Peace and Social Concerns Committee

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee consists of approximately 12 members nominated by the Nominating Committee and appointed by the Yearly Meeting.

The Committee recognizes that an enduring peace requires social justice, and that the two are inextricably bound together. Friends’ concerns for nonviolence in international affairs and in the alleviation of situations of tension in society are translated into education and action programs of the Yearly Meeting. The Committee stimulates and coordinates activities of Monthly Meeting Peace and Social Concerns Committees regarding those issues that affect the fabric of society and on which Quaker testimonies can be brought to bear. It serves as a resource to Baltimore Yearly Meeting and its constituent Meetings, gathering and disseminating information.

Friends are encouraged to record their personal statements of pacifism. Signed and dated statements are sent to the Youth Secretary of the Yearly Meeting. The names of all persons filing such statements are to be listed in the Yearbook published following receipt of the documents.

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Manual of Procedure, August 2005, p30

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Monthly Meetings Respond

The Peace and Social Concerns Committee reports that five monthly meetings responded to their call:

• Annapolis Friends Meeting
• Langley Hill Friends Meeting
• Maury River Friends Meeting
• Nottingham Friends Meeting
• Richmond Friends Meeting

The times we live in present a very large range of issues which fall in the area of peace and social justice, and thus under the care of our committee. These range from the tragic wars on Iraq and Afghanistan to the crisis in Darfur, the situation in Palestine/Israel, torture, and a long list of others. While we cannot deal with all of these issues, our committee tries to keep abreast of as many as possible, and to be a resource for the Yearly Meeting and its Monthly Meetings as much as possible. Our charge is to be a resource, especially on those issues where Quaker testimonies can be brought to bear.

Over the past year and a half, the Committee has hosted a networking day for the Peace and Social Concerns committees of BYM. We heard Friend Libby Garvey, a member of the Arlington County School Board, talk to us about issues of peace and social justice in the public schools. She also educated us about the status of military recruitment in the schools, in the face of the No Child Left Behind Act. Equally importantly, we were able to share with each other at some length the work that each Monthly Meeting has been doing in the area of peace and social justice. We learned that we are not alone, and that there is a large amount of work being done by individual Meetings in these areas. This includes peace vigils, tax resistance, counter recruitment efforts, as well as international efforts on Darfur and support for the Quaker Initiative to End Torture. For some of us it was welcome news to hear all of the things being done throughout BYM.

In conjunction with William Penn House in Washington, the Committee also held an all day workshop on Strategy for Change. We were led by Daniel Hunter from George Lakey’s group in Philadelphia in a number of exercises to help us learn new strategies for effecting change in the world in which we live. We participated in a simple yet surprisingly effective exercise where many of us as a group had to both stand on a blanket and somehow turn it over at the same time. This experience illustrated for us the value of strategizing, cooperation, and valuing our various roles. We learned tactic analysis. We learned Spectrum of Allies analysis: don't focus on winning over your opponent, rather draw neutrals and passive allies into being your active allies. We learned medicine wheel personality analysis to help value the roles of our team members -- there are four personality types, i.e. those who focus on: vision, relationships, data collection, and implementation. At the end, in groups, we chose examples of specific goals and we applied the lessons we had learned to devise a practical strategy for our goal. All in all this was a highly worthwhile workshop that we would recommend to others.

The Committee also seasoned several issues for Interim Meeting. As a result, BYM has minuted its support for visa renewal for teachers at Ramallah Friends School in the occupied Palestinian Territories, and called upon other religious groups to join us in opposing torture perpetrated by U.S. officials. We have also appealed to stop the genocide in Darfur.

The committee has also begun an appeal for friends of all ages to submit their own personal statements of pacifism to the Yearly Meeting, where they will be recorded and hopefully published.

Feeling frustrated? Want to learn how to make changes for Peace and Justice?

Then, you might want to come to this one day workshop on “Strategy Is Possible,” co-sponsored by the BYM Peace and Social Concerns Committee and William Penn House in Washington, DC. It will be held on March 17, from 9am to 6pm, and will be led by Daniel Hunter, who is a Training Associate with George Lakey’s Training for Change organization. Training for Change gleaned lessons from social movements around the world, and incorporated them into this workshop. SO — come to this workshop to:

• Get fresh perspective on social change strategies
• Gain tools to develop effective strategy
• Get to know Friends from other Meetings
• Reflect on ways Monthly Meetings might work together for peace and justice

(And, you will receive a free peanut butter sandwich!) Please contact Bernadette Odyniec, 202.543.5560, or bernadette@WilliamPennHouse.org. Register by Feb. 15 for only $40! ($45 after 2/15) event only (no lunch): $5 donation; both events or one

The Committee met in June 2004 at Deer Creek Meeting. Sharon Stout of Adelphi Meeting brought copies of Adelphi's Minute expressing sorrow and regret for U.S. actions and policies regarding the invasion and war on Iraq. The Minute has been endorsed by Meetings and Churches in the U.S. and will appear in Arabic and English in an Arab language newspaper. The Committee endorsed the language of the Minute and agreed to take it forward for consideration by Interim Meeting. Friends Meeting of Washington approved a Minute of Concern regarding the Bush Administration's encroachment on civil liberties. The Committee endorsed the Minute as did Interim Meeting and it was taken to 2004 Yearly Meeting. J.E. McNeil, Co-Clerk of this Committee and Executive Director of the Center on Conscience and War, announced the September 2004 draft counseling workshop to be held at Friends Meeting of Washington. The Committee agreed to submit an updated Minute on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to 2004 Yearly Meeting. (This was done and approved by the Yearly Meeting to send to members of Congress.) Also at the June 2004 Committee meeting members present discussed the purpose and mission of the Committee. It was agreed that facilitating networking among the Peace and Social Concerns Committees of the Monthly Meetings is a primary Committee responsibility. The Committee also considers and "seasons" Minutes on Peace and Social Concerns brought to the Committee and decides whether they be presented to the Yearly Meeting/Interim Meeting. The Committee also acts as a "voice" on peace and social concerns issues for the Yearly Meeting. It was noted at this meeting that the Voluntary Service Subcommittee is no longer functioning and should be deleted from the Manual of Procedure. The Ad Hoc Committee on Racism Among Friends should be listed as a Subcommittee of this Committee.

The Committee met July 30, 2004, during Annual Session and agreed that J.E. McNeil and Mary Ellen Atkinson would serve as Co-Clerks. Thanks were expressed for John Salzberg's work as previous Clerk of the Committee. Chuck Fager requested that the Yearly Meeting appoint a member to the Board of Directors of Quaker House in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This will be laid over until a formal request from the Board is made to the Yearly Meeting. A Minute of Encouragement and Support for Shirley Way, adopted by State College Meeting, was forwarded by the Committee to Yearly Meeting for approval. Shirley was among 27 defendants tried and found guilty on trespassing charges for crossing the line at Fort Benning (Georgia) while urging the closing of the U.S. Army's School of the Americas (now Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation). Shirley began serving her sentence in June 2004. The renewed Minute on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict was submitted by John Salzberg and approved by the Yearly Meeting.

On September 25, 2004, the Committee hosted a networking day for clerks/representatives of Monthly Meeting Peace and Social Concerns Committees. Eight committees sent representatives to this meeting held at Sandy Spring. Reports were given by the committees of their activities. AFSC-MAR staff reported on their programs and the new director of AFSC-DC was introduced and presented on the work of that office. It was decided to continue networking days annually, not semi-annually. Written reports from 12 Monthly Meeting Peace and Social Concerns Committees were printed in the Interchange.

At Committee Day on October 30, 2004, the Committee met to hear James Matlack share his experiences with the AFSC-sponsored visit to the Middle East in 2002 which resulted in the publication When the Rain Returns and its study guide. About 20 people attended this session which was held in the old one-room school house at Goose Creek Meeting. Heather Foote, director of Davis House, gave an update on programs to be held at Davis House. Graham Johnson of Sandy Spring Meeting reported on his recent visit to Bolivia and Peru to learn about the work of Quaker Bolivia Link (QBL). He showed an excellent video of the work of QBL. The Committee agreed to send a letter to all Monthly Meetings asking that they collect funds weekly or monthly for AFSC's work to relieve the suffering of the Iraqi people. David Boynton of Langley Hill Meeting reported that Langley Hill is currently supporting Tom Fox and his work with a Christian Peacemaker Team in Baghdad.

The next meeting of the Committee was held at Sandy Spring on April 2, 2005. About 20 people attended representing Carlisle, Bethesda, Patapsco, Sandy Spring, Friends Meeting of Washington, Stony Run and Richmond Meetings. Richmond Meeting presented its Minute asking the Yearly Meeting to appoint a representative to the Board of Directors of Quaker House in Fayetteville, North Carolina. A letter from the Board was also sent to Lauri Perman, Yearly Meeting Clerk. It was agreed to present this request to Interim Meeting in June after getting more information from Chuck Fager. J.E. McNeil gave an overview of the military draft situation and the willingness of the Center on Conscience and War to hold training workshops on draft counseling and G.I. rights. She will lead a draft counseling workshop at Sandy Spring May 6 - 7, 2005, and lead a workshop on the draft at Yearly Meeting in August. John Salzberg reported on his March 2005 trip to Israel and Palestine for the dedication of the Friends International Center located in the annex of the Ramallah Friends Meeting House. Funds are needed to staff the Center and pay for its operation. Bill Price of World Peacemakers and Jennifer Atlee who spent many years working with the poor in Nicaragua spoke of the need for every Church to be a peace Church and every campus to be a peace campus.

Two workshops sponsored by this Committee will be held at Yearly Meeting: one by Chuck Fager and one by Tom Fox.

The Committee will meet June 18, 2005 in Richmond. We are grateful for the work of the Monthly Meeting Peace and Social Concerns Committees and hope they will continue to use the Yearly Meeting Peace and Social Concerns Committee as information and networking resource.

This year at YM, the YM will be asked whether there is some action which we can take as a corporate witness for peace. The initiative for this comes from Lauri Perman, YM Clerk. The process for this will be discussed at the June 2005 Committee meeting.

Mary Ellen Atkinson, Co-Clerk

Draft Counseling

The Peace Committee of the Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting is hosting a Draft Counseling Training on Friday evening, May 6 and Saturday, May 7. The cost of the training is $50. For information and a registration application, go to www.montgomerydraftcounseling.org or e-mail draft.counseling@gmail.com or call Bronna Zlochiver at (301) 260-0108 or Mary Ellen Atkinson at (410) 992-3255.