BLACKS and QUAKERS : HAVE WE ANYTHING to DECLARE? the QUAKER TESTIMONY of INTEGRITY Among Friends Ldltor-11•
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June 1988 Quaker Thought FRIENDS and Life OURNAL Today BLACKS AND QUAKERS : HAVE WE ANYTHING TO DECLARE? THE QUAKER TESTIMONY OF INTEGRITY Among Friends ldltor-11•-.... Vinton Deming Asaoc~Mel ..or Melissa Kay Elliott Art Director Spring Housecleaning Barbara Benton 0....-NcDHI.,_. Daniel Leisen Advertlalntlll--.... ike other editors, no doubt, I keep a folder near my desk Timothy Back labeled "bits and pieces." In it I tuck a variety of things: Clrcullltlon .._.., notes, favorite quotes, ideas, rhymes, humor-you name it. In Carolyn Terrell L Advertlalng •net Clrcullltlon Anlat•nt fact, you usually send it. It's time once again for some "spring Gay Nicholson housecleaning" -the folder is overflowing-so let me take the Typesetting hrvlcea James Rice and Denise-Nanette Robinson opportunity to share a sampling of things with you. S.Cret.,.•l hrvlc" Jeanne G. Beisel John Stoner, executive secretary of Mennonite Central Committee, llookkeeper U.S. Peace Section, writes: "That little Scripture passage on James Neveil rendering to God and Caesar has been misused for too long, giving Volunteers people an excuse for going the wrong way on important questions of Jane Burgess, Frank Bjornsgaard, Emily Conlon, ultimate loyalty." So John has created a lovely poster with the Bruce Hunt, and Amy Weber following words on it: "We are war tax resisters because we have llo..-cl of .._...... discovered some doubt as to what belongs to Caesar and what 1986-1989: Jennie Allen, Dean Bratis, Helen Morgan belongs to God, and have decided to give the benefit of the doubt to Brooks, Mark Cary, Sol A. Jacobson, Leonard Kenworthy, Mary Mangelsdorf, Linell McCurry God." The posters are available for ten cents per copy (a real (Clerk), Janet Norton, Elizabeth S. Williams bargain, Friends, we can learn something from our Mennonite friends 1987-1990: Frank Bjornsgaard, Emily Conlon (Assistant Clerk), Mary Howarth, Marcia Paullin, about good prices). Write to MCC, 21 S. 12th St., Box M, Akron, William D. Strong (Treasurer), Allen Terrell, PA 17501. Mary Wood 1988-1991: Nancy Cocks, Sam Legg, Richard Moses, "From Quaker House," a column by Ena McGeorge in Around Alan Walker, Harry Scott, Ellie White Europe, the newsletter sent from Brussels, shares this: "You know H-r•ry ~~-..,. you're old if, when bending down to tie your shoelace, you think: Eleanor Stabler Clarke, Mildred Binns Young what else can I do while I'm down here?" (I think about this some f'tuENOS JOURNAL (ISSN 0016-1322) was mornings when I help my five-year-old Simeon tie his!) established in 19SS as the successor to The Friend (1827- 19SS) and Friends Inte/ligencer Cynthia Stevenson, Longmont, Colo., writes, "One day after (1844-19SS). It is associated with the Religious meeting for worship my eight-year-old daughter noticed me working Society of Friends, and is a member of the Associated Church Press. with my solar calculator. She asked, 'Mom, may I play with your • FluENOs JOURNAL is published monthly by Quaker calculator?' I asked, 'What?' she responded, 'The calculator Friends Publishing Corporation, ISOI Cherry St., you're holding in the Light. .' "! Philadelphia, PA 19102-1497. (21S) 241-7277. Second·dass postage paid at Philadelphia, PA. Friends may recall my confession some months ago that I was • Subscriptions: one year SIS, two years $29, finding it difficult to make it to meeting after working at Friends' three years $43 . Add $6 per year for postage outside United States, its "possessions," concerns all week. An anonymous reader sent this, clipped (and Canada, and Mexico. Foreign remittances should edited somewhat) from The Living Light (the newsletter of First be in U.S. dollars or adjusted for currency Friends Church of Whittier, Calif.): "To make it possible for differential. Sample copies S I each; back issues $2 each. everyone to attend meeting next Sunday we are going to have a • Information on and assistance with special 'No Excuse Sunday.' Cots will be placed in the foyer for advertising is available on request. Appearance those who say 'Sunday is my day to sle~ in." Murine will be of any advertisement does not imply endorsement by f'tuENos JoURNAL. available for those with tired eyes from watching TV too late on Copyright © 1988 by Friends Publishing Saturday night. We will have steel helmets for those who say, 'The Corporation. Reprints of articles available at roof would cave in if I ever came to meeting.' Blankets will be nominal cost. Permission should be received before reprinting excerpts longer than 200 words. furnished for those who think the meeting is too cold, and fans for Available in microfilm from University those who say it is too hot. We will have hearing aids for those who Microfilms International. say Friends speak too softly, and cotton for those who prefer not to hear certain messages. Score cards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites present. Some relations will be in attendance for those who like to go visiting on Sunday. There will be P-m..aten TV dinners for those who can't go to meeting and cook dinner also. aendiMI*Ha ~to One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to Friends .lournel, see God through nature. Finally, the meeting will be decorated with 1501 Cherry St., Phii...,..•,PA both Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies.'' 11102·1417. See you in meeting, Friends. V,;,..J,._ -;}~ 2 June 1988 FluENDS JOURNAL June 1988 FRIENDS Volume 34, No. 6 JOURNAL Features Departments 6 Blacks and Quakers: Have We 2 Among Friends Anything to Declare? Forum Ayesha Clark-Halkin 4 Some meetings are seeking greater diversity. A new healing 5 VIewpoint and revitalization may result. 22 Witness 8 Middle West-Middle East 24 Reports Encounter Margaret Stanley 26 Bulletin Board We may often be surprised to learn how Quakerism touches others. 27 News of Friends 28 Books In Brief 10 Money and Meetings Cynthia E. Kerman 29 Milestones When meetings and money are mixed, trouble seems destined to occur. How might disagreement be overcome? 32 Calendar 33 Classlfleds 12 The Quaker Testimony of Integrity Wilmer A. Cooper 34 Meetings In a world fraught with lying, cheating, and dishonesty, Friends have an opportunity to witness in a special way. 16 Through the Portal: A Convinced Pacifist's Joumey to Faith Gay Nicholson One Friend struggles with the implications of signing an oath-and way opens. 18 The Ustenlng ProJect: Opening to the Ught In Our Adversaries Herb Walters What does it mean to truly listen? Sometimes a real transformation is possible. A Nicaraguan contra, one of 26 interviewed by Listening Cover drawing by Patricia Wagman Project volunteers FRIENDS JOURNAL June /988 3 Forum Casting Tall Shadows "Conscience Fund" to support people to help me, but do not involve others in like him. I hope more Friends will join my testimony in any other way. I am in I can think of no words which are with me in defraying the costs of the the "zero tax bracket" and usually adequate to describe my admiration for large legal undertaking. manage to contribute 30 percent of my the act of courage and faith represented I certainly most admire the spiritual income to charities of my choice. I am by the war tax resisters (FJ March). convictions of all who will do this. pleased not to inconvenience my friends Their quiet heroism sets high standards in taking this stand. for those of us who walk in their Eddie Boudreau I started this action when I was first shadows. May they prevail. Houston, Tex. widowed. It did happen by easy stages. Jim Quigley We had paid taxes, when my husband Bayside, N.Y. (Pearl Ewald, long-time Friend and was a hard-working doctor, and we felt worker for peace, died this past January. that his work was too important for him I would like to encourage Vinton In a letter to IRS in recent years she set to make this statement. When he died Deming to continue to resist collecting forth her views on nonviolence and young and having worked hard-we had and paying war taxes for military and resistance to militarism.) a lot of this world's goods. My son war purposes. Without easy access to couldn't bear to see his father's things huge sums of money our government "It is becoming more and more clear around, so I gave his clothes and his would surely have to curtail its war to me that we people of the United States medical books away. As soon as possible, making propensities. must be the conscience of our country. I I sold the house, and gave land for a The Tax Resisters Penalty Fund set up see an extreme need for all of us who are small park. All this gave me tax credits by the North Manchester, Indiana, concerned to take whatever action our for the years when money was needed for Fellowship of Reconciliation, is a small conscience dictates, as long as we do not my children. The need to "give till it but significant step in finanacially violate the rights of others. We must not hurts" came gradually, and I now live as assisting those who are being penalized engage in actions which we condemn in simply as I can manage. for their refusal to pay war taxes. For our opponents. Respect and justice are I do admire those whose consciences those who are not willing or able to face for everybody whether we agree with one forbid their payment of taxes, but am the IRS on this issue, this is still a · another or not.