Lauri Perman, Clerk of Baltimore Yearly Meeting

See Lauri Perman's brief introduction.

13 Third Month 2006

Dear Baltimore Yearly Meeting Friends,

“I am standing in the glory of the Light, said Fox.”

At Langley Hill Friends Meeting, on Saturday night, gathered Friends heard a Young Friend share these words that had been on her heart since learning of Tom Fox’s death in Iraq. I wish you could have been there to hear Young Friends and old Friends share how brightly Tom’s Light shines in their hearts.

I wish you could have been there Saturday morning to see Langley Hill Friends stand firm in front of the microphones to share their profound messages of love and peace. I wish you could have been at Langley Hill to see and talk with the Muslim Friends who came to share their grief, love, and support.

I wish we all could have met the elderly Palestinian man, a graduate of Ramallah Friends School, who drove from Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, to worship for the first time with Hopewell Centre Friends on Saturday night. I wish we all could have heard the Young Friends of Hopewell Centre share with each other their memories of meeting Tom for the first time.

I wish we all could have been in each other’s meetings on First Day morning when Friends who knew Tom, and Friends who barely knew Tom, and Friends who had never met Tom all shared how his life had inspired them.

I wish we could have heard, in services around the world, pastors and priests, imams and lay leaders, holding Tom and his peace witness in prayer.

I wish Tom’s children could have heard Friends throughout Baltimore Yearly Meeting, and throughout the world, speak of their beloved father.

I wish Tom were here with us. I wish his children had their father’s physical presence. I wish we all could have given Tom one last hug, heard his voice one last time, and asked him the questions we have in our hearts.

These wishes can’t come true. But my hopes can, and you can help.

I hope that all Friends whose lives have been touched by Tom, and all who have heard or given messages, take time to write a letter, or send a memory, poem, or photograph to Hopewell Centre Young Friends who have begun a book for Tom’s children. Please send your contributions to Anne Bacon, immediate past clerk of Hopewell Center and current Young Friends’ teacher, at abacon@adelphia.net or to her home at 433 Marion St, Winchester, VA 22601. If you have questions, call Anne at 540-662-5613.

I hope that we share our memories of Tom widely with one another, that we sit and listen to one another talk about Tom, and that we engage in the ministry of presence, of being there for one another.

I hope that we listen, learn from, and care for our Junior Young Friends and our Young Friends who knew Tom and who have much to share and much to grieve.

I hope we hug one another more.

I hope we learn to cultivate joy in the face of sadness. I know we are big enough vessels for Divine Love that we can hold joy and grief at the same time.

I hope we celebrate the Light of Christ that was evident in Tom’s life.

I hope that we work to persuade the U.S. Congress, in continuation of Tom’s work with Christian Peacemaker Teams, to approve legislation requiring the release of names and locations of all Iraqi detainees held by the U.S. Expect to hear from Langley Hill Friends about this effort.

Finally, I hope we gather in silent vigil next Saturday, March 18, 2006, the third anniversary of the Iraq War, on the East Lawn of the Capitol, behind the banner that reads, “Seek Peace and Pursue It” (Psalm 34:14). Last year, on the second anniversary of the war, 500 people attended this silent vigil. Begun by Langley Hill Friends three and a half years ago after 9/11, this weekly vigil now attracts people of many faiths. I hope many Baltimore Friends, and our friends, will stand together in our nation’s capital this year, in memory of Tom, to witness to peace. More information about the vigil can be found at: http://www.bym-rsf.org/quakers/news/peaceVigil0318.shtml

Some of you have heard my memory of Tom standing waist-deep, playing with the children, in the creek at Wilson College during Yearly Meeting. This past First Day, worshiping at Hopewell Centre Meeting where Tom lived between visits to Iraq, I heard a message from Tom. He waved cheerfully and said, “Come on in. The water’s fine.”

The Living Water, the River of Light, is there for us. Tom lived in the presence of the Divine … and the Divine Light shone through him. He surrendered his life to the guidance of Christ Jesus. We can do the same. We can let go of fear. We can let go of material possessions. And we can experience the joy, the calm, the peace, and the integrity of living our testimonies fully.

“Open My Eyes, that I may see,
Glimpses of Truth thou hast for me,
Place in my hands the wonderful key,
That shall unclasp, and set me free.”

“What shall I fear while yet thou dost lead?
Only for Light from thee I plead.” *

In Reverence and Praise, Lauri Perman Presiding Clerk Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

*Worship in Song #166