Though Quakers have long been lauded as the first organised abolitionists in North America, their anti-slavery efforts were preceded by a prolonged entanglement with slavery. We explore this complex history in a region not often associated with Quakers, the American South. https://ow.ly/zRtt50XGWjP

How can Quakers work with other churches and faiths to find hope in dark and difficult times? In a world facing many challenges, this conference offers space for Quakers across Britain to reflect, connect, and be inspired. General bookings open Tuesday 6 January at 12pm. https://ow.ly/J1iJ50XRQFS

This session explores how a Quaker meeting functions. Together we’ll look at roles, committees and groups understand their purpose within worship and business, and see how a single meeting fits into the wider Quaker community. For more information visit https://ow.ly/tM8750XGW76

Paula Palmer, 2005 Faith and Practice, Intermountain Yearly Meeting, 1.31

All Quaker communities experience change, whether small or significant. We are working in partnership with Quakers in Britain to offer this course, starting this Wednesday, where we will create a supportive space to share experiences and explore ways forward together. https://ow.ly/aO9v50XR7r4

In this session we will explore the life and witness of Henry Cadbury, an internationally celebrated Quaker scholar, humanitarian, and social activist, especially remembered today for his role in establishing the American Friends Service Committee in 1917. https://ow.ly/LILT50XGVU7

Happy New Year 🌱 We have so much to look forward to in 2026, including a rich programme of courses, sessions and residentials, the 2026 Swarthmore Lecture, a conference with the Quaker Committee for Interfaith Relations, and much more to come. Find out what’s coming up: www.woodbrooke.org.uk

Sustaining our social witness can be deeply rewarding, but without care it may lead to burnout. This series offers embodied practices and Active Hope tools to build resilience in your community and create a lifelong toolkit for witness. For more information visit https://ow.ly/fe7U50XGVEa

Grace Blindell, 1992 Quaker Faith and Practice 29.18

Quakers, while deeply concerned about social problems, often can’t see how to make a difference. John Lampen has been part of groups who found ways to alter troubling situations. This course explores how this was done and how it can stimulate us to move forward. https://ow.ly/pbtb50XGV9p

Would you love to deepen your personal relationships? Would you like to connect to yourself with empathy? Do you long for greater compassion and love in public discourse? Join others to learn the basics of Nonviolent Communication. For more information visit https://ow.ly/TPY650XGUu2

This session is designed for those completely new to the Quaker way. It offers a gentle introduction to four essential elements of Quakerism: Direct Encounter, Worship & Ministry, Discernment and Witness. For more information visit https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/a-first-look-at-quakerism/

'Two sins have my people committed; they have forsaken me, a spring of living water, and they have hewn themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water’ (Jer 2:13). I know of no better description of the world we live in than that. Roger Wilson, 1976 Quaker Faith and Practice 23.08

The 2025 George Richardson Lecture is now available to watch on our YouTube channel. This year’s lecture, “George W. Taylor, a Practical Antislavery Man: Capitalism, Race, Gender, and Quakers in the Nineteenth Century,” was delivered by Julie Holcomb. Watch here: https://ow.ly/8a1250XMaFm

Being a Quaker elder can be inspiring but also challenging. This is a monthly space for those with eldership responsibilities to come together to consider and learn how to serve as an effective elder in your Quaker community. For more information visit https://ow.ly/MZPk50XGUGn

Looking back on a year of learning, worship and connection at Woodbrooke. Thank you for being part of it.

Please note that our administration office will be operating at reduced capacity until the New Year. Emails and phone messages will be checked daily on weekdays (excluding 25 and 26 December), but only urgent matters will be dealt with. Normal service will resume on 2 January.

Quakers have celebrated marriages since the time of Margaret Fell and George Fox. We have distinctive practices, and our weddings are recognised as legally valid. This course provides essential preparation for Friends wishing to serve as Registering Officers. https://ow.ly/1cHJ50XGUgz

This course offers a Quaker friendly accessible introduction to Christian mysticism through the ages. Friends will be introduced to key figures including Dionysus the Areopagite, Simone Weil, Julian of Norwich and Howard Thurman. For more information visit https://ow.ly/U5o150XGTZ9

How did early Friends understand the Torah? This session explores how Margaret Fell and other early Friends engaged with the Five Books of Moses, and how their views of Judaism and its sacred texts shifted over time. For more information visit https://ow.ly/SeOH50XGTLW

Thomas R Bodine, 1980 Quaker Faith & Practice 2.47

How can Quaker methods of threshing and clearness help us make good decisions even in difficult situations? This course will help you understand these processes and consider how to use them, with particular emphasis on the responsibilities of role-holders. https://ow.ly/sbHO50XBLg2

Come and discover the life and teaching of Jesus as presented in the Gospels, alongside insights from recent scholarship. As we explore the scriptural accounts, you will be invited to reflect on your own answer to the question ‘Who was Jesus?’. For more information visit https://ow.ly/aaBO50XBL13

Are you a Treasurer for a Quaker meeting or organisation with queries about your role and responsibilities, or about the technical aspects of treasurership? The current Treasurer for Quakers in Britain will be on hand for a focused Q&A session. For more information visit https://ow.ly/CPgZ50XBKRo

🎓 Congratulations to Oscar Lugusa Malande! We’re delighted to celebrate Oscar’s graduation yesterday from the University of Birmingham, after completing his PhD with Woodbrooke's Centre for Research in Quaker Studies. Oscar’s thesis explored the history of postcolonial Kenyan Quakerism.

Stillness lies at the heart of Quaker practice, but can be hard to achieve. This session offers practical approaches to settle the mind and open to Spirit. For more information visit https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/a-short-guide-to-stilling-the-mind/

How can we live more simply, more adventurously, and more fully? This course explores the Quaker testimony of Simplicity and its relevance to everyday life. Whether you are a long-standing Friend or a new seeker, you are warmly invited to join. For more information visit https://ow.ly/nzAS50XBKzY

Join us this evening for the 2025 George Richardson Lecture! This year’s lecture is on ‘George W. Taylor, a Practical Antislavery Man: Capitalism, Race, Gender, and Quakers in the Nineteenth Century’ and will be given by Julie Holcomb. Book your place: https://ow.ly/TTLS50XG9Sp

George Gorman, 1973 Quaker Faith & Practice 2.74

Begin the new year by exploring spirituality with Woodbrooke! Whether you’re seeking joy, reflection, connection or creative expression, our January Spirituality courses offer a gentle invitation to go deeper.

What led Quakers to solidarity with lesbian, gay, and bisexual people ahead of other religious groups in the twentieth century? Explore the history of Quaker support for gay rights and look at the present and future of Quaker affirmation of LGBTQ+ people. Find out more: https://ow.ly/SONa50Xz7ML

In his poem Postscript, Seamus Heaney writes of an experience that can ‘catch the heart off guard and blow it open.’ Poetry holds this same power, to surprise, transform, and awaken. This session invites you to explore how poetry can deepen the spiritual journey. https://ow.ly/RehJ50XyBz4

Whether you are a new or experienced clerk for a Quaker Meeting, Group, or Committee, this one-day course provides clear guidance on Quaker clerkship and practical tips for becoming a more effective clerk. For more information visit https://ow.ly/QnUn50XyBv5

What calls us forth? In this 90-minute session, we’ll explore the spiritual roots of Quaker witness, how Friends have been moved by the Spirit to shape a testimony of peace, equality, social justice, and care for our earth, and how these guide us in faithful action today. https://ow.ly/Hh2g50XyBlE

Janet Scott, 1994 Quaker Faith and Practice 27.42

Can we respond better to the Quaker Light by seeing, looking and understanding Nature’s light? View photographs as a form of visual ministry discovering how the world around us can serve as illuminations of our faith. https://ow.ly/qt3p50XuCqN

Being a Quaker elder can be inspiring but also challenging. This is a monthly space for those with eldership responsibilities to come together to consider and learn how to serve as an effective elder in your Quaker community. https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/essentials-of-quaker-eldership-3/

Have you ever wished that you had greater clarity about how you are called to minister in the world? In this course, you will experience a variety of Quaker spiritual practices to help you discern your calling and sustain you in service and witness. Book your place today: https://ow.ly/FC8Y50XygEP

What wisdom does Epiphany hold for us today? In this two-part course Friends will have the chance to engage with the stories, symbolism and ritual of Epiphany as found in liturgical traditions. To book your place visit https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/the-wisdom-of-epiphany/

What is your path to spiritual wholeness? How can you strengthen your connection with the Divine, yourself, and others? Explore how building and nurturing these connections can guide us toward a more complete and fulfilling spiritual life. https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/spiritual-wholeness/

Explore the meaning of Quaker membership using the P4C method. Together we’ll reflect on belonging, commitment, and responsibility, and how membership shapes life in the Quaker community. To book your place visit https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/enquiring-into-quaker-membership/

Whether you have specific issues in your Meetings for Worship for Business as a role-holder or would like to explore the Quaker Business Method more generally, you are welcome to join this friendly space for Q&A. https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/quaker-business-method-surgery/

Kathleen Lonsdale, 1967 Quaker Faith and Practice 20.26

We live in urgent times. This course explores pausing as both spiritual attentiveness and political action. Together, we’ll examine what stops us from stopping, and how stillness might change the way we meet crisis, complexity and each other. Book your place: https://ow.ly/fCaP50XqCxr

Explore creative writing as a tool for spiritual reflection and development through a range of reflective writing activities. Writing prompts and exercises will guide you to write from the heart rather than the head. Book your place: https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/write-from-the-heart/

How does the social structure of patriarchy, in which men and masculinity are valued above women and femininity, affect our religion and spirituality? Explore this question with ideas from Christian, Jewish, and Pagan feminist and womanist theologians. Book your place: https://ow.ly/yEKQ50XqCqQ

Thinking of postgraduate study? Meet one of our graduates to hear what doing a PhD is like. In this live interview, Paul Harris shares his experience of studying the nineteenth-century Quaker theologian Joseph John Gurney as a Woodbrooke research student. https://youtube.com/live/f1cN6ifenlY

Keith Helmuth, 1990 Quaker Faith & Practice 25.14

Parenting can be one of life’s deepest spiritual journeys. How do we “take heed of love and truth” with the young humans in our care? This course is for parents who wish to be more present and compassionate with themselves and their families. Book your place: https://ow.ly/Z6xt50XqCnm

Perhaps joy is a gift, a grace, as well as something to be cultivated? How can we put ourselves in the way of joy? Over four sessions across four months, we will create a shared space together to reflect on joy and engage in joyful practices. Book your place: https://ow.ly/O3s350XqCi6