Quakers Australia

14/10/2026

Quakers joined protests on the weekend marking three years of genocide in Gaza.

Big shout out to Chick, a Quaker who organised a protest in Lutruwita's (Tasy) Bruny Island - which turned up the equivalent of 3% of the whole island's population!

Photos also include Naarm (Melbourne); Meanjin (Brisbane), Tarndanya (Adelaide). Friends in Hobart and Perth were there but forgot to take photos 😉

APAN - Australia Palestine Advocacy Network 🇵🇸 🇵🇸

08/10/2026

On World Quaker Day 2026, more than 900 people from at least 50 countries registered for an extended international online meeting for worship themed 'Let Peace Be Among Us' and hosted by FWCC. Up to 200 joined at a time over the course of six hours. Speakers included Quaker peacemakers in Palestine, Lebanon, Cuba, Ukraine, Estonia and Rwanda.

The meeting began and ended with ministry by Friends at the Quaker United Nations Offices in New York and Geneva, and closed with the prayer of Francis of Assisi, 'Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace'. The session was preceded and followed by further online meetings which heard from Friends from Myanmar, Australia, the Philippines, USA and Japan.

A number of Friends in England joined in groups from historic meeting houses, as did Friends in Churchtown (Ireland) and Dunedin (Aotearoa/New Zealand) . Quakers in Germany and Norway contributed with specially written or recorded songs. Friends from the USA, Kenya, Honduras, Britain, Ireland and Slovenia were among those who gave service as elders.

The FWCC has also shared pictures on social media of World Quaker Day celebrations and events at Friends Churches in different countries, including in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi (below), Uganda, DRC, India, Bolivia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, Mexico and the USA. The day was also marked in a number of prisons where it is becoming established as a regular date in the calendar.

In the week preceding World Quaker Day the national television station of Ireland, RTE, broadcast a 25 minute programme about Friends. In Britain Quakers presented the Daily Service on BBC radio.

Recognising that part of letting peace be among us involves building connections with others, a group of Friends from South Africa met with the Dalai Lama to speak about peace and nonviolence. In Burundi the Quaker football team had a friendly match with the neighbouring Methodist team. On the day the Methodists won, 2-0, but the real winner was the peace that is nurtured through fellowship.

Also in Burundi children under 7 years old came together to learn, share, and reflect on what peace means to them. One of the organisers said afterwards:

"We believe that building peace starts in childhood. By giving children the opportunity to learn kindness, respect, empathy, sharing, and non-violence, we are investing in a generation that can grow into stronger peacebuilders and peacemakers."

At least 25 Quaker Schools also took part in the day with a shared moment of silence, and contemplation on the Quaker advice to "stand still in that which is pure".

World Quaker Day official report.

07/10/2026

Quakers around the continent will join events this Sunday calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza. We invite all to gather with us. More info at https://apan.org.au/event/global-day-for-gaza/

07/09/2026

Quakers are proud to join this call. We are particularly concerned about the impact of the revolving doors between the Department of Defence and the arms companies.

ADN stands proudly with 75 civil society partners launching a shared call for the Australian Parliament to legislate a national lobbying act.

The organisations supporting this essential democratic reform work on issues as diverse as social services, climate change, and digital rights. What unites us is a shared belief that our democracy must work for everyone – not just a powerful few.

10/08/2026

The Pacific was forged in the fires of nuclear testing. 315 weapons were tested across the region. Islands scarred. Waters poisoned. Communities displaced. Families still live with the consequences.

In a powerful new article, our Nuclear Truth Project partner Merewalesi Tuilau asks what Australia's AUKUS submarine program means for a region that has already paid dearly for the nuclear age. She writes about consent, about trust, and about a Blue Pacific that is not negotiable.

Mere sets out the concrete risks: highly enriched uranium in spent fuel, weapons-usable material that will outlast generations, and a program advancing without Pacific consent or the consent of Aboriginal Traditional Owners.

She asks a direct question. Can Australia champion a Pacific-led future while increasing nuclear risks in the region's waters?

Mere Tuilau is a Director of Fiji Nuclear Veterans and Families and a Nuclear Weapons expert for Fiji with International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

Merewalesi Tuilau, Director of Fiji Nuclear Test Veterans & Families Association writes why the Blue Pacific Continent is not negotiable when it comes to AUKUS.

30/07/2026

Addressing Challenges of Sustainability in our Quaker Communities

Join Adwoa Burnley at August Online Yearly Meeting as she shares from nearly 20 years of experience in Quaker clerking roles in Scotland and Britain.

Adwoa will reflect on discernment and listening to the Inner Light when navigating structural change in our Meetings, and on how Quaker discipline in Meeting for Worship for Business can help our communities grow and learn together.

Friday 31 July
6:30 pm AEST | 6 pm SA/NT | 4:30 pm WA

Register:

Welcome We warmly invite you to our mid-year gathering Yearly Meeting being held online over two weeks from Tuesday 21 July to Sunday 2 August. The formal sessions will on Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 August. Local gatherings We hope there will be many small gatherings or "pods" formed by local meetings....

21/07/2026

Quakers are a proud partner of ICAN Australia and stand with them and all these parliamentarians calling for the Anthony Albanese Government to sign the Nuclear Ban Treaty now.

Penny Wong - Senator for SA

08/07/2026

A year ago today FWCC General Secretary Tim Gee gave the Backhouse Lecture at Australia Yearly Meeting, sharing a first hand account of the diverse Quaker movement around the world.

Today, the full text is released for free on the Quakers Australia website, including a section on the epistle of James, and an appendix with some Bible passages set to well known tunes.

https://www.quakersaustralia.info/resources/backhouse-lectures

A few print copies are left, at the Seed Café in London ( https://bookshop.quaker.org.uk/the-seed-is-in-all-a-journey-through-the-quaker-world_9781923435087 ) and IP Publications in Australia: https://ipoz.biz/quakers-publications/ .

The video is also available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noXJtu7ZKnM&t=7s and

03/07/2026

We have had the absolute joy and challenge of being part of the visit of Friends from the Pacific Islands as they've advocated in Parliament this week. Now you have the chance to join the conversations!

TONIGHT - In Sydney and Melbourne - will be nuclear justice events as we commemorate 80 years since the start of nuclear detonations in the Pacific.

SAT/SUN - Melb/Syd - Decolonising spirituality conversations - with First Nations Christians and Pasifika Christians based in Australia.

All details of all events at https://www.quakersaustralia.org.au/event/invitation-to-join-with-pacific-islander-guests-seeking-nuclear-justice-and-decolonised-faith-communities-sydney-melbourne-canberra/

02/07/2026

⁣Quakers in Australia believe that the right to protest is fundamental to a vibrant and functioning democracy.

Australian governments must be held accountable to the people they serve. When government actions or policies go astray and change is needed, peaceful, nonviolent protest provides an important way for people to share their wisdom, concerns, and insights directly with government.

Peaceful protest also gives voice to those in our communities who may otherwise go unheard.