Statement

Today marks the International Day of Peace. It offers us an opportunity for reflection on—and rededication to—the principles of peace and the work of building a just and non-violent world. This year, that opportunity feels both vital and urgent.

On August 26, 2023, a gunman took the lives of three Black people in a racist attack in Jacksonville, FL. FCNL holds their communities and families in the Light as they grieve this horrific loss. We also recognize and affirm that thoughts and prayers do not atone for inaction—not on racism, not on white supremacy, and not on gun violence.

Confronting racism and building a more just and equitable world is ongoing work that requires reckoning with our country’s past and transforming our future.

The American Friends Service Committee and the Friends Committee on National Legislation, institutions guided by the tenets of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), seek policies that uplift that of God in every human being. As such, we adamantly oppose the Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 2).

Amid calls for more weapons to win battlefield victories, we affirm the enduring power of building peace through peaceful means. We urge robust, persistent, and creative diplomacy and peacebuilding to bring about a just and durable solution to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Dismantling racism and militarism in our police system means changing the fundamentals of how we approach public safety.

We are heartbroken over the Monterey Park violence. We grieve as we hold in the Light all those who were killed and wounded in yet another mass shooting in our country.

As we commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we are reminded of what the nonviolent icon said 56 years ago: “The Triple Evils of poverty, racism, and militarism are forms of violence that exist in a vicious cycle. They are interrelated, all-inclusive, and stand as barriers to our living in the Beloved Community. When we work to remedy one evil, we affect all evils.’

We may not know all the winners of the November 8 elections – or even which party will control the House and Senate — for several days, even weeks. Yet so far, the election has been a victory for the democratic process.

The collective power of our voting process is a remarkable achievement for democracy every election year.