Quakers in Nelson

04/09/2026

New figures show 31 per cent of Pasifika rangatahi are living in material hardship with advocates calling for higher incomes and more suitable housing for families.

04/09/2026

Thousands of attacks by Israeli settlers and soldiers have left at least 76 Palestinian dead in 2026

04/09/2026

04/09/2026

Ben-Gvir did not come into power in a vacuum: he was helped into his position by an international community that has afforded Israel complete impunity

04/09/2026

Today’s Daily Quaker Message. Subscribe for free: DailyQuaker.com/subscribe

If we want to champion truth, the first step on the road is knowing why we want to do it. We need to commit to it as a way of life. It may start with a particular issue, an injustice, or a cause, or it might be a desire to be closer to God by living in and with the truth and its challenges.

There will be times when it involves holding out against the tide, standing up for what is right regardless of the cost. That’s why it’s important the search for truth includes a quest for clarity about what we believe—what it is we stand for. That’s a process, an evolving spiritual experience, but it’s one we need to be honest and clear about if we’re going to pursue truth in the world.

Citation: Thomas Penny, 2021
Quaker journalist

04/09/2026

Dear European, American and other western leaders...
Is mass expulsion of millions of people part of your "shared values with Israel"

¶
Israel isn't debating a Palestinian state. It's preparing for expulsion
– Amira Hass • Haaretz https://archive.is/dWjZn

04/09/2026

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.

13/06/2026

Scholar Shmuel Lederman says policies point to a systematic 'architecture of starvation’ amid public and political denial

31/05/2026

Today’s Daily Quaker Message. Subscribe for free: DailyQuaker.com/subscribe

Our children are given to us for a time to cherish, to protect, to nurture, and then to salute as they go their separate ways. They too have the light of God within, and a family should be a learning community in which children not only learn skills and values from parents, but in which adults learn new ways of experiencing things and seeing things through young eyes. From their birth on, let us cultivate the habit of dialogue and receptive listening. We should respect their right to grow into their own wholeness, not just the wholeness we may wish for them.

Citation: Elizabeth Watson, 1980
Quaker feminist theologian

29/05/2026

Kia ora e te whānau,

Tomorrow, the 30th of May, Amnesty International will be hosting a stall at the Saturday market. It’s a great opportunity to show support, sign petitions, and have meaningful conversations with like-minded people. Please feel free to stop by, connect, and lend your voice.

We are on track for our regular “first Saturday of the month” march. We will be gathering next Saturday, 6th of June, at 10:30 am at our usual spot in 1903 Square. As always, we’ll have our library with our latest additions and merchandise available, and we’ll be marching proudly with our banners and flags in support of Palestinians.

The transformation that Palestine - and all communities striving for justice - needs is not only global but deeply collective. When we gather, we help liberate the mind from resignation and strengthen our shared belief in justice and the right to live free. By showing up, you help build a community that refuses to give up on hope.