by WebPost | Sep 15, 2019 | Announcement, Queries
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Queries on Peace (2013 Resource for Faith & Practice)
How does my life reflect “the virtue of that life and power which takes away the occasion for war”? Where there are hatred, division, and strife, how are we instruments of reconciliation and love?
How do our lives illustrate our understanding of the basis of our peace testimony?
As we work for peace, are we nourished by peace within and among ourselves?
How do we regard those we believe have harmed us or others? How does this affect our spiritual lives?
Peace Voices (2013 Resource)
We must be prepared to make the same heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the cause of war. There is no task that is more important or closer to my heart. Albert Einstein, c. 1930
It is not our Quakerism, or our pacifism, or our knowledge, or skill, or emotion that overcomes hate and violence. We shall surely fail if we become proud of our virtue and traditions and become vain in our witness. We shall fail if we think the power that may move through us is our own. The power is not ours, it is God’s…. The foundation is faith in the power of God’s love to transform us and our society and to bring justice to the poor and the oppressed. Our task is to act, as best we understand what we are led to do, in obedience to that power. Mary Lord, 2002
by WebPost | Jun 21, 2014 | Queries
Baltimore Yearly Meeting Proposed Queries on Diversity
Does your vision of a just society include people living their lives without fear of discrimination based on who they are, what they believe, and whom they love?
Are we willing to be in communion with each other, open to our differences yet secure in the one Spirit that calls us all to be Friends?
Do my decisions reflect the voices of people of color, people of different sexual identities, people of different ages and economic conditions? Do I take the risks that right action demands?
Do I seek out and listen to perspectives that promote equal access, inclusion, and welcome for people of all cultures and backgrounds?
How do we work toward creating a community of different people, rather than being a community that just lets different people in?
Do we take the time to see what we want to become as people and as a global community, and do we humbly acknowledge that we have some work to do?
Diversity: Voices
By getting beyond our differences, we dare to believe that we can bring about a Kingdom of God on earth, where we transcend our differences, not ignoring our disagreements, but finding a way to go through them and beyond our fears. We recognize that this is not easy work, but have faith that this is our work, and it is work that we cannot rightly lay down.
Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC) 2007
Each of us inevitable,
Each of us limitless—each of us with his or her right
upon the earth,
Each of us allow’d the eternal purports of the earth,
Each of us here as divinely as any is here. Walt Whitman, 1900
by WebPost | Dec 19, 2006 | Queries, Testimonies, Writings - RFM
by WebPost | Oct 16, 2005 | Queries, Testimonies, Writings - RFM
After the reading of the Minute from York Friends, Roanoke Friends composed and sent the following and attached letter about hurricane Katrina to their legislators and other leaders. Roanoke Friends encourage other Meetings to consider a similar response.
What a timely coincidence that on the day that disaster struck New Orleans, the annual census report was released revealing that for the fourth consecutive year the number of persons living in poverty increased in America. The vivid images from the desolation of New Orleans made that poverty viscerally real to Americans in a way far more than dry-worded government reports ever could. We saw intimately the anguish and misery of thousands of our fellow citizens who were abandoned to despair.
It is perhaps understandable that fingers are pointing in all directions seeking whom to accuse and blame for the bungled response to this disaster. While finger-pointing may be a very human response, it is not a particularly productive one unless we are able to move forward with lessons learned. So we call upon you, our leaders, to examine not only what went wrong in the response but also to look to ways to correct the inequities that exist.
We ask that an independent commission be formed to investigate why the disaster response was inadequate. It is paramount to the integrity of such an investigation that this is an independent commission, not a congressional one nor should it be under the aegis of the executive branch. Partisan politics would only impugn the legitimacy of its findings and recommendations.
We ask also that appropriate controls be in place as FEMA begins to award contracts for reconstruction. Will an inspector general be named to oversee the payment of large amounts of money that FEMA will be dispersing to contractors? What policies will be put in place ensuring that competition for contracts will be fair and equal?
Certainly there are many other issues impacted by this disaster that cry for unblinking scrutiny, environmental as well as social and political, but none more pressing than poverty itself. This catastrophe has brought the realities of poverty into light and national awareness.
We strongly urge a renewed effort on the behalf of this nation’s leaders to address the issue of poverty. The response to Hurricane Katrina was disgrace enough to a powerful nation. Not acting to remedy the inequities that exist would be an even greater disgrace.
As members of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), we believe that all are equally precious in the sight of God. We are reminded of the words of Isaac Pennington, who stated, ”Our life is love and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations one against another; but praying for one another, and helping one another up with a tender hand.” Now is the time to extend that tender hand, as we witness an unprecedented outpouring of compassion and relief efforts.
It is our hope and request that you, our leaders, will offer a tender and uplifting hand as well with the powers invested in you: by thoroughly investigating our disaster response and implementing policies and legislation that will guarantee the well-being of everyone living in this great country.
Roanoke Friends Meeting
Roanoke, Virginia
by WebPost | Sep 4, 2005 | Queries, Testimonies, Writings - RFM
Below is a minute from York (PA) Meeting. They wish to disseminate it to Friends everywhere.
At Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business on 9th month 4th day 2005, the following minute was approved be sent to Friends everywhere:
Friends (Quakers) have included in their testimonies, “speaking truth to power” and “we are all equal in the eyes of God.” We at York Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends are appalled and angry at the present administration and Congress for allowing this horrible tragedy to occur from Hurricane Katrina.
There is no reason why thousands had to die and more will die. The scope of this disaster could have been lessened had the administration not disregarded the many published scientific studies forewarning such an event. It is inexcusable that President Bush designated a political appointee, Michael Brown, who has no qualifications or experience for the position, as director of FEMA. There is no justification for criticizing the Louisiana National Guard for not doing enough when one-third of the guard was in Iraq, fighting in a war perpetrated with untruths. Some of the billions being spent on that war could have been used to prevent this hurricane holocaust from happening.
We criticized the Russians for inept government personnel in dealing with the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor disaster. President Bush, you, your appointees and the Leaders in Congress have mimicked the Soviets in the way this horrible occurrence has been dealt with. Who is being inept now?
The various departments of the Government are equally responsible for ignoring the warnings that this disaster would happen. Our legislators awarded money to their pet projects and looked after the welfare of a select few instead of doing what was really needed for the welfare of all the people of our great nation to prevent this horror from happening. We are only beginning to experience the economic, public health, and social ramifications of this event.
The world can not comprehend how we would let so many African Americans die when those who are affluent had transportation to safety As the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, there is no reason why we cannot take care of our own citizens.
Our constitution promises…”Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Are these values not valid to those who were not helped by our complacent leaders? We pray that those survivors who have lost loved ones and those whose livelihoods have been destroyed will somehow be helped to regain that happiness. But one of the first goals of this Congressional session is the repeal of the estate tax, another example of looking after the welfare of a select few while ignoring the welfare of all. We the people who have opened our hearts and pocketbooks to fill the void left by the government cannot let such a vote go unnoticed and unprotested!
York Friends (Quaker) Monthly Meeting.
York, PA
Leada Dietz, Clerk
