Julia Dallaway
Who, what, when, where, and why – are you?
I’m Julia – a twenty-five-year-old living in Oxford, currently studying for my PhD in English at the University.
Do you have a memory that brings you comfort in times of hardship?
A few years ago, I had an experience that felt spiritually profound while exploring an abandoned church in Heptonstall, West Yorkshire. This roofless church seemed somehow like a perfect metaphor for the broken body of Christ, in both its woundedness and its openness to the world. I often return to this memory to remind me of the radical openness at the centre of my faith.
How long, if you are, have you been a Quaker (or attender)?
I’ve been attending for more than six years, which is hard for me to believe! My first few Meetings for Worship were at Jesus Lane Meeting in Cambridge, but I soon settled here at Oxford Meeting as a first-year undergraduate in 2016.
What brings you joy?
Deep conversations. Reading literature, particularly memoir – I think my literary tastes can be summed up as “weird women throughout history”, from medieval mystics to experimental modernists. The unexpected beauties of the natural world, especially the transitions we see in spring and autumn. Rare moments of inspiration that happen when I’m writing. And, of course, Young Adult Friends on Monday nights.
Do you have a passage from QF&P that you would like to draw Friends attention to?
I keep coming back to this 1987 passage from Marrianne McMullen: ‘Ministry is what is on one’s soul, and it can be in direct contradiction to what is on one’s mind. It’s what the Inner Light gently pushes you toward or suddenly dumps in your lap. It is rooted in the eternity, divinity, and selflessness of the Inner Light; not in the worldly, egoistic functions of the conscious mind.’ (2.66)
What was the last book you read?
Due to the nature of my degree, I’m always reading, but the last book I read cover to cover was Suppose a Sentence (2020) by Brian Dillon. Dillon is one of my favourite contemporary writers and I had a joyous excuse to re-read his work while working on a review of his latest publication.
What would you say to someone coming to MfW for the first time?
Whenever I’m bringing friends along, I make sure to stress how unthreatening and undemanding a Quaker meeting is! I think I would say: “come as you are and no one will expect of you anything in particular.”
Can you describe what Quakerism is to you?
I’m quite spiritually eclectic (across various Christian traditions), but I’m always compelled back to Quakerism for its simple yet radical belief in our direct experience of God. The Quaker testimony to equality is also vital to me.
If you could do anything, what would you do?
This is a terrifying question, but I guess I’d want to bring some sort of healing to wherever it is needed. I sometimes hope that writing can do that, if only in a small way.
Oxford Quaker and Answer Callout
The Editors of Forty-Three
If you are interested in featuring in the Forty-Three Newsletter’s new Quaker and Answer section, please email
to express your interest and we will be in touch.
It is an opportunity to tell the wider meeting who you are and what you’re doing!