Fire at Jordans
The Jordans Meetinghouse in England suffered a terrible fire a few days ago. Friends don't make icons of meetinghouses but if we did Jordans would be high on the list. Friends started meeting there in 1659. Isaac Penington, James Nayler, and Thomas Ellwood lived neighborhood; Penington is buried out front, as is William Penn. As if this isn't enough, the barn is said to be made from the timbers of the Mayflower--yes, that Mayflower: it was apparently common to recycle ships into buildings after a few trans-Atlantic trips (news reports don't mention the barn). Here are pictures from Bill Samuel's trip a few years ago, a thread on his discussion board and photos that someone took from a youth hostel retreat last week before the fire. One of the wardens (caretakers) of the meetinghouse was burned trying to put out the fire but later reports make it sound like he wasn't too badly hurt, thank God.
Update: the Guardian did a piece on the fire
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Friends - the barn wasn't burnt - it's a little way away from the Meeting House. The Wardens are recovering but as you might imagine we are very sad to have lost this quaker place of worship. Whilst we don't make icons and we don't need meeting houses to gather, Friends at Jordan are reeling from this sad loss to the community and the human impact that such an event has.
in Friendship
Mary Elizabeth Roe