Faith & Action: Quakers & the First World War (Birmingham branch museum visit and talk)

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is currently hosting an exhibition on Quakers in the First World War. For a description of the exhibit, please read on:

'Confronted by war and suffering, what would you do? For Quakers faced by the outbreak of the First World War, answering this question was complicated by the faith group’s historic commitment to peace and peacemaking. 

Using original photographs, film, interviews and artefacts, 'Faith & Action' tells the compelling stories of Quaker men and women during the 1914-1918 conflict and its aftermath. The exhibition examines the impact of the war on Quaker artists, businesses, families and communities in Birmingham, central England and beyond. 

With rare archival material, 'Faith & Action' explores aspects of Quaker humanitarian, medical and relief work in Britain and Europe, and brings to life the dilemmas experienced by young Quaker men in deciding whether to fight, face imprisonment or serve in other ways.'

We have been kindly offered a guide and a talk by Mr. Peter Ullathorne, one of the organisers of the exhibit. We will meet at the Great Charles Street entrance to the museum. This exhibit and talk is free but a donation to the Peace Hub is recommended. For further details, please see:

http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/bmag/whats-on/faith-action-quakers-the-first-world-war

Time and Date: 1430, Saturday 7th March 2015

Place: Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham.  

“A country without a language is a country without a soul” - a cultural and social history of the Irish language (Birmingham branch talk)

Lars Kabel, the author of many travel guides and Irish-German phrase books, has kindly volunteered to give a talk on the social and cultural history of the Irish language. Please read on for his abstract:

“Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam” (translated in the title) is a famous quote by the poet and nationalist leader Patrick Pearse who was one of the leaders of the Easter Rising in Ireland in 1916. The Irish language, also known as Irish Gaelic, has been the first and often only language of most people in Ireland until the middle of the 19th century. Since then, it has been replaced by English but also became a symbol of Irish nationhood. In this talk, I will discuss the factors which led to the decline of Irish since the 16th century, attempts of revival, and the symbolic functions of the language since the 19th century."

Date: Sunday 15th March

Time and place: 1800,  St. Luke's Church Centre, Great Colmore Street, Lee Bank, Birmingham, B15 2AT.

Monthly Report - January

Birmingham branch

In less than a month since its foundation, the Birmingham branch has accumulated 118 members. Between 20 and 25 people turned up to the introductory meeting on 25th January 2015 and offered invaluable suggestions and advice for future activities. Forthcoming events, such as a tour of the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and a talk on Russian witchcraft, have attracted significant attention. 

Berlin branch

No meetings were held in January 2015. However, events have been planned for February and March and these are well subscribed. At least 9 people will be attending the tour of the Red Army Faction exhibit at the Deutsches Historisches Museum and 20 are currently signed up to the talk about Soviet animation under Leonid Brezhnev.

Berlin branch membership has expanded to 152 members.

Facebook Traffic

The Birmingham branch pages has 26 likes whilst the Berlin branch has 38 likes.

The History Network Traffic

Since its establishment in early January 2015, the History Network page has had 313 views. 

Summary

Thanks to all our members, organisers, and contributors for making January a month of unprecedented growth! We hope to meet your expectations with continued expansion and the organisation of interesting, enlightening, and entertaining events.