When Quakers conduct business in a monthly meeting or church, it is done in worship. A minute is a record of a corporate decision reached during a meeting for worship, or for business, or the account of a single transaction in the written record of a meeting for business or committee.
Quakers record their discernment of a concern that weighs heavily on their hearts. These minutes can be powerful ways to communicate to elected officials and to the world the concerns of a Quaker meeting.
When minutes associated with FCNL legislative priorities are sent to us, we publicly post them so that they can be easily shared. Share your minutes at www.fcnl.org/minutes and read what Friends are lifting up to their members of Congress. Here are some recent minutes we received:
Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Approved by the Birmingham Monthly Meeting, PA
March 4, 2018
In 2017, 122 United Nations member states wrote the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, designed as a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading toward their total elimination. The Birmingham Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) strongly requests the United States to sign and ratify this treaty.
On August 6, 1945, the United States incinerated, annihilated, and irradiated with one atomic bomb 200,000 people and destroyed 62,000 buildings in Hiroshima. Three days later, the U.S. caused similar devastation in Nagasaki. The effects—physical, mental, and genetic—linger 72 years later. The question of the morality of using such weapons has been debated ever since.
In the ensuing decades, more countries have pursued development of nuclear weapons. Currently, nine nations possess nearly 15,000 such weapons.
The risk of using this inventory of nuclear weapons and the threat of building additional ones for use must be eliminated. Total abolition of nuclear weapons is the moral choice and is essential to our survival.
Separating Children from Families
Approved by the Friends Meeting of San Antonio, TX
June 17, 2018
Friends Meeting of San Antonio finds the policy of the present administration of separating children from their families at the border to be shameful and contrary to American values. Further, using the Gospel to claim that “God has ordained” such actions are appalling to us as a people of faith. We also insist that our government follow international law and open our ports of entry for people seeking asylum.
We call on all government officials, from the president, attorney general, senators, and representatives to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection to cease and desist separating infants and older children from their parents.
Compassion is called for in welcoming those who flee violence, seeking asylum in America.
Family Separation at the Southern Border
Approved by Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative), IA
August 2018
At the root of our faith is the sacredness of relationships among ourselves and between us and God. We have been heartbroken to see those sacred connections broken as children are separated from those who love them. We are so thankful for the efforts of those who are working toward the goal of reuniting every child with their family.
We would like our congressional representatives to create and pass legislation to prevent such separations from ever occurring again.
We affirm the right of anyone to seek asylum. We believe a change in policy that does not recognize fear of gang violence, domestic abuse, or rape as credible fear should be rescinded.
We urge that mental health services be provided to traumatized children and their families.
Efforts by both our government and non-governmental organizations to help improve conditions in those countries people are fleeing is a crucial part of addressing asylum. We recognize that historical and ongoing U.S. foreign policies have contributed to the violence in those countries.
Underlying all this should be reclaiming the moral narrative for our public policies. Too much of what the current administration has done, and continues to do, is related to stigmatizing those who are seen as “others.” Rather, we believe in embracing diversity.