Jennifer Hollingshead, member of Newtown Quaker Meeting, educator and world traveler, will speak about The Quaker Peace Testimony at Newtown Friends Meeting at 9:45 a.m. on First Day (Sunday), January 25, 2020. The public is invited. The traditional Quaker Meeting for Worship based on expectant silence will begin at 11:00 a.m. The public is invited to all events.
From its beginnings 370 years ago in England, Quakers have upheld a peace testimony, believing Quakers should not only refrain from fighting in wars and killing fellow human beings, but also advocate conflict resolution and be peacemakers. In recognition of their efforts, Quakers worldwide were awarded the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize for relief work during and after WW II. The Prize was accepted in Oslo on their behalf by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the British Friends Service Council.
Jennifer Holingshead was born into a Quaker family in England in the village of Jordans in Buckinghamshire. She lived there through WW II and attended The Mount School in York (Quaker) and Birmingham University.
She was studying at the English Quaker Center, Woodbrooke, where she met her husband, the late Irving Hollingshead, who had been working in Finland on relief programs with the AFSC to rebuild homes destroyed during the war.
Jennifer and Irving were married in 1950, lived on a farm for 18 years, and worked for two years in Nairobi, Kenya where Irving taught Math at the University of East Africa and Jennifer taught in the public elementary schools. Irving then accepted a position as Professor of Mathematics at Kutztown University in Boyertown, PA and Jennifer became an elementary public school teacher and social worker.
The Hollingsheads have four children, eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Jennifer’s hobbies include painting and knitting.