Quaker Updates

Mary Lou Hatcher guided us in worship in FCNL’s 2025 Annual Meeting, held virtually. Over the next week, we will feature her notes as revised for publication. 

The United Church of Christ has for some years flown a banner saying, “God is still speaking.”   How exactly might Spirit be speaking to us, here, in this virtual room of tiny squares?

As we consider our role of new systems, we are invited to engage in the spiritual practice of loving our neighbor without exception.  

What does it mean to be Still Speaking Truth to Power in 2025?  

The fear, anger, and chaos of this year can feel overwhelming. Yet, as we prepare to gather in November for FCNL’s Annual Meeting, we are reminded that our vision for peace and justice is clearer and brighter than the turmoil around us.

When we asked Friends in FCNL’s network how this theme speaks to them, here’s what we heard. Share your reflections by emailing us at quakers@fcnl.org.  

What a joy to spend a week serving as the Friend of the Week at Quaker House Chautauqua. It was full of deep dialogue, seeking understanding across difference, educating one another on the issues of the day, and building community for a better world.  

For Quakers, faith is not practiced only in a particular building, on a particular day of the week. We are invited to let our lives speak, to demonstrate our beliefs with each decision and action.  

For more than five years the Quaker Changemaker event series has allowed Friends to share how they are practicing their faith through action and advocacy, and how their testimony connects to FCNL’s legislative work on Capitol Hill.  

People usually think of Quakers sitting silently in worship. While this is a common aspect of Friends’ religious practices, our community also has a commitment to living our faith in action.  

The World We Seek guides the efforts of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Whether through our team of expert lobbyists meeting with policymakers on Capitol Hill or our grassroots network of passionate advocates building power for the voices of people across the country, these words form a foundation for our work. 

Just a few weeks into the second Trump administration, chaos and confusion are running rampant in Washington, DC. Mass deportations and civil service layoffs are rolled out daily. Federal funding freezes are coupled with illegal moves to destroy government agencies and rewrite constitutional powers.

Washington, DC, and the whole country are gearing up for President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday, January 20.  How do we navigate this new political era as Friends? 

Around the FCNL office on Capitol Hill, proliferating security fencing makes even a short walk more difficult. This week, as I stepped through one of the gates in the fencing that was left open, for the time being, I realized I could feel a kind of fence growing inside me as well.

The World We Seek guides the efforts of the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Whether through our team of expert lobbyists meeting with policymakers on Capitol Hill or our grassroots network of passionate advocates building power for the voices of people across the country, these words form a foundation for our work.