Friends World Committee for Consultation - FWCC World Office

17/06/2026

The FWCC-Europe and Middle East Section (EMES) - Quaker is hosting Global Quaker Worship on 12 August during their All-Age Gathering, which is co-hosted with Europe and Middle East Young Friends.

This will be a semi-programmed worship, with some prepared ministry leading into worshipful stillness, followed by an opportunity to meet and get to know Friends from around the world in small groups.

Find out more and register here: https://fwccemes.org/calendar/global-quaker-worship-hosted-by-emes-august-2026

Last year the 4 global Quaker worships connected hundreds of Friends from all across the world with each other in silence, song, prayer and laughter. This year we continue with the global worships to connect even more Friends. The EMES led GQW will happen during the All Age Gathering on Wednesday, the 12th of August.

https://fwccemes.org/calendar/global-quaker-worship-hosted-by-emes-august-2026

15/06/2026

Members of Young Quaker Christian Association Africa are preparing for a big event on 21 June to mark the Day of the African Child at Friends Church Vokoli in Kenya.

Themed "Ensuring Universal Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for every African Child" the day's activities will include;

- Worship and devotion
-A media briefing
-Keynote Speech
-Presentation by Quaker children
-Service work

This will be a hybrid event, Friends are invited to join online and in person. The meeting link will be shared.

Dear friends,
You are all warmly invited to join us for the celebration of the Day of the African Child on 21st June 2026 at Vokoli Yearly Meeting, Friends Church Vokoli.
Come let us celebrate together as Friends from different Quaker Meetings across Africa. Please share this invitation with other friends.
We also welcome your support through donations using the Treasurer’s number provided on the poster.

📍Theme :Ensuring universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene for every child in Africa.
🗒Date:21st June,2026
🏛Venue : Vokoli Yearly Meeting, Friends church Vokoli

In friendship,
Mercy Miroya
Secretary – YQCA-A.

08/06/2026

In the last month or so, high profile Christians have been urging a cautious approach to Artificial Intelligence. Here's our holding position on the same, reposted from October last year.

At the annual gathering of the Central Executive Committee in Seoul a few weeks ago, a holding position about the use of Artificial Intelligence was agreed.

Find out more at https://fwcc.world/fwccs-holding-position-on-the-use-of-artificial-intelligence/

05/06/2026

Did you know that Margaret Fell had seven daughters who were also involved with Quakers and connected to Swarthmoor Hall?

Find out more about them and "the tension between the demands of their Quaker faith and the expectations placed on them as women in the seventeenth century" in Woodbrooke's online session, Wednesday 1 July, 19:00-21:00 (BST / UTC +1:00)

This session explores the lives of Margaret Fell's seven daughters through their personal documents, tracing their connection to Swarthmoor Hall and the ways they faced challenges such as imprisonment, childbirth, and bereavement, while supporting their mother.
To find out more visit https://ow.ly/OlVK50YVr9U

04/06/2026

"Our Annual Meeting revealed the range of experiences in our section at this time: the despair and hope, and also the generosity and many possibilities. We will meet all of these challenges and opportunities together, hand-in-hand, as Friends."

Find out more about what Friends in the Europe and Middle East Section have been doing over the last year in their Annual Meeting epistle below.

Dear Friends, we held our EMES Annual Meeting May 28-30. More than 50 Friends gathered together online.
Read the Epistle on our Website: https://fwccemes.org/news/emes-annual-meeting-2026-epistle

29/05/2026

We're excited to share that the queries are now confirmed for our 2027 Global Online Conference, 'Sowing Seeds of Justice', taking place 29 September – 3 October 2027.

This will be a collaborative, global space for spiritual grounding and discernment, supporting Yearly Meetings to act upon their commitments from the 2024 World Plenary Meeting to heal and repair relationships in the light of historic and continuing injustices.

Using the powerful imagery of the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23), FWCC invites the world family of Friends to a deep and Spirit-led exploration of our role in healing a world broken by the historic and ongoing harms of exploitation, colonialism, and slavery – and to move from reflection to action.

Yearly Meetings are asked to consider three queries ahead of the conference. You can find them along with more details on our website:

https://fwcc.world/sowing-seeds-of-justice-queries-for-2027-global-online-conference-confirmed/

27/05/2026

"Irish Quakers, they just embraced me, and they made me feel like I belonged." - Zack Jackson

"One amazing thing about being a Quaker is that you’ve suddenly got family all over the world." - Jon Watts

Thee Quaker Podcast's new episode dives into the fascinating history of Quakers in Ireland, Zack having travelled to attend Ireland Yearly Meeting earlier this year. Find out more below.

(You can also find podcast episodes about Quakers in other countries including in Australia, Kenya and China.)

Podcast producer Zack Jackson traveled to Ireland Yearly Meeting to learn, firsthand, how this diverse community has managed to have such an outsized impact on the island of Ireland. Tune in to hear what this small but mighty community can teach the rest of us.

20/05/2026

“My message is to defend your views, to defend what you love, your family, your country, and the precious things in your life. Defend them openly, not secretly. Do not give up or surrender on this path. Continue to struggle for peace.” Roman Dubrovin, Conscientious Objector in Russia

Find out more about conscientious objectors in Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA)'s report, "Voices of Peace", containing inspiring stories from objectors in Belgium, Greece, Eritrea, Türkiye, Israel, Finland, Russia, and Spain.

📍 We have some special news to share!

📜 Today, on the International Day of Conscientious Objection, we are launching our publication: 'Voices of Peace, Stories of Conscientious Objectors from Europe and beyond.'

💡 Conscientious objectors are people who refuse the war system. This can mean refusing to serve, wanting to leave the army after joining, refusing to be enlisted, refusing to train for war, or refusing to support or take part in any war activities.

🗨️ Join us in reading inspiring stories from objectors in eight countries: Belgium, Greece, Eritrea, Türkiye, Israel, Finland, Russia, and Spain.

Each story is unique and comes from a different background. From Spanish artists to Russian human rights activists, the desire to live in peace transcends gender, age, and location.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who took part and shared their stories. This publication would not exist without you. 💙

You can read these stories here �https://www.qcea.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/QCEA_Voices_of_Peace.pdf

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🤝 This project is a collaboration between Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA), Connection e.V., War Resisters' International, and Agir pour la Paix.

Big thanks to everyone involved in the creation of this publication:

Authors: Celina Bebenek and Andrew de Sousa (Quaker Council for European Affairs), Zaira Zafarana (Connection e.V.), Semih Sapmaz and Natalia García Cortés (War Resisters’ International).

Editorial support: Julia Montier and Charlène Poupon Brengel (Agir Pour La Paix), Mikheil Elizbarashvili (Peace and Service Network), Gill Alcock and Kate McNally.

Translation from French: Daniel Flynn.

Design: Beatrice Romagnoli and Celina Bebenek.

Image credit ©Asis Percales for Fine Acts

15/05/2026

We were delighted to support and be present for the re-opening of the Quaker Tapestry Museum which tells the story of our origins.

Part of the Friends World Committee's mission is to express our common Quaker heritage to the world, so we're grateful to Kendal Friends who are doing that too.

You can find out more on their website: https://www.quaker-tapestry.co.uk/

13/05/2026

"As we went I spied a great high hill called Pendle Hill... It was so steep, but I was moved of the Lord to go atop of it..."

As part of FWCC's annual Central Executive Committee meeting, we walked in George Fox's footsteps up to the top of Pendle Hill, and discovered his journal account of the climb felt very familiar. See the photo captions for his words alongside our journey. ➡️

Thanks to Ben Pink Dandelion and Clitheroe Friends for guiding us through the history and up the hill.