Editorial

Our theme for this issue is “Ethical living on a finite planet”. At a time when many hold the planet as a resource to be exploited, our writers urge us to love our environment, to show compassion to our fellow creatures, to have hope and resilience, and to retain a sense of humour. We are also reminded that we have the support of like-minded people from other faiths.

It is impossible, however, to hold Friends to one theme! Friends are also seeking for ways to express our experience of the divine in modern language, and ways to live out our faith in the world as we find it. The Quaker Survey has inspired some deep thought on who we are and how we can share our faith. Friends are struggling to balance the need to withdraw from the world for spiritual refreshment, and the need to implement our testimonies in daily life. So on the one hand we hear of Friends’ experience of the Meeting for Learning, and on the other hand of the experience of Friends who were in Nepal at the time of the earthquake – what they went there to teach and what they learnt.

In the next issue we look beyond Australia to the World Family of Friends, and ask for people to share their experiences of travelling among Friends – what they learnt from Friends of other traditions, what they found difficult, and how we might better support each other.

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From the Editorial Team: Garry Duncan, Rae Litting, Wies Schuiringa and David Swain