The Current situation of the New Foundation in the UK

The New Foundation Fellowship has been in existence since 1974, and has been active in the UK since then.

Some of you may have noticed that there has been a lack of New Foundation activity in the UK for over a year. You may also have noticed that there has been neither a recent newsletter nor edition of New Foundation Papers.

As one of the long-standing members of the UK working committee, I feel the time has come to explain the current situation regarding the New Foundation Fellowship in the UK, to those of you who expressed interest in our work.

In the last year, there has been little activity in the New Foundation here in the UK, largely because the core working group has dwindled down to 2 or 3 people. Derek Bond in Sussex, myself (Allistair Lomax) and Alastair Reid, in Scotland, who acts as our treasurer.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the way the New Foundation Fellowship (NFF) is organised here, in the UK, since the 1980’s, the core of the NFF has been sustained by a working group who have directed the work of the NFF, who have organised meetings and gatherings, been responsible for publishing, and maintaining contact with our fellow NFF workers in the US. Membership of this working group has always been open to anyone who was willing to commit themselves to the work of the NFF, to preach the Gospel declared by George Fox and the Early Quakers.

About a year ago, the NFF in the UK, suffered the departure of several workers, which was due to a variety of reasons: firstly, in some cases due to advanced age and infirmity, and secondly, some felt that they could no longer commit themselves to our work.

This reduced our working group to just two people. Needless, to say, such a reduction in our core membership has had a diminishing effect on our ability to continue the work of spreading the Gospel.

In the aftermath of this reduction in our activity, those of us still committed to the work, have been forced to ask ourselves some fundamental questions about whether the NFF should continue, and if it should, in what form? In short, does Christ still have a purpose for us?

Those who still consider ourselves as active NFF workers are still struggling with these questions.

We feel it is time to broaden out the discussion to those who have expressed an interest in the NFF, particularly those of you who have registered as members of our site, and are resident in the UK or Europe.

We would like you to engage with us in a discussion about the future of the New Foundation in the UK.

• Should the work continue?

• If so, in what form?

• Who is willing to commit to the work, to ensure that Christian-Quaker witness continues?

• To whom should we declare the Gospel, if we are still commissioned to preach it?

Please let us know what you think. You can either leave your comments via this blog, or contact me privately via this web site. We want to hear from you.

Allistair Lomax