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.
Beginning fall 2025, we are launching a new quarterly event series, focused on practicing hope and equipping Friends and others to act effectively and to learn from each other. We will continue the rich legacy of Changemaker events by lifting up stories of Friends’ faith in action. These new gatherings will also provide a space for the latest updates from FCNL’s lobbyists, opportunities to strengthen your advocacy skills, and an invitation to act on your most deeply held beliefs together with others.
I have had the privilege to work on many Quaker Changemaker events, along with my colleagues Christine Ashley, Bobby Trice, Emma Hulbert, Clare Carter, and Micah MacColl Nicholson. I’m grateful to the many Friends and others who have shared their experience and stories. As we look ahead to this new series, I want to celebrate this work by highlighting some of the events that have stayed with me.
All the recordings can be found on FCNL’s Youtube channel. I invite you to discover, or rediscover, some memorable moments of your own.
Fostering Civic Oversight with Law Enforcement: Two Quakers’ Stories
July 2019
In one of the first Quaker Changemaker events, Friends Dwight Wilson and Eduardo Diaz discussed their work for civilian oversight of law enforcement, and its connection to FCNL’s advocacy to stop militarization of local police departments. Facilitated by Christine Ashley
Changing Things from the Inside: Friends in Public Office
June 2020
In these events, Friends have been generous in sharing the challenges as well as joys of living as a Quaker in the world. This conversation featured two Friends who at the time were serving in office, Jasmine Krotkov (state representative, Montana), and Michael Snarr (Wilmington, OH City Council). They discussed why they decided to run, how being a Quaker affects their service, and how their experience of being lobbied has affected their own advocacy. Facilitated by Alicia McBride
Grounded in Community: Organizing for Environmental Justice
October 2021
FCNL’s amazing network of advocates have often had a platform in Quaker Changemaker events. Here, two members of the young adult Advocacy Corps, Madison Sings and Paige Schroeder, spoke with FCNL staff about their work organizing for environmental justice in North Carolina and South Dakota. Facilitated by Larissa Gil Sanhueza.
H.R 40 and the Quaker Push for Reparations
June 2022
What does it take to rectify the original sin of slavery in the United States? This conversation between Lucy Duncan of Green Street Friends Meeting and FCNL’s domestic policy lobbyist Abibat Rahman-Davies examined this question on the personal, communal, and national levels. Facilitated by Bobby Trice.
Learning Under Occupation at Ramallah Friends School
December 2022
Following a visit to Ramallah Friends School during a visit to Israel and occupied Palestinian territory, FCNL’s Hassan El-Tayyab spoke with head of school Rania Maayeh about the school’s work and impact. Facilitat.ed by Bobby Trice
Quaker Conscientious Objection
January 2023
Changemaker events have been places to explore the connections between personal decisions, vocation, and government policies. Here, FCNL Executive Secretary Emeritus Joe Volk shared his experience of being a conscientious objector after being drafted during the Vietnam War, and Lenore Yarger spoke of the work of the GI Hotline and Quaker House in Fayetteville, NC in counselling current service members. Facilitated by Alicia McBride
Healing the Harms of Nuclear Testing
September 2023
For Tina Cordova and other “downwinders,” the effects of U.S. nuclear testing are ongoing and pervasive. Tina, a cofounder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, spoke with FCNL lobbyist Allen Hester about the powerful partnerships between the people most affected by government policies and the national reach of organizations like FCNL to reckon with the harm nuclear weapons have already done. Facilitated by Alicia McBride
Students Uniting: Then and Now
August 2024
Changemaker events have been a chance for people to learn and connect with each other. In this event, leaders from campus movements past and present shared their experiences in organizing against apartheid, war, and occupation and spoke about the common threads connecting student work for peace and justice across generations. Speakers: Avela Chiya, Jim Cason, Younos Mokhtarzada, Lukas Soloman. Facilitated by Jackson Malkus.
