collection by PayPal can be arranged with you.
C) Cheque (payable to The Quaker Universalist Group) and post to 2 Willow Rise, Haddenham, Aylesbury, HP17 8JR.
NB. The balance of conference payments must be received by Friday 28th February 2025
Please send this booking form by email to contact@qug.org.uk
or by post to: QUG Conference, 2 Willow Rise, Haddenham, Aylesbury, HP17 8JR
Please Book Early – to secure your place
If you do not receive an acknowledgement within three weeks please contact us.