QuakerOrgan.html

Quaker Organizations

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting

Who We Are
Our Faith Community is comprised of over one hundred local Meeting communities in Eastern Pennsylvania , Southern New Jersey , all of Delaware and Eastern Maryland . We practice "unprogrammed" Quaker worship. That is we gather together in silent worship to wait on the word of God. We do not make use of a paid clergy or sacramental rituals. Rather we meet each other in a friendly atmosphere where anyone who feels strongly led to speak can do so. Many Friends give their time and resources to promote peace, understanding, justice and integrity. Through out these pages you will read of the faith work of each of the groups mentioned below. Extensive website can be reached at http://www.pym.org/

Monthly Meetings
Weekly worship at local congregations. These are referred to as "Monthly Meetings" because they usually meet at least once a month to make decisions about issues and concerns that affect the local group. There are usually committees in these groups that bring forward recommendations and take care of work that the Meeting is undertaking.
Quarterly Meetings - Gatherings several times a year (most four times thus the name "Quarter") of members and attenders of local Meetings in a designated region. Some Quarters are more organized than others, having committees like local Meetings. Others gather simply for fellowship. Some have paid staff, some do not.
Yearly Meeting - Annual gathering of people from all the Quarters with in its region as well as visitors from other Yearly Meetings. This is includes a year round organization of volunteers and paid staff. Standing Committees and working groups of volunteers work with the staff to implement programs through out the year.
We joyfully invite and welcome all seekers to join us in worship. Find out more at these links:
Read our book Faith & Practice online to learn more about Quakerism.
Find a place of worship in our local Monthly & Quarterly Meetings List
Look at a regional map to find a local Meeting.
Find out about Meetings outside our area.
Find out more about the work of our Standing Committees.
Find out more about Quaker history and genealogy.

PYM Standing Committees
Volunteer oversight of the projects and services of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting rests with five Standing Committees. For people who may be familiar with an earlier PYM structure, the Standing Committees replaced the three Coordinating Committees, effective 1 April 1998 . Two other critical PYM committees are the Financial Stewardship Committee which manages the authorization process of the Yearly Meeting budget, and the Nominating Committee which brings to Interim Meeting volunteers to serve on PYM committees and representatives to external and affiliated organizations.
Communication with Yearly Meeting Staff

Quaker United Nations Office

THE QUAKER PRESENCE AT THE UNITED NATIONS

QUNO- the Quaker United Nations Office- received special attention as a model religious activity in a recently published report on the activities and effectiveness of religious NGO as (non governmental organizations) at the UN. Religion and Public Policy at the UN was prepared by Religion Counts, an international group of distinguished scholars and experts drawn from the entire world as major religions. Their report should be of interest to Friends. First, bearing in mind the cultural diversity and doctrinal divisions between and within the world as major faiths, it raises provocative questions concerning the appropriate role of a religion and a religious group in the work of the UN. Second, it favorably portrays QUNO as rather unique response to these questions and thus helps Friends to appreciate how Quaker processes can be used with great effect to bring Quaker testimonies into the work of the UN.One would think that, particularly in these times, all of the worlds religions would wish to play a significant role in helping the UN pursue the tasks specifically assigned by its Charter: the promotion of peace, human development and human rights- and the development of international law as a means to realize these interrelated objectives. Further, the Preamble to the Charter, an eloquent reflection of Quaker testimonies, tells us that this great covenant speaks for all the peoples of the United Nations and declares their determination to create a new era of international cooperation to promote the security, well being, and dignity of all persons everywhere. The focus is on the welfare of people, not states. Respect for the sanctity of the human person is the transcendent principle which should animate the efforts of all member governments and all UN actors.

http://www.quno.org/

http://www.quno.org/newyork/default.htm

These values and objectives are surely common and central to all the world's religions. Moreover experience clearly teaches that promotion of these principles through the many, diverse activities of the UN require the presence of groups which speak for peoples of the world rather than the self interests of governments. All too often member states of the UN act to promote narrowly-defined, national agendas; further, the organs of the UN can only act effectively when there is not only a consensus within the international community but a political will behind it; and even then, UN agencies are sometimes hampered by the pathologies and inertia which often afflict large organizations. NGO's have sometimes played a vital role in promoting the ethical principles which inform the Charter in pricking the consciences of official actors and holding them accountable to higher principles. Today the political influence of religion within national civil societies seems to be growing in many parts of the world, and the number of faith-based NGO's at the UN is increasing. Yet the report bluntly states that there is no unified perspective among these groups, no shared goals. Indeed religions role at the UN is unclear to many [religious] people.

The NGO's described in the report seem extraordinarily diverse in terms of their perceived missions and modus operandi; their composition, constituencies and capacities. Some are, or purport to be, official representatives of a particular Faith (e.g. the UN office of the Holy See); others claim to speak for groups within a faith (e.g. Muslim Women). Some are ecumenical in composition and more secular and liberal in outlook; others represent orthodox faiths, and some groups in this category tend to be suspicious of - even hostile to - the UN viewing it as a threat to their doctrines. Some groups see themselves as global citizens; others seem to be extensions of national lobbies, and they tend to focus their activities on transforming faith-based national agendas into international agendas. The increasing participation of so many religious NGO's seems to reflect a broader historical phenomenon of our times. Particularly within recent decades international law (developed through UN processes) and the activities of many, different international organizations have expanded into new fields (such as human rights, humanitarian interventions, transnational crime, environmental and health concerns, poverty reduction and development, ethnic conflict, international trade and finance). More and more these developments are impacting on national policies and law, and this globalization of governance has inevitably led to the explosive growth of a diverse, international civil society- to greater efforts by people from all parts of the world to influence international policies and norms.

UN-sponsored World Conferences have been important vehicles to develop both global understanding and new international norms governing international activities in many fields of shared concern; and many religious NGO's have been active advocates in some of these Conferences. Sometimes their attempts to defend perceived threats to deep-seated, faith-based doctrines have become attempts to incorporate their particular beliefs into international norms and programs in various fields. Thus, the report notes, at some World conferences people of [religious] conviction shocked each other and a watching world as they clashed over some of the volatile topics of the day: family planning and the nature of the family; the rights of women; gender and sexuality; abortion and birth control. At the recent World Conference on Racism and Xenophobia in Durban there were sharp debates over efforts to portray and condemn Zionism and Israel as forces of racism, perennial accusations which have adversely affected relations of Jewish NGO's with the UN, as well as UN efforts to confront vexing problems of ethnic, cultural and religious conflict in so many parts of the world. Also somewhat discouraging, at least too many observers, was the costly attempt to mobilize more effective inter-faith cooperation through the Millennium World Peace Summit which brought over a thousand representatives of the Worlds religions to New York in August 2000. The conference was privately organized and funded, but the UN Secretariat provided facilities and encouragement. The hope was that this impressive assembly would create new, ecumenical institutions and processes enabling more focused and effective interfaith support of UN efforts to reduce different kinds of conflict in all parts of the world. Regrettably, as the report observes, there was endless, self-centered oratory coupled with self promotion and opportunism. There were also embarrassing verbal skirmishes where incivilities abounded arising from acrimonious accusations against the proselytizing activities of some faiths. The ultimate outcome was approval of a rather weak, abstruse document entitled Commitment to Global Peace. Structures enabling greater cooperation to mobilize an interfaith voice are still lacking. Against this puzzling picture of religion at the UN the report notes the special reputation which QUNO (among a few other NGO's) enjoys within UN circles as a model religious actor. A quote from QUNO's Jack Patterson is specially featured in the report, and it is revealing. "Usually our focus has been not so much on positions but on process. There is nothing inherently wrong with groups being forthright, expressing their positions, [and] views on issues, and entering into a debate on those issues. But we have felt that the real show is not winning on particular issues here, but strengthening the capacity of the institution to resolve the kinds of problems that need to be resolved if the world community is to be a community". Two methods, in particular, are employed by QUNO to help create and strengthen processes and institutional capacities to resolve problems that need to be resolved:

1. Informal off-the-record meetings (at Quaker House in New York or occasionally at the Mohonk Mountain Hotel well outside the city) are used to bring governmental and UN officials, sometimes with outside experts and NGO actors, to work towards consensus on the preparation of important international instruments. The report quotes the reflections of a UN official who has participated in these meetings are quoted: "what was remarkable about the Quaker organization was their unobtrusiveness, their desire to let the dynamics of the meeting take place, leading to a good result without trying to impose their own beliefs. There was a certain integrity about the process".

2. Information and illumination. Research reports, briefing papers and other submissions are developed by QUNO, not to advocate particular positions but to aid understanding of complex subjects of concern to QUNO. The report notes the quiet efforts of QUNO, working with Sweden's UN mission, to convene an informal meeting of the Security Council to review reports reflecting the problems of peacekeeping and small arms proliferation in Africa- an effort which eventually gave much more visibility to the importance of conflict resolution in that region and a higher place for it on the Council's agenda. On another front, QUNO prepared briefing papers and hosted informal meetings to help relevant actors prepare for the recent Monterey International Conference on Financing for Developmental. This effort helped to highlight the Conference's focus on poverty, and on relationships between poverty and conflict, and to link poverty reduction with peace objectives, in part by underscoring the need to finance projects which are structured on genuine partnerships with all stakeholders in the activity. The value of QUNO's contributions to Monterey were publicly acknowledged by many official participants, and QUNO is now investing further efforts to enhance preparations for the forthcoming World Conference on Sustainable Development (a 10-year follow up to the ground-breaking 1992 Rio Conference on the environment and development. QUNO has also assisted preparation of a carefully researched report on Girl Soldiers in Africa . It examines the impact of the experiences of these child combatants on their later lives as young women- and again underscores the terrible human costs of conflicts in that region.
Apparently, with Jack Patterson's operating premise in mind, the report offers some principles for evaluating the effectiveness of religious groups at the UN. They should avoid self-serving goals and strive to find ways to become indispensable to the work of the UN in one or another field. They should strive for a reputation for integrity and reliability which inspires trust among government missions and UN offices. They should know (and be patient with) the complexities of UN processes and structures. They should quietly persevere, sometimes in the face of disappointments, to help important projects come to fruition over time. Finally, (the report suggests) the spiritual experiences and commitments of those who guide the work of a religious NGO are critically important. All of these qualities surely describe the Quaker presence at the UN, and that presence is uniquely enhanced by a very special resource: Quaker House. This outwardly unobtrusive but spacious four-story brownstone house, located only a few blocks away from the UN's headquarters, is used constantly to host informal meetings designed to foster understanding and cooperative efforts to resolve problems of consequence in different UN fora. Quaker House also provides a home for senior staff and hospitality, lodging and opportunities for meetings and worship for Friends visiting the UN on various missions. Quaker House symbolizes Friends beliefs regarding simplicity and peace, as any visitor can testify. The quiet, hospitable, well-used and warm living room (a far cry from the more austere, formal facilities of the offices on the UN or government missions) opens onto a spacious informal garden which has a modest peace pole as its center-piece. Light animates this ambience, and the total environment encourages quiet, centered gatherings to search for understanding and solutions.QUNO is a small NGO. Its resources are quite limited. It must plan and prioritize its activities with great care. Yet this is a time when many of the diverse operations of the UN in pursuit of peace, human development and human rights are more important than ever before. Friends everywhere should be thankful for our presence at the UN. All who wish to enhance ii can witness their support by contributing to QUNO as a Free at Fifty campaign- a one-time effort, now well underway, to create an endowment sufficient to maintain Quaker House without cutting into each year's operating expenses. Friends can indeed enhance our future presence at the UN by helping to insure the physical integrity and financial security of Quaker House.

above by James C. N. Paul of Third Haven - a member of the Quaker United Nations Committee. He has taught law at the Universities of North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Columbia . He served as Dean and later William J. Brennan Professor of Law of the Rutgers University Law School . During 1962-69 he served as Founding Dean of Ethiopia's first University law school and as Academic Vice-President of the University of Addis Ababa . He helped to found the International Center For Law in Development (in New York) and is presently serving as a member of the international Eritrean-Ethiopian Claims Commission which is based in The Hague and is arbitrating claims arising from the recent war between those countries.

The Quaker United Nations Office, located in Geneva and in New York , represents Quakers through Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC). Since the founding of the United Nations in 1945, Quakers have shared that organization's aims and supported its efforts to abolish war and promote peaceful resolution of conflicts, human rights, economic justice and good governance.

As well as representing Quakers at the UN, QUNO facilitates dialogue and works on specific issues. Work priorities are based on the concerns of Quakers worldwide and determined, in part, by the agendas of the organizations with which QUNO works. The QUNO staff draws on the expertise of Quaker individuals and organizations.

Quakers engaged in international affairs have a long tradition of providing opportunities for people to meet on an equal footing. Such informal and off-the-record meetings, away from the pressures of public life, provide a setting for dialogue where the voices of delegations from all countries may attain equal weight and importance. These meetings encourage a greater understanding of why there are disagreements and provide an opportunity to challenge assumptions between groups, who would not otherwise have the chance to talk openly. Participants may try to find common ground or to explore difficult, controversial or sensitive issues. Staff both initiate and respond to requests for these meetings, which are held at the Quaker Houses maintained for this purpose in Geneva and New York.

American Friends Service Committee

History: Helping Those in Need
The American Friends Service Committee was founded in 1917 to provide young Quakers and other conscientious objectors an opportunity to serve those in need instead of fighting during World War I.

Four decades later, the AFSC and the British Friends Service Council accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of all Quakers. In making the presentation, Gunnar Jahn, chairman of the Nobel Committee, said, "It is through silent assistance from the nameless to the nameless that they have worked to promote the fraternity between nations cited in the will of Alfred Nobel."
There is a lengthy report on the 87 year history of AFSC on their web site: http://www.afsc.org/

Mission Statement
The American Friends Service Committee is a practical expression of the faith of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Committed to the principles of nonviolence and justice, it seeks in its work and witness to draw on the transforming power of love, human and divine.

We recognize that the leadings of the Spirit and the principles of truth found through Friends' experience and practice are not the exclusive possession of any group. Thus, the AFSC draws into its work people of many faiths and backgrounds who share the values that animate its life and who bring to it a rich variety of experiences and spiritual insights.

This AFSC community works to transform conditions and relationships both in the world and in ourselves, which threaten to overwhelm what is precious in human beings. We nurture the faith that conflicts can be resolved nonviolently, that enmity can be transformed into friendship, strife into cooperation, poverty into well-being, and injustice into dignity and participation. We believe that ultimately goodness can prevail over evil, and oppression in all its many forms can give way.

Values
We cherish the belief that there is that of God in each person, leading us to respect the worth and dignity of all. We are guided and empowered by the Spirit in following the radical thrust of the early Christian witness. From these beliefs flow the core understandings that form the spiritual framework of our organization and guide its work.

We regard no person as our enemy. While we often oppose specific actions and abuses of power, we seek to address the goodness and truth in each individual.

We assert the transforming power of love and nonviolence as a challenge to injustice and violence and as a force for reconciliation.

We seek and trust the power of the Spirit to guide the individual and collective search for truth and practical action.

We accept our understandings of truth as incomplete and have faith that new perceptions of truth will continue to be revealed both to us and to others.

Work
We seek to understand and address the root causes of poverty, injustice, and war. We hope to act with courage and vision in taking initiatives that may not be popular.

We are called to confront, nonviolently, powerful institutions of violence, evil, oppression, and injustice. Such actions may engage us in creative tumult and tension in the process of basic change. We seek opportunities to help reconcile enemies and to facilitate a peaceful and just resolution of conflict.

We work to relieve and prevent suffering through both immediate aid and long-term development and seek to serve the needs of people on all sides of violent strife.

We ground our work at the community level both at home and abroad in partnership with those who suffer the conditions we seek to change and informed by their strength and vision.

We work with all people, the poor and the materially comfortable, the disenfranchised and the powerful in pursuit of justice. We encourage collaboration in social transformation towards a society that recognizes the dignity of each person. We believe that the Spirit can move among all these groups, making great change possible

Seeking to transform the institutions of society, we are ourselves transformed in the process. As we work in the world around us, our awareness grows that the AFSC's own organizational life must change to reflect the same goals we urge others to achieve.

We find in our life of service a great adventure. We are committed to this Spirit-led journey, undertaken "to see what love can do," and we are ever renewed by it.

contributions to:

AFSC Development
1501 Cherry St .
Philadelphia , PA 19102

Quaker Press

Quaker Press of FGC
Quaker Press of Friends General Conference publishes books and other resources to nurture meetings and individual Friends. To a copy of our editorial guidelines, please see the Writer's Guide to QUIP Publishers. For a copy of our publications catalog, contact Barbara Hirshkowitz at barbarah@fgcquaker.org

All of our publications are available through Quakerbooks of FGC, our exclusive trade distributor. Their website has extended descriptions and features online ordering. You can come see all of our publications at the store of the annual FGC Gathering or at the year-round store of Quakerbooks of FGC at 1216 Arch St #2B in Philadelphia .

Quakerbooks
You can get (almost) any book you want from Quakerbooks of Friends General Conference. Couldn't find the book you want in our bookstore? We love taking special orders and get anything from the latest mainstream best-seller to the most obscure out-of-print Quaker classic. We usually ship special orders within 2-4 weeks depending on the availability of the title.

We are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM-4:30 PM EST (Tuesdays till 7:00 PM ).

We are open for walk-in business and we'd be happy if you visited us when you're in the Philadelphia area. But visitors should be aware that we are set up as mail order operation—our books are not beautifully displayed, we have no comfy couches and we work at a brisk pace to keep up with the orders we receive. We also very occasionally close the office for staff retreats. If you'd like our full attention when you are here, it is best to make an appointment.

Contact Us By Mail (a catalog will be sent on request):
Quakerbooks of FGC
1216 Arch St #2B
Philadelphia , PA 19107

By Phone: business hours only
U.S. & Canada : (800) 966-4556
Fax: +1 (215) 561-0759

On the Web: http://www.quakerbooks.org

By Email: bookstore@fgcquaker.org

Friends General Conference

Friends General Conference of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
FGC provides resources and opportunities that educate and invite members and attenders to experience, individually and corporately, God's living presence, and to discern and follow God's leadings. FGC reaches out to seekers and to other religious bodies inside and outside the wider Religious Society of Friends. It is the best source of publications about Friends.

History
Friends General Conference recently celebrated its centennial. A book entitled Deep Roots, New Growth: One Hundred Years of Friends General Conference is available from the FGC Bookstore.
This tells the story, in words and pictures, of the highlights of the first hundred years. Over 75 illustrations enhance the reader's understanding of the vibrant and diverse history of FGC from its forerunners in the 1890s to its current plans for the 21 st century.

Functions
What is Friends General Conference? Friends Serving Friends!

Friends General Conference Provides Support and Resources for Meetings and Worship Groups
http://www.fgcquaker.org/

QuakerFinder.org gives visibility on the world wide web to all FGC affiliated meetings and others asking to be listed.

Inreach/outreach packets and workshops help local meetings explore the ministry of outreach and spiritual hospitality and find ways to make them more visible, accessible, vital and welcoming.

Literature to introduce newcomers to Quakerism is available through Quakerbooks of FGC. These include ready made “inquirer's packets” as well as a variety of inexpensive leaflets.

When You're the Only Friend in Town explains the process of creating a new worship group when the nearest meeting is too far away.

We Envision lists some of the goals of the Advancement & Outreach committee

Specific Programs
Small regional gatherings to address special concerns
The chance to carry Friends' concerns to the World Council of Churches
“Young Quakes” conferences to teach high schoolers about the roots of Quakerism
A new “Ministry on Racism” to support diversity through transformation
Couple Enrichment training and workshops
Visits from seasoned Friends through the Traveling Ministries Program.
Outreach materials to help local Meetings grow: loans and grants for meetinghouse construction. Picture: Storrs (CT) Friends Meeting.
Religious Education curricula for all ages. Picture: Reading Quaker books at at the annual Gathering of Friends.
You can get any book you want, in print or out, from QuakerBooks of FGC
http://www.fgcquaker.org/publications/

Friends Committee on National Legislation

The Friends Committee on National Legislation
A public interest lobby founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends, FCNL seeks to bring the concerns, experiences and testimonies of Friends to bear on policy decisions in the nation's capital. People of many religious backgrounds participate in this work. FCNL's staff and volunteers work with a nationwide network of thousands of people to advocate social and economic justice, peace, and good government.

FCNL is a 501(c)4 public interest lobby, not a political action committee (PAC) nor a special interest lobby. FCNL's multi-issue advocacy connects historic Quaker testimonies on peace, equality, simplicity and truth with peace and social justice issues which the United States government is or should be addressing. FCNL seeks to follow the leadings of the Spirit as it speaks for itself and for like-minded people.

Location
Our offices are strategically located on Capitol Hill, across the street from the Hart Senate Office Building and provide ready access to the offices of government. As FCNL works with many groups that share similar concerns, our Wilson conference room is frequently the venue of coalition meetings and meetings of organizations other than FCNL. In all its work, FCNL seeks to promote dialog and cooperation among those with varied viewpoints.

FCNL
245 Second Street , NE
Washington , DC , 20002-5795
http://www.fcnl.org/
1- 800 - 630-1330

Governance
FCNL is governed by a General Committee of 240 Friends, the majority of whom have been appointed by 26 Yearly Meetings and seven national Friends' organizations. The General Committee meets each November to conduct business. (Click here to view photos from the most recent Annual Meeting of the General Committee.) This includes establishing legislative policy and priorities. An Executive Committee and several other subcommittees oversee the program and administration of FCNL between Annual Meetings.

FCNL Education Fund
The FCNL Education Fund is governed by a board appointed by the General Committee of FCNL. It is a 501(c)3 organization that exists in parallel with FCNL to support the research, analysis and education for which FCNL is known and respected. (Donations to the FCNL Education Fund are tax-deductible.) Thousands of individuals and organizations rely on FCNL Education Fund's resource materials for background information on policy issues and legislative details.

Legislative Priorities
FCNL's Legislative Priorities for the 108th Congress (2003-4) are the following:

Promote arms control and disarmament initiatives, especially the control and elimination under international auspices of all weapons of mass destruction through non-violent means.

Identify, articulate, and promote peaceful alternatives to the "war on terrorism," including United States adherence to international law and participation in multilateral efforts to prevent and resolve violent conflict through institutions such as the United Nations and international courts of law.

Promote a more peaceful and equitable world by shifting federal budget priorities away from military spending and toward funding basic human needs at home and abroad.

Preserve and advance full civil liberties for all persons in the United States , and promote human rights around the world through international institutions and treaties.

Advance the rights and well-being of Native Americans, while assuring cultural preservation and tribal sovereignty.

Remove dependence on oil as a source of violent conflict, injustice, and environmental degradation by reducing United States ' energy consumption and encouraging the development of renewable sources of energy and alternative modes of transportation.

FCNL's efforts include Capitol Hill visits, congressional testimony, sign-on letters, and preparation of educational materials, such as the monthly FCNL Washington Newsletter. Through the timely distribution of educational and advocacy materials, FCNL staff help to mobilize people across the U.S. to participate actively in the legislative process. FCNL has the expertise and flexibility to respond quickly to new initiatives, as well as the patience to work for long-term change.

Support FCNL

We hope you will join us in our national advocacy efforts for peace and justice.

Issues addressed by Friends Committee on National Legislation

Africa - Liberia & Sudan

Arms Control and Disarmament

Central and South Asia - Afghanistan

Civil Liberties and Human Rights - Federal Constitutional Marriage Amendment & Human Rights and Civil Liberties: Post-September 11

Domestic - Affirmative Action, Charitable Choice, Criminal Justice, Death Penalty & Human Needs

East Asia - China & North Korea

Energy and the Environment - Global Climate Change & Oil Dependency

Federal Budget - Priorities, Tax Policy, & Military Spending

Indigenous Rights - Native American

Latin America and the Caribbean - Colombia, Cuba & Haiti

Middle East - Iraq, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, & Syria

Militarism - Military Draft, Military Influence on U.S. Foreign Policy & War on Terror

Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict - UN and Peace Operations,International Criminal Court, Law of the Sea, Peaceful Prevention & Sustainable Development and Human Needs

The work of the Friends Committee on National Legislation is to educate and advocate for U.S. government action and policies consistent with Quaker principles. Lobbyists at FCNL are in regular communication with Congressional offices providing an important witness and up-to-date, reliable information on public policy.

FCNL needs the participation of people from all over the United States to advocate for peace, justice and good government. Our influence in Washington is due in large part to our network of supporters who express their concerns about government policy, who contribute funds to further FCNL's work, and who share FCNL's witness with other interested people.

Grassroots Advocate Page - ideas on how to organize local activities and events.

Join FCNL's Grassroots Lobbying Team Contact your members of Congress.

Check the Legislative Action Message for regular information and action suggestions.

Read the FCNL Washington Newsletter. Receive three trial issues. Send the Newsletter to a friend.

Participate in FCNL's monthly letter writing campaigns. Consider a legislative internship with FCNL.

Become an FCNL Meeting Contact for your church, meeting, student organization or other community group. Contact FCNL for more information.

Receive action alerts on issues of your interest by signing up with our FCNL Nationwide Network.

Support FCNL financially.

Send an audio news release about issues FCNL works on to your local radio station.

The Washington Newsletter is a monthly publication that provides news and analysis for a selection of domestic and international issues with a primary focus on peace, disarmament, international cooperation, and social and economic justice. The Washington Newsletter also publishes an annual congressional voting record plus a congressional directory for each new Congress.

The Indian Report is a quarterly publication. FCNL policy emphasizes upholding treaty rights, insuring the fulfilment of the federal trust responsibility, and assuring the right of Native American comunities to self-determiniation. We seek to be guided by the views of Indian tribes, communities, and organizations across the country.

Friends Journal

FRIENDS JOURNAL
Published by Friends Publishing Corporation. Our goal is to serve the Quaker community and the wider community of spiritual seekers through the publication of articles, poetry, letters, art, and news that convey the contemporary experience of Friends.

The mission of Friends Publishing Corporation is to serve the Quaker community with timely, comprehensive, responsive, and understandable information and reflection on the experience of Friends.

Friends Publishing Corporation was founded in 1955 "for the purpose of promoting religious concerns of the Religious Society of Friends and the education and information of its members and others by means of the written or spoken word, including the publication of a magazine or magazines, pamphlets or other writings." FRIENDS JOURNAL, the major publication of Friends Publishing Corporation, is the consolidation of two previous Quaker publications and corporations, Friends Intelligencer (Hicksite) and The Friend (Orthodox), at the time of reunification of the two yearly meetings in Philadelphia . Friends Intelligencer was published from 1844 to 1955. The Friends Intelligencer Corporation was founded in 1933 "to publish a magazine, pamphlets and other writings for the purpose of promoting religious concerns of the Religious Society of Friends and the education and information of its members and others." The Friend was published from 1827 to 1955. The corporation, named "Contributors to the Friend, Inc.," was founded in 1874 "to carry on the publication of the religious and literary journal known as The Friend and to publish such other material pertaining to the general field of the interests, practices, and beliefs of the Religious Society of Friends as may from time to time be determined by the Board of Managers."

The first issue in 1955 went to "Friends and readers from other groups in all 48 states of the Union and to 42 foreign countries." It carried the colophon designed by artist Fritz Eichenberg that has appeared in all subsequent issues of the magazine. In 1955 the JOURNAL appeared weekly, and by 1957 there were 5,143 paid subscribers. On November 11, 1955 , FRIENDS JOURNAL "Associates" (616 subscribers who were also contributors) had their first dinner meeting, which became an annual public event featuring speakers on topics of interest to Friends and others.

Today FRIENDS JOURNAL is located in an office condominium adjacent to the offices of Friends General Conference, with a staff of five full-time and seven part-time employees, and the assistance of 17 regular volunteers. Our readership is located in all 50 states and 42 foreign countries. Appearing monthly, the annual subscription cost is $35 plus $8.00 postage outside the U.S. , Mexico , and Canada . Single copies are $5.00 Average paid circulation in 2002 was over 7,100.

Back issues of FRIENDS JOURNAL are available including the following special issues:
Education (January 2001), Quakers in the Arts (May 2002), Friends and Prisons (October 2002), Welcoming New Friends (July 2003), Diversity among Friends (October 2003) & Aging and Life's End (July 2004)

Friends Journal
1216 Arch Street , 2A
Philadelphia , PA 19107
www.friendsjournal.org/
800-471-6863

Pendle Hill

Pendle Hill - Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation

At Pendle Hill, education is envisioned as the transforming of people and society. Our programs offer the resources and time for integrated spiritual, intellectual and personal learning. Pendle Hill was founded in 1930 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and is open to people of all faiths. Our educational philosophy is rooted in four basic social testimonies of Friends:

Equality of opportunity and respect for individuals;
Simplicity of the educational and material environment;
Harmony of inward and outward actions;
Community in daily life and in the seeking of the Spirit.

We invite you to come and deepen the spiritual basis of your life and work--to discover new sources of inward guidance, peace and power. Our unique curriculum of work, worship and study provides the means for personal exploration. This in turn will help you discern and prepare for the service to which you feel you may be called.

Reasons for coming to Pendle Hill vary, including having time for study leave, wanting to learn more about Quakerism, seeking an experience of community living, wanting to deepen prayer and spiritual life, or being at a point of transition in life and needing to discern a future direction. Whatever your reason and whatever your spiritual or religious background, you are welcome here.

Pendle Hill is an oasis of quiet for reflection and contemplation with beautiful grounds, a library, a bright and spacious craft studio, and walking paths. Pendle Hill is located near more than forty colleges, universities and seminaries; Swarthmore College is a lovely hike through the woods. We have a substantial reputation in the neighboring academic world so we would be glad to work with the guidelines for sabbaticals of your university or church and arrange for you to do research at one of these institutions. We can also arrange a regular consulting session with someone on our faculty who shares your interests, both academic and spiritual.

The Resident Study Program is a rare opportunity to step back from our everyday lives and reflect on what matters most in our work and service. For 74 years people from many countries and religious traditions have come together at Pendle Hill. Our program integrates study, work, worship and social witness. We offer an environment of love and support for people seeking to deepen their spiritual lives and prepare for their future work and service in the world.

Each resident is provided with a private study-bedroom (there are also facilities for spouses and children) and three healthy meals each day. There is opportunity for both solitary activity and conviviality. You are welcome for one or more of our student terms, or for whatever period of time fits your schedule.

One of the basic ideas concerning Pendle Hill is the application of the tenets of the Religious Society of Friends to education as a preparation for usefulness in the field of religion and social action. Because it is a Quaker institution, Pendle Hill differs radically from a theological seminary or a school for social workers. As in the case of other vital movements, small or large, the idea motivating this experiment seeks embodiment in pamphlets. Pendle Hill pamphlets, like the early Christian or the early Quaker tracts, present a variety of viewpoints, all in some way derived from another fundamental idea. Variety is evidence of life; cold uniformity presages death.

Pendle Hill, 338 Plush Mill Road, Wallingford , PA 19086

Telephone 610-566-4507, 800-742-3150 Website http://www.pendlehill.org

Southern Quarter

To proceed to the Southern Quarter website, please click here: http://www.pym.org/southern-qm/

View schematic drawing of the Quaker Network