Jean Moir
Note from Jean’s husband Richard Abernethy:
Jean Moir has written this short review for Forty-Three. Jean is currently doing well at her care home and doing a lot of reading and gentle exercise. She was very ill for much of last year. After making a good recovery in the early months of this year, she fractured her left hip, requiring a hip replacement operation, which took place in September. (Her right hip was replaced last year.) She joins in silent worship in her room every Sunday morning. This is the first piece she has written for publication since her illness. We thank Friends for holding us in the Light.
Regards,
Richard
This is the fascinating and exciting story of a rebellious young 17th century Friend, Rejoice (Joy) Pea.
She speaks out against the cruel treatment of Friends by the constable and vicar of her Yorkshire village. Through various adventures she makes her way to Leeds, where she and another Friend, Ellinor, plan to go to America on a travelling ministry.
However, she finds that some of the Friends she meets do not share her openness to new ideas, or her willingness to make friends with the Native Americans. They also disapprove of her attraction to a militia captain. She recognises the ‘divine light’ in people who are not Friends. Finally, she leaves Quakers and marries her captain.
The novel shows the cruel restrictions of the established church, but also the more well-intentioned restrictiveness of early Friends, as they struggled to uphold the testimonies.
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Forty-Three Newsletter • Number 512 • December 2021
Oxford Friends Meeting
43 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW