Annual Meeting 2025 will bring together FCNL’s General Committee members with other Friends and supporters of Quaker witness and advocacy on Capitol Hill.
This gathering will take place online only. Linked by the Spirit and our common purpose, we will listen together for where we are called to this vital work. The draft schedule is available here.
Registration will close on November 12.
This year’s meeting has no set registration fee. We invite you to pay as you are led to support the gathering, with a suggested amount of $50 per person.
Plenary: Acting for Democracy’s Future, Friday, November 14
“History does not repeat, but it does instruct.”
– Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
When democracy is under threat, how are we called to speak truth to power? In this program, we’ll explore this question through the lenses of history, experience, and faith. We’ll consider the imperfections and possibilities of democracy in the United States, along with advocacy’s role in both strengthening and challenging that political system. The lessons of others’ experience and expertise will help us each consider how we might act for democracy’s future, through FCNL and in our daily lives.
Timothy Snyder will join us from 3-4 p.m. ET. Snyder holds the inaugural Chair in Modern European History at the University of Toronto. He is a scholar of the history of Central Europe, Ukraine, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust and is the author or editor of twenty books.
After a break, we will resume with a conversation with the following speakers:
- Adam Russell Taylor, president of Sojourners and author of A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community.
- Itzel Hernandez, immigration rights organizer with the American Friends Service Committee.
Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
Additional Information
What times should I hold for this meeting?
Programming will take place on Friday November 14 and Saturday November 15 between approximately 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern / 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific, and on Sunday November 16 between approximately 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Eastern / 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. Pacific. There will be regular breaks.
How much does registration cost?
There is no set fee for registering for this year’s meeting. After you complete your registration form, you will have the opportunity to make a donation towards the cost of the meeting. If you have the means, we encourage some contribution to recognize the effort, time, and resources that go into bringing this community together. We suggest a donation of $50 per person attending.
What will happen during the meeting?
The schedule will include
- Meetings for worship (both unprogrammed and semi-programmed)
- Time in small groups for community-building and worship sharing
- Meetings for worship with attention to business, for decision-making, reflection, and updates related to FCNL governance
- Conversation and information sharing about policy, advocacy, and organizing work in a challenging climate.
- Invitations to live into the beloved community we seek to build.
You can read a draft schedule here.
Why is this an online-only gathering?
In 2024, the FCNL Executive Committee made the decision to alternate between an online-only meeting of the General Committee, in odd years, and a hybrid gathering in Washington, DC, in even years. Many factors went into this decision, including concerns around the financial and environmental cost of meeting each year in Washington and around a desire for full and equitable participation from the General Committee and others committed to FCNL’s future.
If you know of others interested in participating in your area, you are welcome to host a meeting hub and gather together to participate from a single device. We will share more resources on organizing such a hub as the meeting approaches.
Will the meeting include time for lobbying?
There will be opportunities to take action and to participate in FCNL’s mission to change policy to advance the world we seek. We are not currently planning on a set time for Friends to visit with congressional offices as part of this meeting.