Meeting Minute

The systematic, racially discriminatory practice of arresting, detaining, and deporting people who live and work among us betrays our civic responsibility as Americans and wounds our neighborly conscience as Central Virginians

“There is that of God in everyone.” For the Yellow Springs Friends Meeting, this testimony is the root of our belief in the dignity and value of each person as well as our desire to reach out to vulnerable people, our neighbors, with love and respect. We strongly oppose the brutal practices and violent procedures being utilized by our government to detain and deport our Haitian neighbors in Springfield, Ohio, and other cities in our nation.

All of these developments lead us as a faith community to witness to our common humanity with these Springfield residents, and our desire to stand with them. We must uphold their Dignity as siblings in the Family of God. Their suffering can be profound, and we cannot look the other way.

We minute our commitment to becoming a welcoming and affirming, safe, and nurturing place for everyone to worship and live fully that which the Spirit is leading them to be.

We therefore condemn all those who perpetrate the violence, including the Israeli Defense Force, Hamas, and the United States. We call for the continuation of the current ceasefire, a lasting and peaceful end to the war, the release of all unjustly incarcerated Palestinian prisoners, and the complete disarmament of both sides.

As Quakers, we are moved by our faith to speak on behalf of our neighbors and communities currently experiencing hardship, mistreatment, fear, and trauma through the actions of immigration enforcement.

Members and attenders of the Bridge City Friends Meeting (Quakers) find the US and Israeli attacks on Iran including the bombing of citizens and infrastructure as immoral. Though the Iranian government practices brutal terrorism, US war activities are contrary to our testimonies for Peace and Justice.

Lopez Island Friends (Quaker) Meeting on Lopez Island, Washington, supports the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act (S.761, H.R. 7325).

We are delighted to report that FLGBTQC is alive and revitalized, stronger than ever in spirit.

At present, there are more armed conflicts and conflict-related fatalities around the globe than humanity has suffered since World War II. The war with Iran and Lebanon, initiated by the U.S. and Israel, has cost many lives and much economic harm.

As members of London Grove Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) from Pennsylvania, we are guided by the Light within every human being. We are witnessing policies, rhetoric, and practices that contradict our most deeply held religious beliefs. We cannot stand aside.

As people of faith who believe that the Divine dwells within every human being, we bear witness to the devastating injustices perpetrated by current immigration enforcement practices in the United States.

As members of Hockessin Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) from Delaware, we are guided by the Light within, seeking to live in accordance with our testimonies of peace, integrity, equality, simplicity, community, and stewardship.

We hold that all people are equal in dignity and value, and that all people deserve strong and direct representation of and by themselves.

We want to show God’s love for impoverished people … in our neighborhoods, in the city, and the wider nation. We embrace the Zulu word, ubuntu “I am who I am because of who we all are.”

The coercive actions of our current administration: occupying US cities and violence against their residents, the action in Venezuela, and threats to own Greenland contribute to a “might is right” belief that will likely lead to more violence, loss of life and suffering, and no clear endpoint.

Charlotte Friends Meeting celebrates and welcomes the transgender community.

Boulder Friends Meeting utterly rejects a reliance on war and the imposition of the will of one group on another through the aggressive use of military force.

Friends know as a matter of faith, scripture, and experience that war does not resolve differences, but rather ignites escalating rounds of violence. War harms and dehumanizes everyone and damages the Earth and all living beings.

As Friends, we cannot turn away. Our faith calls us to witness—to “utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fighting with outward weapons, for any end.” (Declaration of Friends to Charles II, 1660)