Quaker Updates

Building a trauma-informed community that prioritizes the well-being of advocates is essential, even if that means examining and recalibrating business as it is usually done.

The only antidote to a failing government is the active engagement of its people. As the 118th Congress begins—no matter how it unfolds in the weeks and months ahead—I hope you’ll join us in reclaiming our democracy and continuing our work together to build the world we seek.

In recent months, the FCNL community has mobilized around the country for indigenous justice in solidarity with tribes advocating for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act (S. 2907/H.R. 5444).  

In July, I joined the staff as FCNL’s associate general secretary for community and culture. In that position, I lead the new Community and Culture department made up of FCNL’s Quaker outreach, young adult, and human resources teams, as well as Friends Place on Capitol Hill.

Anne and Hal now devote much of their time to working on racial injustice, Indigenous Peoples’ justice, and immigration reform. Their Quaker faith calls them to advocate for others and to bring awareness to organizations, such as FCNL, who focus their work on similar issues.  

To say the students at the Ramallah Friends School have had to grow up too fast under the Israeli occupation is an understatement. They described life under the restrictive system of checkpoints and other forms of control and repression.

Cai Quirk spoke with FCNL staff in a late-June Zoom lunch, and discussed the ways Spirit has been leading them to explore gender, faith, and nature through art.

One of the tenets of Quaker faith is to always be open to new revelation, to change. Sometimes the revelation comes quickly, but more often, it comes through ongoing collective discernment.

On May 4, FCNL welcomed Dr. Sa’ed Atshan, associate professor of Anthropology at Emory University, to share his experiences with Quaker education growing up, his life’s journey with Quakerism, his thoughts on Quaker institutions, and his overall reflections on faith.

It’s been a little more than three months on the job, and I can confidently say that the Spirit is alive and well within the FCNL community. Here’s a look at what I am seeing and hearing as I travel among Friends.