Woodbrooke is pleased to announce that the Swarthmore Lecture in 2019 will be given by Eden Grace, Global Ministries Director for Friends United Meeting with the title ‘On Earth as it is in Heaven; The Kingdom of God and the yearning of Creation.’
In the lecture Eden will be considering the spiritual basis for climate justice through the prism of a worldwide community of Friends.
Eden’s lecture will explore how Quakers are called to witness to the condition of the planet itself and the part they have to play in changing the world so that destructive power dynamics are overturned and the most marginalised are empowered
She will bring in stories of those members of the Quaker community whose lives are impacted by climate change and ask us how we are called to act in solidarity with them.
Eden Grace has served as the Global Ministries Director for Friends United Meeting since 2013, Eden is responsible for shepherding their programme of work in 11 countries on 4 continents. She has a passion for the holistic and transformational witness of Friends that arises from deep worship in the gathered body
Terry Oakley, clerk of the Swarthmore Lecture Committee, said “We’re delighted that Eden Grace will be giving the Swarthmore Lecture. She will bring global voices to help Quakers think about climate justice. Her role for Friends United Meeting is world-wide support to encouraging Friends to put their faith into practical action. She enables them to think theologically about their mission to care for the world and we hope she will do the same for Friends who hear her lecture, at a time when the need to act is increasingly urgent”.
Notes:
- The Swarthmore Lecture was first held in 1908 and there have been 112 lectures.
- The lecture has two purposes: to interpret to Quakers their message and mission, and to make the wider public aware of the spirit, the aims and fundamental principles of Friends.
- The Swarthmore Lecture is funded by Woodbrooke and overseen and supported by the Swarthmore Lecture Committee, which is appointed by the trustees of Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. www.woodbrooke.org.uk/swarthmorelecture
- The lecture will take place as part of Britain Yearly Meeting, the annual gathering of Quakers in Britain, to be held at Friends House from 24th – 27th May 2019 quaker.org.uk/ym
- Quakers in Britain are known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Around 23,000 people attend 478 Quaker meetings in Britain. Their commitment to equality, justice, peace, simplicity and truth challenges them to seek positive social and legislative change. See quaker.org.uk
- Friends United Meeting is the largest denomination of Quakers around the world, a collection of Christ-centred Quakers, embracing 37 yearly meetings and associations. Joined together through a shared experience of God and united in common ministries, they form a beloved fellowship.
- For more information contact Simon Best, Head of Learning, Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre. Phone: 0121 415 6769, Email: simon.best@woodbrooke.org.uk
