Essay Competition
The Friends Quarterly essay competition was launched at Britain Yearly Meeting Gathering in York in the summer of 2009, 150 years after Joseph Stephenson Rowntree's famous essay began the re-invigoration of Quakerism in Britain. With support from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust entries were invitied on the subject of "The Future of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain".
106 diverse entries were received. Taken together they represent a remakable body of thought about the current and future state of Quakerism in Britain. Three essays were awarded prizes by the judges and announced in February 2010. The remaining essays are on this website.
The essays can be downloaded for private study. Requests for reproduction should be made to The Editor, Tony Stoller.
The Winning Essays
These were published in The Friends Quarterly Issue 2, May 2010. Copies may be obtained price £5 from The Friend & Friends Quarterly, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ.
Essays submitted to the competition
Alphabetical list of authors and their essays
First Prize: The future of Quakers in Britain: holding spaces for the spirit to act by Linda Murgatroyd
Joint Second Prize: The future of the Religious Society of Friends: Simple, contemporary, radical? by Simon Best
Joint Second Prize: The future of Quakerism in Britain Yealry Meeting by Felicity Kaal