Update

At the 2023 Friends General Conference Gathering, Quakers and friends explored the power of deep listening.

I recently spoke with Tarig Ahmed, the Sudan Project Manager for Invisible Children, an organization that works to prevent atrocities and promote peacebuilding in central Africa. Their work is funded in part by the U.S. State Department. What follows is Tarig’s story—a powerful look into how federal investments in peacebuilding programs are saving lives and preventing global conflict.

Last week, the House passed its version of the annual defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA. Unfortunately, an amendment to repeal the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq (2002 Iraq AUMF) was not included. However, we are not discouraged. There remain multiple paths to repeal.

Through the Inflation Reduction Act’s benefits, houses of worship seeking to become more environmentally friendly can renovate their facilities and make them more efficient. This is great news for religious institutions like Quaker Meetings, which seek to empower their communities to live sustainably.

History has shown us the pain and instability of investing in war. It’s time we invest in communities.

The opioid crisis has taken an enormous toll on the American public. To support communities, we need evidence-based solutions rooted in public health approaches—not punitive policies that normalize a reliance on incarceration or militarization to address problems.

Rather than reinforcing our nation’s shared values and global leadership, Chairman Diaz-Balart’s FY24 SFOPs bill would dramatically increase human suffering and displacement, slash conflict prevention and peacebuilding programs, prevent critical climate adaption work, and weaken the United States’ standing and diplomatic influence globally. Fortunately, the House does not get the last word.

Quakers and friends in the FCNL community have been closely following the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act. With a deep concern for the need to advance justice, accountability, and healing for the atrocities of the Indian boarding school era, our network has faithfully uplifted this legislation through intergenerational advocacy.

To learn how FCNL can better support communities that depend on the fossil fuel industry in this transition, we traveled to West Virginia, where 96% of all energy consumed or exported is derived from fossil fuels. We met with representatives from grassroots organizations and Quaker groups to hear their stories.

June is Gun Violence Awareness Month. While the terrible and growing number of high-profile mass shootings continues to make news, these events represent just a fraction of the toll that gun violence extracts. Community-level shootings, acts of intimate partner violence, and suicides comprise most gun violence incidents in this country.