“Strong in faith and passionate for justice.” Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) was one of the most famous and influential British social reformers ever, both in the way she challenged judicial policy and the way she inspired other women who came after her to seek change and to use their voice. Her importance is reflected in the fact that she was featured on £5 notes in the UK until October 2017. Born Elizabeth Gurney in 1780 in Gurney’s Court off Magdalen Road, she grew up in Earlham Hall (which later became the UEA School of Law). She was the child of a Gurney and a Barclay and their banks merged in 1896. She married Joseph Fry when she was 20. Fry was a London merchant and, like Elizabeth, a Quaker. She was admitted as a minister in the Society of Friends and became a noted preacher. She was also the mother of 11 children. In an age of strong Anglicanism and a male-dominated society it was astonishing that she found such a clear voice and was able to make such a difference. After she found out about the conditions in prisons in 1813 she devoted much of her life to caring for the welfare of female prisoners in Newgate Prison (which stood just outside the City of London on the site of what is now the Old Bailey). In 1818 she became the first woman to give evidence before a House of Commons Committee (on prison reform in London). In 1820 she helped to found a night shelter for the homeless in London and she travelled all over Europe campaigning for prison reform and the abolition of the death penalty. She was determined to both change the system and also to make a practical difference now to the lives of those caught up in it- she made them sure that every female prisoner being sent to the colonies was supplied with a bag for making patchwork quilts which could be sold on arrival to provide an income. She also encouraged other women to step into the public space and make their communities better. Her work also included setting up District Visiting Societies, working with the poor, providing libraries for coastguards and a training school for nurses. Everything she did was inspired by her faith in Jesus and her longing that more people should know of his love. She died on October the 12th 1845. God of peace, who gave grace to Elizabeth Fry to be the friend of the poor and of the prisoner and to share with them the good news of Christ: make us, after her example, strong in faith and passionate for justice; through him whose service is perfect freedom, you Son Jesus Christ our Lord… Question: what injustice in society most hurts the heart of Jesus? And what do you need to do first in order to find out more and to bring change?