Pakefield Quaker Meeting

07/09/2026

The Quakers in Beccles are holding a silent vigil for peace. Come and join them.

06/09/2026

02/09/2026

01/09/2026

Heritage Open Day – Learn about everyday Quakers over the ages

Date:
September 12

Time:
10:00 am - 04:00 pm

Beccles Quakers

Email:
[email protected]
Quakers have worshipped in Beccles since the 17th century. Do visit our Quaker Meeting House which is open as part of Heritage Open Day.

Our exhibition brings together stories from the records of Friends in Beccles and the surrounding area, showing Quaker history through the people who lived it. It is the history of people living ordinary lives — although sometimes under extraordinary circumstances.

There is also information about the Quaker Burial Grounds, and the Meeting House itself. We’d love to see you.

01/09/2026

Did you know Quakers played a role in Gandhi's spiritual journey, and that Gandhi's ideas later influenced Quakers in return?

Gandhi’s interest in religion, which began in his childhood with his devoutly Hindu mother, deepened quickly when he moved to South Africa as a young lawyer in 1893. As part of his religious exploration, Gandhi became friends with a small group of Quakers in Pretoria. Though he rejected Christianity, the Quakers encouraged Gandhi’s study of comparative religion. Learning about Quaker pacifism also reinforced Gandhi’s emerging belief that justice cannot be achieved through violence.

That connection deepened through Gandhi's decades-long friendship with British Quaker Horace Alexander. Gandhi stayed with Alexander at Woodbrooke Quaker study center in Birmingham during his negotiations with England in 1931, where he attended meeting for worship. The experience inspired Gandhi to incorporate silent meditation into the prayers at his ashram, and Alexander remained a trusted friend throughout India's journey to independence.

The influence flowed both ways. Quaker author Richard Gregg helped introduce Gandhi's ideas to the West, in turn inspiring Civil Rights organizer Bayard Rustin, a key advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. Today, there are many humanitarian and peacebuilding organizations that are founded jointly on Quaker and Gandhian principles.

28/08/2026

Nepalis and Tibetans must not pay the price – with their lives, livelihoods and money meant for education and health – for global heating caused by wealthy states, says Kathmandu-based climate policy specialist Sunil Acharya