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.
As 2024 draws to a close, we are pausing to reflect on the remarkable strength and dedication of this community. You have played a critical role in connecting the concerns of Friends in your meeting or church with advocacy with federal policymakers. I am so grateful to work with all of you.
Through prayerful listening and active participation, you have shown up in powerful ways – speaking out for peace, justice, and integrity in our local and national communities.
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.
We are seeking a peaceful, equitable, and just world. We bring this vision into reality by working in coalition with like-minded organizations and friends to confront systemic racism in our communities.
FCNL is creating a cadre of grassroot racial justice changemakers through our work with Quaker Coalition to Uproot Racism (QCUR). This is a collaborative project that includes FCNL and five other national Quaker organizations – American Friends Service Committee, Friends Council on Education, Friends General Conference, Pendle Hill, and Quaker Voluntary Service.
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