Message from the Pastoral Care and Eldership Team (PaCET) for Sunday Meeting 4th January 2026

Dear Friends,

“I feel that much of the current philanthropic effort is directed to remedying the more superficial manifestations of weakness and evil, while little thought or effort is directed to search out their underlying causes. The soup kitchen in York never has difficulty in obtaining financial aid, but an enquiry into the extent and causes of poverty would enlist little support.”
Joseph Rowntree, 1904 (Quaker Faith & Practice, 23.18)

Joseph Rowntree was a Quaker businessman and philanthropist. As a child, he saw the impact of famine on the people of Ireland and the experience never left him. He studied poverty and worked hard to alleviate it. He cared about his workers’ wellbeing and built one of the UK’s first model villages. In 1904, he established three trusts to continue his work: the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (which I now chair).

Joseph Rowntree also presided over a company that profited from the exploitation of people and ecosystems in the Global South. His confectionaries were produced from sugar and cocoa that were extracted in conditions of near slavery (indentured labour) in Southern Africa and the Caribbean. How could he be so clear-sighted about poverty in the UK, and so blind to its central presence in his own company’s supply chain?

As chair of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), I am trying to reconcile these two dimensions of the Rowntree legacy. How can we honour Joseph’s charge to address the ‘root causes’ of harm without acknowledging his own part in injustice? Can we address JRCT’s complex history whilst continuing to work towards a better future? These are the questions that are on my mind as we enter 2026, and I welcome the support of Friends in answering them.

Jonathan Heawood

Quakers value diversity. We share this Friend’s message in the hope it will speak to others.

Pastoral Care and Eldership Team: Patricia Cockrell, David Hitchin, Sharon Krummel, Tim Pitt-Payne, Theresa Samms, Emily Slater.