Dear QUG supporter
QUG at Yearly Meeting Online Gathering
We were delighted that Rex Ambler came to speak to us online at our special interest meeting under the title of Time and Eternity on Saturday July 24th. About 60 attended. Rex’s talk was followed by discussion in breakout rooms, then we reassembled and Rex answered our questions. Rex’s talk and the final question and answer session can be heard on our website at https://qug.org.uk/posts/.
Rex has written up his talk and added three practical meditations which can be carried out individually or in groups. See Pamphlet 44 (below).
We were also present at the online groups fairs on July 24th and 25th. Again there were many fascinating conversations – between QUG committee members and people who ‘dropped in’ online. This had an international dimension, only possible in the virtual world.
Our Conference in 2022 – Health and Healing – Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, Birmingham – April 1st to 3rd
Plans are well advanced for our next conference. This will be a blended conference.
Hopefully, many of us will be able to go to Woodbrooke. However, others may prefer to attend online and we aim to integrate the two groups of people as much as possible. Since we will be based at Woodbrooke using cameras, microphones etc. operated by a technician we will have to charge for both those going to Woodbrooke and (with a lesser charge) those attending online.
We have booked the following speakers:
Dr. Neil Morgan – Physical, mental and spiritual health.
Neil trained in medicine and psychiatry and worked as a Consultant Medical Psychotherapist in the NHS for twenty years. He now has a full-time private practice, as a psychoanalyst. He is a Quaker who lives in St. Albans and frequently writes in the Friend.
Pauline Frykman – The healing ministry amongst Quakers.
Pauline (and other colleagues) will represent the Friends Fellowship of Healing, one of the largest single interest groups in the Religious Society of Friends in Britain. Pauline is a Quaker who lives in Yorkshire.
Ranald MacDonald – Healing in Eastern cultures.
Ranald has practised Chinese medicine and taught Tai Chi for forty years. Ranald is a Quaker attender and lives in Devon.
Dr. Monica Janowski – Health and healing in the context of the Kelabit people of Borneo.
Monica has been a lecturer at Sussex University and at SOAS, University of London, and is currently a research fellow at the Sarawak Museum and SE Asia curator at Hull University. She has been carrying out research among the Kelabit of Sarawak for more than 30 years and is currently researching beliefs and spiritual practices relating to dragons, water and the natural environment among indigenous groups, Malays and Chinese in Sarawak. She is a Quaker, finding her own spirituality rooted in nature, and has recently trained as a forest bathing guide. Monica divides her time between London, Hull, Sarawak and Abruzzo in Italy.
The conference will be a programme of talks, discussion in breakout groups, practical sessions, meeting for worship, social time, free time, etc.
We hope soon to finalise the application process and we aim to send out the application forms through the newsletter at the beginning of December. We will explain how to apply and what the costs – both at Woodbrooke and online – will be.
New Pamphlets available
We are pleased to announce that the two pamphlets following our 2021 conference have now been printed. All members of QUG have had (or will have) them free. However, they are also available to purchase for non-members, at £4.00 each. We recommend that you buy both of them, since together they give a thorough universalist study of Life, Time and Eternity. The total number of pages is 108, so we think the two pamphlets are good value!
The contents are as follows.
Pamphlet 43 – Life, Time and Eternity Part One
From an anthropological perspective
Peter Varney
From a Christian perspective
Philip Young
From a Muslim perspective
Arif Hussain
From a Zen Buddhist perspective
Murray Corke
Pamphlet 44 – Life, Time and Eternity Part Two
From a Hindu perspective
Sharada Sugirtharajah
From a scientific perspective
Julian Barbour
From a Quaker perspective
Rex Ambler
From a universalist perspective
Peter Varney
Tony Philpott
The pamphlets can be obtained in the usual way, from Tony Philpott.
Either: email him (tonyp@qug.org.uk) and pay by bank transfer to TSB. The Quaker Universalist Group. Sort Code 30-97-35, Account No: 00016421.
Or: write to him (2 Willow Rise, Haddenham, Aylesbury, HP17 8JR) and send him a cheque made out to ‘The Quaker Universalist Group’.
In both cases do not forget to include your postal address.
Universalist
The October 2021 edition has just been printed and it will be sent out shortly. If you don’t get Universalist on a regular basis then do join us as a member – see below.
We are now looking for articles for our next edition in February next year. We welcome any articles related to universalism. Please send articles to Tony Philpott (by replying to this email), or directly to the Editor of Universalist, Shona Lowe, at shonal@qug.org.uk. The deadline for receiving articles for the February 2022 edition of Universalist is November 30th 2021.
Living with More than One Tradition
Three members of the committee took part in this online conference organised by Woodbrooke in October. It was interesting to us because it posed the question as to the relationship between QUG and interfaith work. Nationally, Quaker interfaith work is co-ordinated by QCCIR, the Quaker Committee for Christian and Interfaith Relations (see https://www.quaker.org.uk/our-organisation/our-structures/quaker-committee-for-christian-and-interfaith-relations).
QCCIR sees its role to ‘enter imaginatively into the life and witness of other faith groups to create bonds of friendship and mutual understanding.’ We suggested at the conference that QUG can contribute to this understanding by trying to answer the many questions which arise when one encounters world views different to one’s own. If you have any comments on these matters do write to us by replying to this email.
Online regular meeting for worship and/or discussion
It has been suggested that QUG, like some other Quaker organisations or groups, could arrange a regular online meeting for worship, perhaps accompanied by some discussion on a universalist topic.
At present the QUG committee feels it cannot take on any more responsibilities, but if anyone reading this newsletter is interested in arranging regular worship and/or discussion, or taking part in such activities, then please write to contact@qug.org.uk.
Conference 2021 on the website
This is a reminder that the talks at this year’s conference on Time, Life and Eternity can be heard on our website at https://qug.org.uk/conference-2021-life-time-and-eternity/. In addition, on the same web page there are many further links suggested by one of our committee members, John Carvosso, if you want to follow up the ideas in any of the talks.
Membership of QUG
Renewals for QUG membership were due on 1st January 2021, so to renew your subscription for this year (or to join QUG for the first time) please complete the membership form at the end of this newsletter.
As a member you receive two free issues of our journal Universalist each year plus a free copy of the QUG pamphlet (or pamphlets) which contains the written papers/articles from the conference. You will also be supporting the work of QUG.
Whilst most members choose to receive Universalist as hard copies, the option is also available to receive them in e-form, at a reduced membership rate.
If you are a UK member the annual subscription rate for an e-mail copy of Universalist is £12.00 and for a paper copy £18.00.
If you have a paper copy you can get extra copies of Universalist at £12.00 per annum per extra copy. You may also request to receive Universalist in e-form as well, at no extra cost.
If you live outside the UK, or have any questions, please consult us by emailing contact@qug.org.uk or by replying to this newsletter.
If you include an email address on the application/renewal form we will put you on our e-list to receive e-newsletters unless you request otherwise.
New members will receive two free pamphlets of their choice.
We encourage members to take out a standing order because this is very helpful in reducing the work for your volunteer committee. You can also pay by cheque (made out to QUG) or by direct transfer (in which case please notify the Treasurer of who you are, the date and the amount so that he can identify your payment).
Membership forms (including our bank details) are at the end of this newsletter or on our website at https://qug.org.uk/membership/
We have left some gaps below to help you if you wish to print directly from this email.
Contacting us, questions and unsubscribing
If you have any questions or wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter please send an email to Tony Philpott at tonyp@qug.org.uk.
The Membership Form follows:
QUG Membership Form 2021
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