About 35 members of Altrincham Interfaith Group gathered together at the Sale Quaker Meeting house on Park Road, Sale,  on the evening of May 8^th. We were welcomed by Pat Lee, the Clerk, and then Colin McKenzie, one of the Overseers, started the proceedings with a minute of silence, after which he  gave us some background to the origin of the Quaker movement which was started by George Fox and his wife Margaret Fell in the mid seventeenth century.  He then explained that because the early Quakers were dissidents they could not attend University so many of them turned to industry and became very successful -  names like Cadbury,  Rowntree,  Fry’s, Clarks (for shoes), banks such as Lloyds and Barclays were all founded by Quakers.  Elizabeth Fry is well known for her work in bringing about dramatic changes in prison reform, and Quakers  were also instrumental in the abolition of slavery and are famous for their peace movements. Their strong opposition to war and nuclear weapons is well known and they also lobby MPs at Westminster, Brussels and Geneva. They believe in putting their faith into action, and living out their faith.  Colin also talked about their beliefs – there are no creeds, as creeds are not timeless and circumstances change. They believe in peace, justice, freedom and eachother and try to put into practice things they believe are right. Equality is extremely important to Quakers, at all levels of society.  After his talk there was a very lively time of questions and answers, ranging from the absence of music in meetings to the practical problems of keeping children quiet during a meeting.  Quaker concepts of God were discussed as was the place of Jesus in their belief. The event was rounded off by deliciousdrinks and biscuits. It was a most interesting evening, enjoyed by all, and we are most grateful to Colin and other Friends for their warm hospitality.