Activities

Eye witness -- Stories from Israel-Palestine

2012-04-02T21:45:03Z

Bristol & Wessex Quakers Regional Gathering will hear first-hand reports from Sharen Green and Judith Hammond, who recently returned from the West Bank, where they acted as part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment PRogramme in Palestine and Israel. regional Gathering takes place in Taunton Friends Meeting House on Saturday, 14th April 10.15 am (Welcome & refreshments) for 10.45 am start. Please take picninc lunch. For details of the EAPPI programme see www.quaker.org.uk/eappi .

Economic Justice and Sustainability

2011-12-05T16:40:18Z

'Equality' and 'simplicity' are historic Quaker testimonies along with 'truth' and 'peace'. More recently, Quakers have added concern for the environment as being central to our faith. At Quaker Yearly Meeting at Canterbury in August 2011, the Society of Friends made a radical commitment to work towards economic justice and a sustainable global society. The words John Woolman, an eighteenth century American Quaker were echoed: 'The produce of the earth is a goft from our gracious creator to the inhabitants, and to impoverish the earth now to support outward greatness appears to be an injury to the succeeding age'.

Individual Quakers and Quaker meetings are being challenged to examine their own lives and how these are influenced and constrained by an unjust and destructive economic system. The Society of Friends as a whole, and Bristol Quakers locally, have given support to the 'Occupy Britain' movement. Clevedon Quakers, together with other Meetings in North Somerset are looking at the 'seven questions' which derived from the Quakers' 'Canterbury Commitment' and to see what action we can take.

Clevedon Community Bookshop

2011-08-27T18:41:50Z

Some members of our Quaker Meeting, together with others, have set up a not-for-profit social enterprise to take over and develop the second-hand bookshop in Copse Road, Clevedon. There are good quality books on a wide range of subjects as well as a variety of activities and literary events. The bookshop opened on the 31st December 2011 and has over 500 shareholders, both local and from further afield . You can also find out more by contacting Angela Everitt, Secretary to the Co-operative, on 01275 219171; k.angelaeveritt@gmail.com .

North Somerset Area Meeting

2011-07-17T20:10:16Z

North Somerset Area Meeting handles both practical matters (finance and premises) and Quaker concerns (social, spiritual) at a level beyond the local meeting. It is one of 71 Area Meetings in Britain Yearly Meeting, which is the national Quaker body. North Somerset Area Meeting consists of the membership of the local Quaker meetings at Clevedon, Sidcot and Weston-super-Mare and it owns those three meeting houses. There are also Quaker meetings held monthly at Claverham Meeting House (owned by the Claverham Meeting House Trust). North Somerset Area Meeting meets four times a year at Claverham (February), Clevedon (May), Sidcot (August), Weston-super-Mare (November). Attenders and enquirers not in membership can attend with permission from the Clerk of Area Meeting. The next meeting of Area Meeting is at Clevedon Meeting House, Sunday 20th May at 1.30 pm. All enquiries to the Clerk of Clevedon Local Meeting.

Study and discussion groups

2011-02-13T21:32:37Z

Informal study and discussion groups are held normally on the first Tuesday of each month in the Meeting House, starting with tea/coffee at 7.30 pm and finishing at 9.00 pm. Sometimes there is an agreed topic beforehand, at other times we have an 'open group' when those attending bring up themes that happen to be on their minds. Forthcoming study groups:

Tuesday, 6th March -- Quaker work at home and abroad

Tuesday, 3rd April 7.30 pm -- Fair trade projects, focusing on Bangladesh

Tuesday, 1st May -- Mapping social need in Clevedon

All these study groups discussions are open to all.

Creating Community, Creating Connections

2011-02-07T17:47:52Z

Our day workshop in the autumn was on the theme of 'Creating Community, Creating Connections'. This was led by Lizz Roe, senior tutor at Woodbrooke, which is the Quaker College in Selly Oak, Birmingham. She led us through a stimulating variety of tasks in different groupings, through which we shared views and visions of what makes a Quaker community and how it should relate to its local and wider environment. Lizz also gave us her criteria of what makes for a Quaker community:

* sharing a spiritual practice and about our spiritual lives;

* working meaningfully together;

* learning with each other;

* celebrating;

* giving and receiving appropriate friendship.

Such a community needs to be underpinned by:

* agreed ways of making decisions;

* agreed way of handling conflict;

* shared leadership, authority and responsibility;

* explicit and shared values and visions

* shared commitment to regular review and exploration.

We explored some of these themes in depth and identified some possible actions for the future.

2010 -- a year of growth

2010-10-01T20:55:02Z

After many years as a small meeting, we have grown to be a medium sized Quaker meeting with a weekly average attendance of 18. Not only have our newcomers enhanced our fellowship, but have started new initiatives and brought fresh perspectives to our growing community. Through our study groups, we have seen some lively discussions, deep sharing of experience and joint exploration of different aspect of Quakerism, both historically and in today’s world. We have embraced the process of setting up a new, more locally based, Area Meeting together with Friends at Sidcot and Weston-super-Mare. We have engaged with some aspects of wider Quaker work and we have also made contact with the local Transition Clevedon Group. We have looked at ways of improving our premises and our garden in particular. Most of all, we are getting to know each other as a living Quaker community.

Our website

2010-02-09T16:39:15Z

Welcome to our NEW WEBSITE! yay. We have been looking forward with anticipation to the development of this site and our subsequent presence on the web.