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Homosexuality And Quakerism
The views of Quakers around the world towards homosexuality encompass a range from complete celebration and the practice of same-sex marriage, to the view that homosexuality is sinfully deviant and contrary to God's intentions for sexual expression. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is a historically Christian religious movement founded in 17th-century England; it has around 350,000 members. In Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, many Quakers are supportive of homosexual relationships, while views are divided among U.S. meetings. The majority (52%) of Quakers live in Africa, and though views may differ, the Kenyan Church of Friends does not support homosexual relationships. Friends' policy and decision-making Since Quaker decision making is generally based on seeking "unity" at the level of a Monthly meeting (convened periodically for business, and more often for worship, and is the basic unit of Quakerism—a meeting is equivalent to a single congregation, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Same-sex Marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Same-sex marriage in Mexico, Mexico, constituting some 1.35 billion people (17% of the world's population). In Same-sex marriage in Andorra, Andorra, a law allowing same-sex marriage will come into force on 17 February 2023. Same-sex adoption, Adoption rights are not necessarily covered, though most states with same-sex marriage allow those couples to jointly adopt as other married couples can. In contrast, 34 countries (as of 2021) have definitions of marriage in their constitutions that prevent marriage between couples of the same sex, most enacted in recent decades as a preventative measure. Some other countries have constitutionally mandated Islamic law, which is generally interpreted as prohibiting marriage between same-sex couples. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ireland Yearly Meeting
The Ireland Yearly Meeting is the umbrella body for the Religious Society of Friends in Ireland. It is one of many Yearly Meetings (YM's) of Friends around the world. A notable aspect of the Ireland YM is that it encompasses meetings with widely divergent Christian viewpoints from theologically conservative (evangelical) to theologically liberal. All meetings under its care are in the Religious Society of Friends#Unprogrammed worship, unprogrammed tradition. It also includes meetings both in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland. Structure In Ireland there are 28 local (preparative) meetings. These are grouped into 7 regional Monthly meetings, which are in turn grouped together in 3 provincial (quarterly) meetings. The three quarterly meetings together constitute the Ireland YM. There are between 1000 and 2000 Friends in Ireland. ''The Friendly Word'' is a bimonthly magazine published by Quakers in Ireland. The Friends Burial Ground, Dublin is in Temple Hill, Black ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Pacific Yearly Meeting
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is related to the Old High German ''nord'', both descending from the Proto-Indo-European unit *''ner-'', meaning "left; below" as north is to left when facing the rising sun. Similarly, the other cardinal directions are also related to the sun's position. The Latin word ''borealis'' comes from the Greek '' boreas'' "north wind, north", which, according to Ovid, was personified as the wind-god Boreas, the father of Calais and Zetes. ''Septentrionalis'' is from ''septentriones'', "the seven plow oxen", a name of ''Ursa Major''. The Greek ἀρκτικός (''arktikós'') is named for the same constellation, and is the source of the English word ''Arctic''. Other languages have other derivations. For example, in Lezgian, ''kefer'' can mean b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friends For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, And Queer Concerns
Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC) is a faith community within the Religious Society of Friends in USA. Purpose From a minute approved in 1999, FLGBTQC states: FLGBTQC publishes a semi-annual newsletter, which is received by 1,500 individuals and Quaker Meetings worldwide. The group maintains a collection of Marriage Minutes by Quaker Meetings regarding same-sex marriage. FLGBTQC has also sponsored the publication of Each of Us Inevitable, (), a collection of talks about coming to terms with one's identity and direction. Membership FLGBTQC holds twice-yearly Gatherings, one in February and one in July at the Friends General Conference Annual Gathering of Friends. Most participants live in the United States, which is where all of the February Gatherings (and all but one of the July ones) have been held for over twenty-five years. History FLGBTQC's origin comes from groups founded in the 1970s, when gay and lesbian Friends were first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Friends General Conference
Friends General Conference (FGC) is an association of Quakers in the United States and Canada made up of 16 yearly meetings and 11 monthly meetings. "Monthly meetings" are what Quakers call congregations; "yearly meetings" are organizations of monthly meetings within a geographic region. FGC was founded in 1900. FGC-affiliated meetings are typically in the "unprogrammed" Quaker tradition, though there are some Friends churches with pastors. "Unprogrammed" means that worship is based on silent waiting for the Spirit's inspiration, without a pastor or a prepared order of worship. As of 2022, there are approximately 32,000 members in over 650 congregations (called meetings or churches). Friends (Quakers) affiliated with FGC tend to be theologically liberal and more socially progressive than Friends in other branches of Quakerism in North America, though FGC welcomes Friends with diverse experiences and points of view. FGC's programs include an annual week-long conference called "T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
England And Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law. The devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament; cy, Senedd Cymru) – previously named the National Assembly of Wales – was created in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the Parliament were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass its own laws, and the Act also formally separated the Welsh Government from the Senedd. There is no equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the parliament and government of the United Kingdom. History of jurisdiction During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, except f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 (c. 30) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales. Background Civil partnerships were introduced in the United Kingdom in 2004, allowing same-sex couples and couples of whom one spouse had changed gender to live in legally-recognised intimate partnerships similar to marriage. It also compelled opposite-sex couples to end their marriage if one or both spouses underwent gender change surgery, or if the couple was not recognised in law as having male and female gender. Following the 2010 General Election, in September 2011, Liberal Democrat Minister for Equalities Lynne Featherstone launched a consultation in March 2012 on how to introduce civil marriage for same sex couples in England and Wales. The consultation closed in June 2012 and, in December 2012, the new Minister for Women and Equalities, Maria Miller, stated that the Government would be introducing legislation " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Civil Partnerships In The United Kingdom
Civil partnership in the United Kingdom is a form of civil union between couples open to both same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples. History Civil partnerships were introduced for same-sex couples under the terms of the Civil Partnership Act 2004. In February 2018, the United Kingdom and Scottish governments began reviewing civil partnerships, potentially to expand them to include opposite-sex couples. In June 2018, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that restricting civil partnerships to same-sex couples was incompatible with the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights as enacted in Schedule 1 to the Human Rights Act 1998. The UK Government was obliged to change the law to allow opposite-sex couples in England and Wales to enter into civil partnerships. This change was unsuccessfully opposed by the Church of England and many Christian denominations. Opposite-sex couples have been able to enter into civil partnerships in England and Wal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swarthmore Lecture
Swarthmore Lecture is one of a series of lectures, started in 1908, addressed to Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). The preface to the very first lecture explains the purpose of the series. “This book is the first of a series of public addresses to be known as the Swarthmore Lectures. The Lectureship was established by the Woodbrooke Extension Committee, at a meeting held December 9th, 1907. The Minute of the Committee provides for “an annual lecture on some subject relating to the Message and Work of the Society of Friends.” The name “ Swarthmore” was chosen in memory of the home of Margaret Fox, which was always open to the earnest seeker after Truth, and from which loving words of sympathy and substantial material help were sent to fellow-workers. “The Woodbrooke Extension Committee requested Rufus M. Jones, M.A., D.Litt., of Haverford College, Pennsylvania, to give the first lecture on the evening preceding the holding of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alastair Heron
Alastair Heron (1915 – 17 March 2009) was a British psychologist and writer. A member of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, he wrote a number of books and pamphlets on Quakers in Britain. Quaker works Heron was a member of Balby Monthly Meeting, and attended Sheffield Central Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. In 1986 he spent nine weeks traveling in the ministry in Australia, and three years later did the same coast-to-coast in Canada. His first Quaker book, ''Caring, Conviction, Commitment'', was published in 1992. It resulted from the survey he carried out in Yorkshire to learn at first hand of the experiences of attenders from the time of their first entry into a Quaker meeting. In 1994, he published a small dictionary, ''Quaker Speak'', as one of his responses to the needs discovered in the Yorkshire survey. In 1996 his major work, ''Quakers in Britain; a century of change'', was the only book to mark the centenary of the Manchester Conference t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meeting For Sufferings
Meeting for Sufferings is an executive committee of Britain Yearly Meeting, the body which acts on behalf of members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Great Britain and the Crown Dependencies. It has about 200 members who meet five times a year to make decisions when the Yearly Meeting is not in session. History Meeting for Sufferings was originally established to assess the persecution of Friends and attempt to obtain redress. Morning Meeting, a now-obsolete body of London Quakers, agreed in October 1675 to commission certain local Friends to meet four times a year for this purpose. Their efforts were mainly directed towards the suffering of imprisoned Quakers, but they also lobbied Parliament to reduce the burden of tithes and oaths. (The refusal of Friends to take oaths, based on Jesus Christ's words "Swear not at all" (Matthew 5:33 – 37), caused great difficulties with the government and courts.) Smaller weekly meetings, which continued until 1798, helpe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
