April/May 1950
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APRIL-MAY, 1950 BULLETIN 0- JXijtq=hroI ~PRI~J~/j~j<,tt& d~c9?~d $v c!z%ic~c%ifi Children on the steps of the Tokyo neighborhood center see the world from their own point of view. BUILDING COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD: PAGE 4 Shared Service NI: of tlle most striking changes in the AFSC during the AFSC is doing-must be the major factor in the forma- 0 the past 30 years has been its growth in size. It has tion of basic policy through the Excciltive Board. increased its activities both I~orizontally and vertically, that The Board naturally places upon the staff ad~ninistrative is, in the geographical spread of its work projects abroad responsibility for the multiplicity of activities and their and in the complexity of its central office staff at 20 South functional divisions. Because of the peculiar nature of the 12th Street. AFSC and the types of concerns which it tries to meet, an Before the organization of the Al:SC, Friends had many i~nusuallybroad scope of responsibility is laid tlpon each co~rrer.i~.r,for peace, for reconciliation in conflict situations, staff member. Each is a member of the total group identi- for the welfare of the world's unforti~natcs,to enumerate fied with our special symbol, the red and black star. only a few. Thcse clearly grew out of Friends ~c.rtiniouie.r, Members of the Society of Friends, friends of Friends, of which menibers of the Society were constantly remindetl "alumni" of the AFSC, members of the Executive Board, by their "Queries and Advices." and staff members in the U. S. A. and abroad are all partici- Lacking central organizational media, Friends tended to pants together. This interrelationship can recapture some effect social reforms through the dedicated lives of indi- of the qualities which characterized early Friends' social vidual members who gave their time. energy, and means to welfare activities-providing all individuals recognize and labor alone or in small groups to rectify injustice and to assume their appropriate share of the total responsibility. bring a spirit of reconciliation and good will to arcas of The cooperative brotherhood of shared service will make tension and injustice. The quality of the service was meas- more effective the moral and spiritual message as all mem- ured by the depth of the religious life of the participants bers of the linked brotherhood perform their share and and, not infrequently, by the kind of group counsel and meet their responsibilities. guidance offered by the meeting. Only occasionally would "If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to m/ ~OCcom~nittees be formed to take under advisement a nought; but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it." specific area of Friends concern. In all cases, the service LEWISM. HOSKINS, was intimately related to the meeting from which the con- Exrrt/tjz~rSerretn1.y. cept had originally stcmmcd. It \vas truly a ministry of service to conscience and to Gotl. The qualities of moti\r:ltion and service \\,l~ichillis kind 1 IN HONOR 07 CLARENCE E. PICKETT of testimony offers must not be lost. We must assume that A program in honor of Clarence E. Pickett will all the facilities of the past will c.ontin~rcto exist. It \voultl be held at Haverford College on May 20. This he tragic if religious groups became dependent merely ilpon is to mark the formal occasion of his retirement their service committees as professional bodies to look after as Executive Secretary of the American Friends the recli~ire~mentsof their consciences. The service commit- Service Committee after nearly 21 years of tees sl~ouldat times offer effective channels for individuals service. and groups to implement their c.oncerns, but service com- The program is to begin at 11 A.M. with a mittee programs should have the snmc moral and spiritual meeting for worship in Roberts Hall. This will roots as the personal and meeting enterprises have had. be followed by an informal box luncheon in the The committee staff shoulcl as fully ns possible share in the gymnasium, or on the lawn if weather permits, motivation out of which the concerns emerge. at which time there will be opportunity to ex- With the growth of organizations such as the AFSC, tend best wishes to Clarence and Lilly Pickett. there is a great risk that the personal and group concern The afternoon program, to begin at 2 P.M. in arising from the religious life of 1:riends meetings and Roberts Hall, will include addresses by Clarence other church groups may become divorced from, or at least Pickett and Andrew Cordier, Assistant to the too remote from, the resulting activity. Rcal concern might Secretary-General of the United Nations. Henry cven be replaced by service projects planned to keep a com- J. Cadbury, Chairman of the AFSC Executive ~nunitybusy. The moral and religio~~svicwfs of the total Board, will preside, and Lewis M. Hoskins, suc- AI:SC constituency-that largt group of people of all back- cessor to Clarence Pickett, will be heard from groundsand denominations \vho have pnrticipatcd in one briefly. \vny and another with the AI:SC. or who believe in what '1'111.Ilt~llptin i, I,ol,li~l~~.~l~nc~~~ll~ly I,! ll~c.\lll<~ic:~n I'lir~ltl\ Sclnic~(.'nllllllitt((.. IIU:L~I'III:I~~CI~:10 5. 11111 St., 1'Iail:ad~ll~hi:s 7. 1':1, C)lller ufticeh: 10 5. \\'~.ll~ St., (:hi~;~~o6, Ill.: Ilh N. I<;I~IIIIII~II.\\c., I'it.i~'lnn:l I;, c';ilti.; 18311 S~t1t.rSt., Sitn Frinnciw~ 15, C:ilif.: 3'150 15111 .\\.<.., N, I.;., Sr:nttle 5, WasI1.; 53 l;r,~:~~lw:iy,hpw York ,6, K. \'.; 1lIlS 5. 1,:. (;lallt\ .\\<,., I'~~r1Innd14, C)n..; l.:?J .\i:l<.. .\\c., ~~~~ntbriclee.N. hl:l<s.: 225 1,::t.t I,<,(, Stlt.vl. (;ret-n.horo. 1,l .; 11 16 1,:. ITIIL,,I-II? ,\\c., lbe. Vain‘.. 16, I(>!\:I; f~rir11tl\ \~111vc1~ity,W'i~l~itxs. ~<:111.; 12 x. 'l'Ilir<l 5t.~~:olut~tI~cn~ IS, Ol~i<t; l;!liv<,r\~ty \'>I<'.\, iuhtin I.!, '1c.x.; l l\.r~\-ir\\.,l<~11i!c IS. H~PIIIIIO~II.Ili<l,n~l:~. Ill 7 Linked Centers by COLIN W. BELL I: ARI: all consciot~s. so far ns hers of people our supporters in the formed \\.it11 "tlic spirit that taketl~ W overseas service is concerned, of United States, tlie recipients in the annay the occ;lsion . " of tension, or being at tlie end of another chapter field, and even many of our workers places wlicrc, unclcr Q~~akerauspices, in AFSC history. For almost a clecaclc tlie~nsclves. Tlic name Quaker today national or political antagonists rnay now we have been engaged in the main means something, but not very much, meet and talk in a neutral atmosphere. upon a service of physical relief, glo- to millions of people the worlcl over, Tlicre are, of course, many occasions bal in extent and considerable in vol- as indcctl it tlid at the end of \Vorl~l ~\.hcn\\.e make approaches to Govcrn- 111i1c. When tlie cntl of tlic war came, War I. ment dcpnrt~nents or to United Na- the people of America looked for The widespread surface impact of tions' delegations or secretariat. The \\,orthy instruments through which Quaker relief work u8as appropriate to converse is true also. they might express their sense of kin- the moment and has borne the fruit We liave licarrl tlie lnen of science ship with tliose \\rho had suffered so that might be espcctcd of it-a wide- of this century emphasize increasingly niucli more than they. Many of them sprcacl interest on the part of niany their belief in po\vcrs u~liichlie outside decided to s~~pporttlic AFSC. Tlic \vho \vo~~lcllike to know more, \\.llo their scientific orbit. No\v \\,c find Service Committee rose to the chnl- feel vag~~clythat Quakerisni has some- stntcsmcn and those \\)lie attempt to lenge of this generous national urge, thing to say to today's arorl~l. 'We havc control the political destinies of man- and afent through a period of Llnprece- sc-ratcliecl a great deal of surface these kind recognizing tli;lt moral principles. dented expansion. In doing so. it took Inst fen, years, ant1 nous 14.e .irc looking t<~liic-hII;I\~C 1,alidity for rnankincl, are risks n.itl1 its reputation and it took lor ;I place \vlicrc \\.c mi,qIlt plant nn tlic re,~lb.~ses from \\,liit.li spring great risks with its soul. Now, at the end of o;lk or t\vo that col~lclcndi~rc for m;iny politic,tl tlcc-isions, rntlier tlian any n;lr- tlic relief era (the psychologic~~lrathcr ycnrs. Here ;Inel there it is p'~tenttli;~t row n,~tionnl cspet1ienc.y. Is this not than the real end of nced, for there is there is sonic specially fertile p;~tcll. one of the "fertilc patches," openecl still a vast area of desperate \\ant). some area of peculiar receptivity to our up to 11s by our "shallow" service, in \krc must take stock and see where this ideas. wliich Friends liave a peculiar oppor- nctivity has led 11s. tunity to disc tleepc:r totlny? It is important to remember that tl~c Further Contribution Felt Needed It \vas against this hnckgro~~ndth;~t great bulk of tlie increased financi.11 One of the most pro~nisin~qhy- rllt itlc:l of "linked centers" cmcrgctl.