Every year, the first Sunday of October is designated World Quaker Day. This year, World Quaker Day is October 3, 2021, and the theme will be “Resilience and hope: drawing strength from our Quaker faith”.

Every Quaker Meeting and Church around the world is invited by the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) to mark World Quaker Day in whatever way they may choose (see https://fwccamericas.org/_wp/event/world-quaker-day-2021/) . This gives an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the rich diversity of Quaker traditions practiced around the world and the deep spiritual connections linking us all.

There are many ways to celebrate World Quaker Day, such as holding a candlelit Meeting for Worship, holding a discussion on a Quaker theme, organising a childrens’ activity about Quakers around the world, opening your Meeting House to the public, to name just a few. You can see how various Meetings celebrated World Quaker Day 2020 on this reports page. Ireland Yearly Meeting is part of the Europe and Middle East Section (EMES) of FWCC, which will be hosting an hour of unprogrammed worship on World Quaker Day (see https://fwccemes.org/calendar/world-quaker-day-2021 ).

Do consider marking World Quaker Day, be it in person or online. You won’t be alone – thousands of other Friends around the world will be with you!