Editorial

In the last issue we complained that we lacked articles on how to nourish our spiritual life.  So this time we are grateful to Wilma Davidson for sending us an article about going on retreat, stressing the need to be rather than to do.  Also to Lyn Dundas who writes about the Living Experimentally Circle at Wahroonga, where Friends are nourished by listening to each other’s spiritual adventures and challenges .

One of the ways in which Friends have always found spiritual nourishment and mental stimulation is through reading, and through listening to talks by experienced Friends.  We include reviews of two of the annual Quaker Lectures from New Zealand, one on the subject of Can Religion Speak Truth, the other on Crime and Punishment.  Both have much to say to us.

We have not taken our eyes off the wider world, and John McMahon has written a review of the peace movement in Japan, and of the contribution which Quakers have made to it.

In our next issue we will be looking at issues dealt with at, and arising from, our Yearly Meeting in Hobart – including the issue of whether we should hold Yearly Meeting in Hobart in July!  Are there better ways to manage our business?  Do we have too much business and too little time for wise thought and new insights?  Are we addressing our own deepest needs?  What can we say and what should we do at this time?