January 1989 Quaker Thought FRIENDS and Life ~RNAL Today

Essential Lessons of Same-Gender Marriage The Witness of Gay and Lesbian Relationships Our Evolving Constitution: The Quaker Role Among Friends ldltor-ll...... Vinton Deming Anoc~Me lclltor Melissa Kay Elliott Art Director Barbara Benton In Search of Unity Advertlalnt1ll...... Timothy Back ClrouiMion 8ftcl Office Coordinator e had been watching me intently since the moment I exited Lisa Konigsberg the door of my office building and hurried across the court­ TJPHettlntl Services yard on my way to a lunchtime meeting. And as I James Rice and Denise-Nanette Robinson H ...... s.rvtc.. approached the steps of the meetinghouse, where he was crouching, Jeanne G. Beisel he continued to stare at me with big eyes and startled expression. I Bookkeeper James Neveil recognized him as one of the habitues of the center's day-care ltuclent Intern program, so 1 stopped, smiled, and said hello. Jennifer Drake His eyes got even bigger and his mouth dropped open. Suddenly Volunteers Jane Burgess, Emily Conlon, his mother, who was sitting close by and was observing the Bruce Hunt, and Amy Weber interaction, burst into laughter. "Russell's an astronaut on the moon," she said, "and he thinks you're an alien!" We both had a Boerdofll-...... /986-1989: Jennie Allen (Secretary), Dean Bratis, good laugh, then I waved, tightened the grip on my briefcase, and Helen Morgan Brooks, Sol A. Jacobson, Leonard hurried off to my meeting. Kids, I thought, what incredible games Kenworthy, Mary Mangelsdorf, Linell McCurry (Clerk) , Janet Norton, Elizabeth S. Williams and fantasies they can come up with! 1987-1990: Frank Bjornsgaard, Emily Conlon I got about two blocks away and then it hit me: I've got a similar (Assistant Clerk), Marcia Paullin, game that I play all the time. Like when I'm walking along the William D. Strong (Treasurer), Allen Terrell, Mary Wood streets almost any day, when I see punk rock kids with loud radios 1988-199/: Nancy Cocks, Sam Legg, Parry Jones, and "weird" hair styles; or street men sleeping on benches; or bag Richard Moses, Harry Scott, Larry Spears, Judith women huddled in doorways; or "Mafia types" emerging from shiny Randall, Alan Walker, Ellie White limos. Honor•I'JII•n...,. Eleanor Stabler Clarke, Mildred Binns Young I may play the game too during meeting for worship when certain people stand up and begin to preach, or deliver a lesson on medieval FlliENDS JOURNAL (ISSN 0016-1322) was history, or seem to be having a nervous breakdown, or are on their established in 19SS as the successor to The Friend (1827- 195S) and Friends lnte/ligencer feet talking before someone else has barely sat down. (1844-19SS). It is associated with the Religious It can also happen for me at business meeting when Friends lock Society of Friends, and is a member of the horns on a polarizing issue: the outlay of funds for new carpeting, Associated Church Press. perhaps; the request by a beloved attender to join the meeting and to 0 FluENOS JOURNAL is published monthly by Friends Publishing Corporation, ISO! Cherry also maintain membership in another church; a proposed minute to St., Philadelphia, PA 19102-1497, provide sanctuary at the meetinghouse for Central American refugees. (21S) 241-7277. Accepted as second-class My game is called "Why Aren't They Like Me?" and, like Russell, postage paid at Hanover, PA 17331. at such moments I see real aliens out there. They are speaking a • Subscriptions: one year SIS, two years $29, three years $43. Add $6 per year for postage different language, they look and sound hostile, they are armed with outside United States, its " possessions," foreign ideas and notions, and they're often standing between me and Canada, and Mexico. Foreign remittances should be in U.S. dollars or adjusted for my spaceship. It can feel very life threatening. currency differential. Sample copies $1 each; Such a challenge exists for Friends, I feel, as we consider the back issues $2 each. concern of same-gender marriages in our meetings. Perhaps no • Information on and assistance with question in recent years has caused such deep searching for many of advertising is available on request. Appearance of any advertisement does not imply us. We have been made to examine our attitudes about marriage, endorsement by FlliENDS JouRNAL. family, sex, relationships, the Bible, our personal values-and about Copyright © 1989 by Friends Publishing Corporation. Reprints of articles available at our gay and lesbian members and attenders. And the process can be nominal cost. Permission should be received a very painful one. before reprinting excerpts longer than 200 As Friends seek light, not heat, on this important issue, I words. Available in microfilm from University Microfilms International. encourage us to consider the words of Friend Stephen Finn in his thoughtful article: "I invite Friends to get to know gay and lesbian couples in your community. Witness the many blessings of these relationships and take these couples into your hearts." I am reminded Postmesten of the words of an earlier Friend, Isaac Penington, who wrote: "Our send ...... life is love and peace and tenderness-and bearing one with c:hentles to another-praying for one another, and helping one another up with a Frtencls .loumel, 1101 Cheny lt., tender hand." Phlllldelphi•,PA When Friends in the past have found unity on equally difficult 18102-1487. concerns, they have taken such words to heart. J~ ~ ~ n .... . 1

2 January 1989 FluENDs JoURNAL .January 1989 FRIENDS Volume 35, No. 1 JOURNAL Features Departments 6 Essential Lessons of Same-Gender 2 Among Friends Marriage Ellen Hodge and Michael J. Fallahay 4 Forum A heterosexual couple's quest pulled their meeting into a decision based on the primacy of love. 5 VIewpoint 27 Reports 8 Friends Discuss Homosexuality A Special Reader's Forum presents their views. 28 News of Friends 9 Equality and .Judgment In the 30 Bulletin Board Society of Friends 32 Books Sally W. Bryan Differentiation is the heart of God's plan. 35 Resources 36 Milestones 11 The Witness of Gay and Lesbian Relationships 38 Calendar Stephen Finn A gay Friend lives a new definition of marriage. 38 Classified 16 Let Your Uves Speak Robert A. Lyon Poetry When promotional efforts fail, sometimes the message itself succeeds. 14 Pictures at a Wedding 18 Our Evolving Constitution Marilyn J. Boe Margaret Hope Bacon Friends' greatest influence on the constitution was in 15 Credo fostering human rights. R.E. Schultz 21 The Meaning of Membership 15 Meeting Ted Hoare Michael W. DeHart In a creedless Society, what commonalities join us ·? 24 An Experiential Approach to .Jesus Mariellen 0 . Gilpin Testing God, praying from the he~rt, opened this Friend to empowerment. Front cover drawing by 25 Mhondoro on the Move John Davis Gummere Carolyn Beckenbaugh Harrington A glimpse at this African community is a glimpse at blossoming self-reliance.

3 Forum

Music in Our Faith I am grateful for Esther Greenleaf Murer's article on the place of hymns within Quakerism (FJ Aug.). It is a subject I wrestle with frequently; I've never stopped missing the hymns I grew weaken it by an abnormal interpretation appointed, not self-appointed elders) for up with in the Methodist church. Now I of marriage. disruptive speakers and for speaking have some new ideas about how to I am saddened because my Quaker contrary to Friends testimonies such as incorporate them in my experience of the faith has been shaken. anti-Semitic remarks. No meeting is silent meeting. But what is still exempt from such incidents. unresolved for me is how to compensate Eleanor N. Schultz One of my recent joys is visitation for the loss of the music-the strong, Mt. Holly, N.J. among British Friends and attendance at uplifting joy of congregational singing. meetings for worship in Great Britain. With some n!flection, I think the joy is Susan Conger Addendum derived from something more vital than Sunderland, Mass. irresponsibility: some committee on which Reference was made in my article I do not serve is doing the necessary "Pacifists and Oaths" (FJ Oct.) to the Thank you for the beautiful article on eldering. The prevailing attitude seems to U.S. Supreme Court decision in the 1945 be that a message of spiritual reality is how Friends can use a hymnbook. It was case which held that applicants for like being in meeting and hearing welcome, and no committee, appointed citizenship cannot be excluded if they are or self-appointed, is listening for the someone across the room speak my unwilling to take up arms in the thoughts. correct language. country's defense. I neglected to give the I recommend this point of view. The author asked for other people's citation: James Louis Girouard v. United experiences where words and music States of America (328 U.S. 61-79). provided a path. When I was facing a Madge T. Seaver When Friends and/ or pacifists are Palo Alto, Calif. frightening and potentially life­ presented with this oath as a condition threatening situation, I woke up in the for public employment, I suggest they middle of the night to hear these words sign it, but include a footnote: "See singing in my head: Girouard v. U.S. (328 U.S. 61-79)." Ironic Selection

Long may thy land (personal space, Robert S. Vogel I enjoyed Larry Miller's article on self) be bright Pasadena, Calif. Friendly Persuasion (FJ Oct. 1988), but I With freedom's holy light. feel there is another fact about this film Protect us by thy might. ... which must be told. The name of the Cultivated Accents man who wrote the screenplay, Michael Immediately I felt safe and peaceful Wilson, does not appear in the film's and fell asleep. The words that gave such The October 1988 issue of FRIENDS credits; he was a victim of the Hollywood comfort are from the final verse of "My JoURNAL with its contributions about blacklist. From the time he was called to Country, 'Tis of Thee." The last time I sexist language used in speaking in testify before the House Un-American remember singing it was in first grade. meeting for worship reminded me of a Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1951, meeting in which all members have Michael Wilson was unable to sell any Bobbie Ruby cultivated accents and use correct screenplays under his own name. The Evanston, Ill. English. If a newcomer should speak with only way in which he could continue to the wrong accent and with grammatical make a living was to use a front through ''Marriage'' Saddens errors, the meeting separates the message whom his scripts could be sold. Some of from the vehicle. I can't believe that the his other uncredited screenplays from this I am saddened by the action of speaker would be made to feel frozen period include Lawrence of Arabia and Berkeley (Calif.) Friends Meeting in out. The Bridge Over the River Kwai; the latter taking under its care the "marriage" of But these meetings feel no hesitancy in earned him an Oscar, which was finally two women. The fact that it is listed exercising such an elitist attitude when it awarded posthumously to his wife in under the Marriages column appalls me. I comes to pronoun references. 1985. am referring to the October 1988 issue of Parenthetically, I sometimes think we I find it ironic that former President F'IuENDS JOURNAL. should prepare a guide of grammatical Reagan chose to honor this film. As head The family has always been the corner­ constructions and words we may not use. of the Screen Actors Guild, Reagan stone of world cultures, created by the Otherwise, correct language becomes a actively supported the blacklist and union of man and woman. To condone mine field. cooperated with HUAC in its "witch­ the marital union of two people of the I'm thankful that the three meetings hunt." In a recent interview, Reagan same sex tarnishes the true meaning of which have held my membership have not spoke wistfully of HUAC and regretted marriage as a solemn contract and is a taken this attitude. What help is it to the absence of such a committee today. travesty. devote seminars and study groups to the If Michael Wilson were still alive, I The Friends marriage ceremony has vocal ministry in the meeting for worship wonder how he would react to Ronald been performed thoughout generations of if we put so much emphasis on how we Reagan's praise of this film's "dedication my family, including my marriage and speak and not what we say? to higher principle." that of my daughter. Of course there must be elders (or Robert McMahon We need to strengthen the family, not committees of worship and ministry, Lansdowne, Pa.

4 January 1989 FRIENDS JoURNAL Viewpoint· To Grasp the Opportunity Throughout history unique oppor­ people who were entitled to an answer, fortable with the term marriage, which tunities for spiritual growth have occurred an answer that our meeting could unite they felt was more legal than religious. and religious bodies have been forced to on. Not one of our 30 members really Celebration ofcommitment seemed more decide whether to grasp the opportunity wanted to turn them down. We had consistant with a religious ceremony. and move forward or to let it pass. One rallied behind our gay members before Some married Friends expressed the wish such opportunity came to the Society of and felt inclined to do so in this. But we that they could have called their own wed­ Friends during colonial times when all needed time. dings celebrations of commitment, thus slavery was still an accepted institution in In the year that followed "the problem" making clear that the legal marriage con­ North America. Following the lead of became "an opportunity." This happened tract is not the means of binding religious John Woolman, Friends decided against mostly because Cindy and Linda's patience commitment. Eventually there was agree­ slavery long before most of the rest of and quiet confidence in the decision pro­ ment that in the future Unarn.i would have society. This change in attitude allowed cess of our meeting allowed us the luxury celebrations of commitment for all Friends to develop their concept of "that of an unhurried search for unity. couples, regardless of sexual orientation. of God in every man" unfettered by After lengthy discussion, our Ministry These meetings were deep spiritual ex­ lingering doubts about the humanity of and Oversight Committee decided to periences for all of us. Though still un­ blacks. Meanwhile, their contemporaries begin the search for unity with a series of convinced, the Friend who had objected who continued to hold slaves were spiri­ worship-sharing sessions during which we agreed not to stand in the way. The ques­ tually handicapped by their need to ration­ hoped Friends would share their gut feel­ tion was put on the monthly meeting alize the perpetuation of this evil. The ings about same-sex marriage. At the agenda, and the decision was immediate. creation of the American Friends Service same time we tried to educate ourselves Monthly meeting time was needed only Committee after World War I and there­ by making available a wide range of for the precise wording of the minute and vival of the Peace Testimony during the books and other materials on the subject. appointment of the clearness committee. Vietnam War were also times when We also invited a local Unitarian­ Since same-sex couples lack legal pro­ Friends grasped the opportunity. Universalist minister, who had performed tection, which is an automatic part of the There are also examples of opportu­ same-sex marriages, to meet with us. The marriage contract, clearness committees nities missed. For example, Friends failed final step was the decision by monthly for a same-sex marriage must ask ques­ to stand firmly for the civil rights of meeting, which was expected to take tions such as "What legal provisions have former slaves during Reconstruction. several months. We agreed that until this you made so that your partner can legally Also, World War II rather than the Viet­ last stage was reached we should postpone carry out your wishes in the event of your nam War might have been the catalyst for decision-making, concentrate on our feel­ death or serious injury?" The experience rededication to the Peace Testimony. ings, and satisfy our need for more of a second same-sex marriage confirmed In the waning years of the 20th century information. our belief that yearly meetings can be Friends have yet another opportunity for In our first worship-sharing session we most helpful by providing information, spiritual growth, and I hope we have the asked everyone to express his/ her feelings including names of willing and able at­ courage and the vision to grasp it. It is in general about same-sex marriage. We torneys for use by same-sex couples and being presented to us, often thrust upon planned to avoid addressing the specific their clearness committees. us, by gay and lesbian Friends. request at this time. A worshipful silence It has been my good fortune to serve We tend to look at gay and lesbian prevailed and we requested that no one on two clearness committees, still a issues as problems to be solved. For ex­ speak twice. The sharing of this first unique experience within the Society of ample, how can our meeting reconcile meeting helped us fix on our common Friends. In addition to the practical mat­ open acceptance of homosexuals while spiritual search for truth. During suc­ ters mentioned above, these committees respecting those Friends who are unable ceeding days Friends continued the also asked tough personal questions that to tolerate this lifestyle? Or how should dialogue informally and seemed better at times were none of our business. our meeting respond to this request for able to respond to that of God in each However, we did not want to neglect an a same-sex marriage? These questions other. We were turning from the problem important point, so, in the spirit of open­ must be answered. However, the challenge to be solved to the opportunity to be ness, we followed the maxim, "When in to Friends lies in how we answer them. grasped. doubt, raise the topic." Both couples Do we simply find a compromise, or do Each member who had not attended the helped us by their loving willingness to ac­ we search for a true spiritual answer, thus first meeting received a phone call urging cept this approach and their tenderness deepening the life of the meeting? attendance at the second. This time the toward us when they felt the need to draw In 1984 the Ministry and Oversight format was more relaxed, and we discussed the line and not answer. Yearly meetings Committee of Unami (Pa.) Meeting received the specific question, "Should same-sex could help future clearness committees by a request for marriage from two lesbians, couples marry under the care of our preparing guidelines developed out of Cindy, a member, and Linda, an attender. meeting?" However, we agreed, and kept Friends' growing body of experience with It was a bombshell. Our meeting has reminding ourselves, that we would not the needs of gay and lesbian couples. several homosexual members, but we had make any decisions at this time. This was not even thought about marriage. I recall when the first and only opposition was Irving Hollingshead thinking, "Deliver me from this problem. expressed. One Friend felt that since I have enough things to think about. homosexuality was a sin in every major Peace activities are the focus of my social Irving Hollingshead is retired from a career as religion of the world it should not be con­ professor of mathematics at Kutztown State concerns at the moment." doned by the Society of Friends. College. He serves on Philadelphia Yearly But this was not a "social concern." Though this was the only statement of Meeting's committees on peace and war tax This was a sincere request by two young opposition, many Friends were uncom- concerns.

FRIENDS JouRNAL January 1989 5 ESSENTIAL LESSONS 0

by Ellen Hodge and NlichaclJ.Fallahay Same-gender

his past August, North Meadow myself much more in the mystic rather marriage strikes us Circle of Friends' two years of than the activist tradition. Two very T active work on the issue of same­ powerful, direct experiences of the Holy as the primary gender marriage resulted in quite dif­ One (one in childhood and one at age ferent responses in the two yearly 33) shaped my primary value as that of example of meetings with which we were affiliated. love. Added to this were emerging In Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting (Friends feminist understandings about power, continuing revelation General Conference) we sponsored a privilege, and oppression. Like many workshop for open-forum discussion of heterosexuals, I had doubts about the for Friends in beliefs and feelings on all sides of the validity of marriage for gays and les­ issue. At Western Yearly Meeting bians. At the Friends General Con­ our time, much as (Friends United Meeting) our offer to ference Gathering at Carleton College in withdraw from the yearly meeting 1986, though, at a Friends for Lesbian because of the serious rift which was and Gay Concerns workshop on same­ abolition of slavery developing over the issue of homosex­ gender marriage, I came to recognize my uality was accepted after about three privilege as a heterosexual. "I own mar­ was in the hours of discussion on the floor of the riage," I realized. I saw that I had a yearly meeting session and an additional power over my gay brothers and lesbian 17th and 18th called session of the yearly meeting. As sisters which I had not sought and did • the heterosexual couple who originally not want. centunes. brought the concern to the monthly North Meadow, the only un­ meeting as part of our own request for programmed meeting in Indianapolis, marriage, we would like to explore some has about 35 active members and at­ of our experiences and perceptions. But tenders. The meeting includes many first a little background may be helpful. types of households, hardly any of tween and among heterosexuals and We arrived at our similar positions which are the "typical" nuclear family. gays/lesbians became apparent, and from quite different paths. I (Mike) had One family has a large number of there were times when some of us a long history of political activism in the adopted children. One couple, married wondered if the meeting would survive black civil rights, peace, and human for 30 years, has no children. There are in one piece. The meeting persisted in rights movements. This included single parents, remarried partners, a les­ holding business in an atmosphere of teaching in freedom schools and doing bian couple, and singles, both gay and worship, however, and in April 1987 we voter registration work in Mississippi, straight, some never married, others were able to unite on a Minute on Mar­ active nonviolent resistance to the draft, divorced. We ourselves were entering in­ riage which says, in part: "We at North and running for Congress on the Liber­ to a second marriage, and both of us Meadow Circle of Friends affirm equal tarian ticket. In the process, I worked have children from previous marriages. opportunity of marriage for all in­ in partnership with gays and lesbians, Prior to our letter in September of 1986, dividuals, including members of the whose commitments to each other I North Meadow had never in its nine­ same sex. Moreover, North Meadow came to value. year history had a request for marriage Circle of Friends extends the marriage I (Ellen), on the other hand, consider under the care of the meeting. process-the care and ongoing nurture In response to our request, the of the family by the meeting-equally Ellen Hodge is a past clerk ofthe Executive Com­ meeting set up a clearness committee for to same sex and heterosexual partner­ mittee ofOhio Valley Yearly Meeting and was one of that yearly meeting's representatives to World us, and also established a Committee on ships." We sent our minute to our two Gathering of Young Friends in 1985 and the 1988 Marriage. This committee organized yearly meetings, and to the other yearly FWCC Triennial in Japan. She currently is study­ discussions not just on same-gender meetings in North America. ing Hebrew at Christian Theological Seminary to marriage, but also on the larger issue of Reaching unity on the minute was a meet the language requirement for her M.A. at source of joy and healing in the monthly Earlham School of Religion. Mike Fallahay is a what marriage is and what it means to Children's Services caseworker and is studying for be married under care of a meeting. meeting. In October of 1987, North a master's degree in marital and family therapy Even though the meeting had not yet Meadow joyfully gathered in worship at Butler University. He previously has been an united on a common understanding of for the marriage of two of our lesbian attender/ member of Friends meetings in Lex­ marriage, we were married in December members. ington, Kentucky; Lobo, Ontario, Canada; Saint Louis, Missouri; and Bloomington, Indiana. Both of that year. Meanwhile, the minute having come to are members of North Meadow Circle of Friends This was often a difficult period in the the attention of some Friends churches in Indianapolis. life of meeting. Unspoken divisions be- in Western Yearly Meeting, one church

6 January 1989 FluENDS JOURNAL AME-GENDER MARRIAGE

Mike Fal/ahay and Ellen Hodge shortly after their wedding, 1986

us to encourage and nourish loving rela­ tionships. Defining homosexuality as an unnatural choice that a person makes in willful opposition to human nature and the will of God seems to us contrary to what we know about love. We do not believe that sexuality is a matter of choice. As we grew closer to the gays and lesbians in our meeting, we grew to respect them as people of intelligence, sensitivity, and honesty. At a pitch-in, as I (Ellen) sat next to a lesbian friend, I suddenly realized that she would not willingly have selected a life that exposes her to the threat of rejection by her family, loss of jobs, persecution, and even physical violence. To the contrary, she accepts and has learned to celebrate who she is and has chosen to live with the risks of prejudice, because she can­ not honestly do otherwise. As a meeting, we choose not to make sexuality a bar­ rier to love and acceptance in our religious community. wrote a letter to the yearly meeting ask­ values, and is helping us to see some im­ Much of the work of North Meadow ing that some action be taken. Over the portant new ones. in arriving at the Minute on Marriage next months, the leadership in Western First of all, the primacy of love is had to do with recognizing and remov­ was pressed to take disciplinary action something we know both experientially ing obstacles to love. This happened in against North Meadow. Our minute was and biblically. When Jesus was asked the clearness committee for our own sent by the yearly meeting to all its af­ what commandment is most important marriage. We did not want to marry filiate monthly meetings, along with for shaping our lives, he answered simp­ unless every loving couple in the meeting North Meadow's offer to meet in ly: love- love God and love your were free to do so. When it became ap­ dialogue with any concerned groups. It neighbor (Matt. 22:34-40; Mark parent that the meeting would not reach became evident that same-gender mar­ 12:28-31; Luke 10:25-28). Definitions of unity on marriage before our anticipated riage was not generally open to discus­ love being pretty abstract, it is impor­ wedding date, our committee recom­ sion and that the "sinfulness of tant to try to establish here what we mended to us and the meeting that we homosexuality" was the issue in most of mean. Love is that which moves toward be at liberty to marry. Out of love for the pastoral Friends meetings. life and connectedness, and away from us, the meeting removed this obstacle to The differences in the yearly meeting death and separation. Nurturing loving our union. were not easy to bridge; there was very relationships emerged as the meeting's Later the meeting united on the little open dialogue on the issue of essential task when taking a marriage Minute on Marriage that enabled the les­ marriage. After careful consideration, under its care. bian couple in our meeting to marry. North Meadow decided to offer to This being so, in marriage love clearly Again, this removed an obstacle to their withdraw from the yearly meeting in has primacy over procreation. If the love for each other. In addition, and order to provide time for healing so that possibility of conceiving children were unexpectedly, unity on the minute dialogue could eventually take place. considered essential to marriage, then removed unseen obstacles to love be­ Our meeting was more strongly in unity not only gays and lesbians would be pro­ tween meeting members. We and others than ever, however, not only on the hibited from marrying, but so would we, grew to care for each other not so much issue of marriage, but also as a com­ since Mike has had a vasectomy. So too as straight, gay or lesbian, but as unique, munity of faith. would everyone who has been sterilized, valuable persons. What has this two-year process meant infertile persons, and people past the age A second value emerged more clearly to us as a couple and as individuals? It of reproduction. for us out of the love we experienced as has strengthened some of our long-held As people of faith, it is important for a meeting: equality. Like love, equality

FRIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 7 is not just abstract. In our meeting, it literalist meetings. meant that after love had overcome our Because this process of discernment separation from each other, we were is dangerous-for no matter how careful much better able to listen to each other. and well-intentioned human beings are, It meant that heterosexuals no longer mistakes can be made-it is all the more had exclusive ownership of defining important to adhere to Friends prac­ what is normal and healthy. Instead, all tices. This means that the majority must members of the meeting, regardless of not rush the minority. Each voice must sexual orientation, had an equal voice be attended to, especially the voice that in shaping the meeting's understanding says, "I'm not ready. I'm just not of justice and well-being. clear." Often when Friends are divided, As a couple, our sense of the impor­ the outcome of business is not what tance of equality shaped our personal either side expected, but some third op­ decisions. We chose to be married under tion which emerges from the worship. the care of the meeting, without the This third option has no opportunity to sanction of the state. We did this emerge unless Friends persist in all because legal marriage is not available patience and deliberateness, refraining to all couples. We also feel very strongly from action when the way is not yet that marriage is a religious covenant of open, until the Spirit gathers all into one love between two people and God, not mind and clarity appears. a civil matter. We chose not to comply It is important not only to be clear, with the state in a formality which is in­ but to act. And it has become very ap­ consistent with our religious convictions. parent to us that the consequences of ac­ We came to realize that to disallow tions, even Spirit-led ones, are impossi­ marriage to gays and lesbians is to deny ble to predict. So our meeting has been gays and lesbians who they are, how propelled into a repeating cycle of seek­ they define themselves in relation to ing clearness/ taking action/ reflecting on their loving partner. This struck us as consequences. similar to the forced separation of slave The events of the past two years leave husbands and wives. We also consistently us with increased hope and understand­ used the word marriage to define all ing, but also with a sense of urgent con­ committed relationships, because to use cern. In Western Yearly Meeting, we any other designation smacked of the know that the struggle is not over even "separate but equal" of Jim Crow. though we are no longer formally a part A third fundamental belief is that of of the yearly meeting. Other monthly Friends continuing revelation. Same-gender meetings which have expressed their marriage strikes us as the primary exam­ support for North Meadow, and for the Discuss ple of continuing revelation in the process we went through to arrive at our Religious Society of Friends in our time, minute, are now at risk of censure from much as abolition of slavery was in the other monthly meetings in Western. In Homosexuali 17th and 18th centuries. Continuing Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting, the risk is revelation manifests itself in leadings of that monthly meetings that are un­ the Spirit. We believe we were respond­ comfortable with the issue or feel it A Special ing to such a leading when we included does not apply to them, will just let it the concern in our request for marriage. drop, which has happened with less con­ Reader's Fontm Continuing revelation was also essential troversial issues. The risk here is not on­ in the process North Meadow used to ly that this concern will not receive reach unity on marriage. broad enough consideration in the year­ Most of the objections to our minute ly meeting, but also that members and raised by pastoral meetings were filled attenders who feel compelled to conceal with biblical quotations used to con­ their sexuality-or that of gay or lesbian demn homosexuality. A number of these family members-may be hurt by their meetings seemed to substitute Scripture isolation in these meetings. for continuing revelation, apparently It is our sense that, especially in issues not appreciating that the Bible itself is of particular controversy, Quaker a rich record of continuing revelation, business practices must be relied on. We including our marriage practices. We know of no other way to deal with con­ were struck by the openness and will­ troversy that will enable human beings ingness to enter into loving discussion to continue to remain in relationship by those meetings which relied primarily with one another through periods of on continuing revelation, contrasted tense disagreement. And we know of no with the almost complete shutting off of better method to keep us in relationship dialogue on the part of most biblical- with the Guide. 0

8 January 1989 FluENDS JoURNAL EQUALITY AND JUDGMENT IN 1HE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS

by Sally W. Bryan

omewhere near the center of the thought difficult, yet imperative. cosmic, joyful, playful creation of God. current search for unity on the Reason and emotion are equal capaci­ But their word for the Almighty is neti Squestion of same-sex marriage is ties that operate together in human be­ neti (not this; not that), a designation the topic of equality. Homosexual Friends ings. There may be a preference for the that reminds humans of their limits in feel they are denied "full equality" informed heart or the compassionate power and understanding. Mortals, too, in the Society of Friends if their unions mind, but life is the unfolding, minute can participate in this joyous play, ac­ are sanctified by ceremonies of commit­ by minute, of these two intertwined knowledging and affirming the vast par­ ment instead of marriage. There is a processes. ticularity of the universe. There is no deep cry for equality that pulls the heart­ Indeed complementarity and differen­ need to homogenize and jumble. Man, strings; emotion flows, making careful tiation are a part of God's plan. A holly only, has his sperm; woman, only, has is not an oak; a mouse is not a wolf; a her womb. "Viva!" cry the French. The man is not a woman. People may dis­ holly, the oak, the mouse, the woman, Wife, mother, grandmother, and long-time Seat­ criminate for or against any category of the man are equal and different. tle teacher, Sally Bryan is a member of University (Wash.) Meeting. She now lives on San Juan Island being but this is not a part of God's all­ The miracle compounds. Each oak in Puget Sound, where she attends a worship inclusiveness. Differentiation, Hindus tree represents its category; whatever group. · believe, is a demonstration of Iilla, the factors differentiate a holly and an oak

I am prompted to make an observation single standard for heterosexuals and for, loved, and taught to know their that seems to have been overlooked in homosexuals alike: no promiscuity, and Creator. the discussions I have encountered about only long-term unions with a single There can be no dispute that the homosexuality. Heterosexuals need to companion based on senuine love. children of our culture are suffering rec:oanize that a certain proportion of the Heterosexual men can gain support in today. Teenage suicide is at an aU-time human population, for reasons that no this evolutionary development from the high. Drug abuse and alcoholism is one has yet been able to explain, rmd civilizing influence of women, the prevalent among our young. The rates of themselves attracted to members of the institution of marriage, and the force of child abuse and neglect are skyrocketing. same sex rather than the opposite sex; religious and social tradition. We aU know this. Instead of addressing and apparently no amount of moralizing, Homosexual men now lack this support. the relationship of the breakdown of the condenmation, or psychological therapy The provisions some Friends meetings family to the above-mentioned problems can change this orientation. have made for a "celebration of and once again proclaiming our The real message of AIDS is not commitment" and the present inclusion testimony on the sanctity and importance against homosexuality but against of this category by the FluBNDS JoUilNAL of divinely sanctioned heterosexual promiscuity. If it has been misinterpreted in the Milestones section may weD marriages, we are permitting our religious to apply only to homosexuals, this is encourage fidelity and long-term unions society to be dragged down the same mainly because the real problem is men. among homosexuals. path that our culture is foDowina. Instead Men without the civilizing influence of William Edgerton of reaffirming and supporting those who women tend to tum love into mere sex Bloomington, Ind. are trying their level best to raise children relations. This fact was illustrated in a to know God, we seek to accept, two-part survey of homosexual activity validate, and embrace sexual relationships among both men and women published Twentieth century citizens of developed with no divinely redeeming qualities. We in the New York Times on 16 and 17 countries are faced with an astounding do so in the name of tolerance, respect June 1983. The evidence in that survey array of choices on bow to live their for individual rights, and inclusiveness. showed that most homosexual women sexual Hves. Yet Friends, until quite This is not the message that early Friends tended to form long-term unions that recently, have testified that sexual went to jail for, were persecuted for, and were based on genuine love and relationships should only take place in a died for. transcended their sexual activity. Among divinely sanctioned heterosexual Our testimonies are community homosexual men, on the other band, relationship. It is only in this discernments on the path forward, on the long-term unions based on love were relationship, in which both the man and way members of the church should Hve much less common, and purely physical woman commit themselves to a Hfetime their lives. As a community of believers promiscuity was rampant. of sharing and helping each other, that we do not countenance compromises, What conclusions can we draw from the Society can be sure that children, this? The first is that nature decrees a God's children, wiD be properly cared contin11ed on Pille 10

FRIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 9 ------

are present in each oak, in each holly. lone, but the evaluation of all the for the human community too, but that Yet no oak is exactly identical to any behaviors open to humans is required o( is another story.) other oak. In addition, no oak replicates humans: not the soldier, but the be­ Each person has a deep longing for the static model which represents its havior of making war; not the drunk but the yang-yin of living: identification and definition. How could this be? There the behavior of excessive drinking; not harmony with the whole, and yet differ­ must be some mistake! Equality with the child abuser but the behavior of child entiation as a unique, indispensable, in­ myriad singularity? abuse. Behaviors are to be evaluated in dividual Being. Sexual intercourse be­ Equal, all equal. the context of God's will. tween a man and a woman is the apothe­ All individuals, having that of God in Indeed, spiritual growth, providing di­ osis of this. The word "marriage" them, are equal in human dignity, equal rection for this and the next generation, denotes and connotes this particularity. So homosexual persons have equality in the divinity of their nature. Still Differentiation, homosexual and heterosexual behavior is held up to the divine Light. Hindus believe, The facts that females and males dif­ • fer, that heterosexual union may produce life while homosexual union is barren, IS a that children need a father and a mother for genesis as well as for nurture during demonstration the dependent years, these are ordained by God. So marriage, the joining of a of Iiiia, the man and a woman in the presence of God, with the faith and hope of the possi­ cosmic, joyful, bility of linking human life to the cre­ ative kinship with the Divine, is God's playful creation will. The basic family unit, a loving father, mother, and children, united in seeking to see and to do God's will, re­ of God. mains the ideal toward which we humans should strive. 0 in God's sight, equal as all God's creation and protecting and strengthening the hu­ is equal. Wherever we are, whatever we man community, all necessitate human continued from page 9 are, whoever we are, God calls us equally. evaluation of human actions. Forever and always. The question, then, is not whether a half-truths, or expediency. We live as we Yet each person is one of a kind, homosexual person is equal to a hetero­ know best to live. We live the way God never to be repeated. Given nature, nur­ sexual person. Of course. The question would want us to live. We live so that ture, experience, and choice, every one others might see our Light and be drawn is whether homosexual behavior is near to the Light within themselves. has a lifetime's opportunity to use all equally desirable to heterosexual be­ Our testimony on simplicity is a that has been given in seeking God's will havior, equally in accord with God's cleansing of the superfluous. Our lives and in manifesting it in behavior. Each way. The behaviors are different in are singularly devoted to one pursuit, is the judge of the personal journey. nature and different in possible conse­ furthering God's kingdom on Earth. To hold the personal light up to the quences. There are categorical, non­ Anything that interferes with such efforts joined corporate light, to worship revokable differences between the two must be set aside. Our testimony on marriage is a together, individuals band into the types of sexual union. recognition of the divinely sanctioned Religious Society of Friends, seeking Marriage is a union between a man joining of male and female for the life's purpose together: perfectionism. and a woman and God precisely because purpose of bringing forth the Gospel Not self-fulfillment, not self-actu­ there is a complementary wholeness that ministry. alization, not the use and storage of is possible for each only in this specific The homosexual act does not fit into material goods, not the acceptance of relation. And the intercourse decreed by the life and testimonies of the Society of change as "progress," not doing "good" Friends. It seems fruitless. It seems God is the nearest human beings can lifeless. It seems to have no divine to others, but growth in the manifestation come to Divine Being-the generation purpose. It seems a compromise with of divine Light is the aim of Friends. of new Being because of the actual and worldly lust. Those who engage in sexual In order to shape and share this spiri­ the sacramental union. No " expanding" acts outside of a heterosexual marriage tual growth, members of the Society ac­ or "enriching" (Lois Bailey, September appear to be merely conforming to a cept the challenge and responsibility for Friends Bulletin) of the word " mar­ world that celebrates the satisfaction of evaluating human actions. Only God riage" can change the biological, repro­ desire as the road to happiness. judges persons. But persons who seek ductive fact of opposite, yet complemen­ Thomas N.N. A God's will must consider how near tary gender. Clinton Corners, N.Y. human behavior comes to it. Despite (Indeed I wonder whether the union of many failures to perceive and to do God's complementary opposites is a part and As a Quaker psychiatrist, perhaps I can will, we remain equal in God's sight. The parcel of the deep, rich, dark psychic help to clarify some of the questions judgment of persons belongs to God a- flow that God sets for individuals and

10 January 1989 F'RmNDS JOURNAL lHE WI1NESS OF GAY AND LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS

by Stephen Finn

hat good comes from my tionships. And yet I firmly trust that latter course, and the seed has germi­ relationship with my lover, both types of unions have a place in nated and grown into a tree: my current W Jim? This is the question I God's plan. You see, I am convinced relationship. What place does this tree pondered after reading Sally Bryan's ar­ that I did not choose to be a gay man. have in God's orchard and what are its ticle. For I agree that the consequences To the best of my understanding, my fruits? of gay and lesbian relationships are dif­ sexual orientation is a deep leading-a To answer this question, I turn to the ferent from those of heterosexual rela- seed planted in me-perhaps at birth. community in which Jim and I live, My only choice has been whether to re­ drawing on my perceptions and re­ ject this seed (at one time a tempting actions of others. Jim and I have no Steve Finn, a member of Austin (Tex.) Meeting, children to bring to our community is acting clerk ofOverseers for Friends for Lesbian alternative), thereby turning away from and Gay Concerns. He has recently completed a my true self and from God, or to plant (although some gay men and lesbians book about gay male relationships. and water this seed. I have chosen the do). However, our relationship is by no

in Forum about homosexual have their cas.e handled through the unquestionably basic and unavoidable in ...h,>vit•r While talking with many police and the courts. Certainly most the minds of all Friends and of over­ aonaos.exllaals over the last 40 years, I homos.exuals lead ethical and productive riding importance in considering they vary as much as do lives. As Friends we should welcome and homos.exual-lesbian ceremonies of aetc:rolsexualls. Some suffer from anxiety accept them as we do anyone els.e. commitment, that is rarely, if ever, depression and other symptoms, Whether they should make vows of referred to, but is crying out for the often from our society's attitudes commitment, similar in weddings, before attention of ALL Friends. We are failing them. Not infrequently a Friends meeting, should be a matter for to bring to bear on this question this ~SYc:bologicai origins can be found for conS

FRIENDS JOURNAL January /989 11 means barren. Our love spills over on ministry of hospitality, and we share our relationship. I always welcome such the lives of others, and we help care for large house whenever we can. We often observations, for they help me under­ the many children around us. For exam­ host overnight visitors and house friends stand our witness as a couple. Some peo­ ple, while visiting Jim's brother and who are in between living situations. We ple have been inspired by seeing Jim and sister recently, we spent a great deal of have had numerous committee meetings, me equally sharing household duties and time babysitting his niece and nephew. prayer groups, parties, slide presen­ being supportive and independent of This gave the children an experience tations, and potlucks in our home. each other. Our relationship helped with adults outside the immediate Understandably, couples with children them examine sex roles in their own rela­ family-and their parents a sorely needed are often unable to accommodate such tionships. Jim and I sometimes . feel frustrated: typically the traditional model of heterosexual relationships Steve Finn (left) and doesn't fit for us as two men. We usually Jim Durkel have to start from scratch in learning (right) on the how to live together. Apparently, some Swarthmore heterosexual couples long to do the College same. campus, 1987 Other heterosexual friends have been heartened by realizing that the issues Jim and I struggle with-anger, sexuality, independence-are the same ones they face in their relationships. Such an awareness can make us all feel less lonely by putting our struggles in broader perspective. As one heterosexual woman told me, "From hearing ab9ut you and Jim, I know that my difficulties with my husband are not because he's a man, but because we are two human beings, try­ ing to be close to each other." Last, some Friends have told of

continued from page I 1

do not ask the Religious Society of Friends to approve my sins. I ask that Friends will continue to love me and encourage me to try to overcome my sins. Read Romans 1:24-32 or Leviticus 18 about incest. In neither of these two ''From hearing about passages, for instance, is there any indication but that certain sexual I practices are sinful. Even if Friends you and Jim, know that consider the Inner Light as their ultimate authority, one acts contrary to biblical my difficulties with light at one's own peril. Acting contrary to long-held or strongly-held traditional my taboos is on shaky ground as all myths husband are not because and taboos have a practical as weD as spiritual genesis and applicability. he's a man, but because We Friends, all together, have responsiblity in this matter, which is crucial to the health, even existence, of we are two human beings trying our religious society. We must keep each other, all members, in our loving to be close to each other.'' concern. But are we to continue to be silent about error among ourselves? Such a practice, if unaltered, will destroy the rest. Our role as loving uncles was a joy get-togethers. And single friends seem Religious Society of Friends. for us and a greatly appreciated gift to reluctant to host large gatherings by Clifford A. Woodbury. Jr. this young couple. Could such a role be themselves. We have a unique role as a Media, Pa. part of God's plan for same-sex couple, and both we and those around couples? us are blessed as a result. The Society of Friends has recently In our larger community we also play Sometimes heterosexual friends who been presented with a difficult social a nurturing role. Together, we have a visit our home offer reactions to our

12 January 1989 FRIENDS JoURNAL spiritual openings as a result of know­ in her new church and still saw herself ing gay members of our meeting. Several as a member of our meeting. Although years ago, one Friend spoke in meeting she could visit rarely, she longed to have for worship about running into Jim and the meeting acknowledge her member­ me and two other gay couples on a ship. Understandably, many Friends flight. We were on our way to a regional were hesitant. How could someone be conference for Friends for Lesbian and a member of a community while living Gay Concerns, and she and her husband apart from that community? We were headed to a convention. In her labored a long time to reach clearness. message, the Friend told of her sudden Finally, one Friend rose and spoke the insight that "love is not limited by growing sense of the meeting: ''Although gender," nor by any other qualities she it goes against my previous definition of had heretofore imagined. She felt freed a member, when I hear this Friend's let­ by this realization and more hopeful. ter and listen inside, I know she is right; Such events make me believe that she is already a member of this meeting. whether the term marriage applies to gay I guess I'm just going to have to change and lesbian relationships may become my ideas of what it means to be a clear as Friends have contact with such member." couples. Although reason and logic may In our Society, we believe that a help decide this issue, I believe the Spirit meeting does not marry a couple. God often rises above rationality. does. The meeting simply names and I am reminded of a recent struggle in witnesses this spiritual reality. I invite meeting for business over what it means Friends to get to know gay and lesbian to be a member. A birthright member couples in your community. Witness the of our meeting moved away from town many blessings of these relationships and transferred her membership to a dif­ and take these couples into your hearts. ferent church. Several years later, she Then put aside your previous definitions wrote a touching and heartfelt letter ask­ of marriage and listen inside yourselves. ing the meeting to reinstate membership. Perhaps you will find a new definition. She explained that she felt out of place 0

equivalent to saying, "I love you. I ourselves and share something of our especially love this relationship you have lives. One man comfortably answered with your lover. and I hope that you will that he was gay, then named his Quaker continue in this relationship for all of meeting and referred to his religious your life and beyond." Can we, any of career. Later I approached him, saying I us, honestly say that we would thus hold was impressed he wasn't self-conscious the homosexual weddiq up before the about sharing with strangers that he was entire world as an example of the ideal, gay. We became good friends, and still a meetina marries a couple, it is as an example of what Quakerism stands are, years later. He contributed much to supposecl to do so only after careful for? Quakers do not alorify bigamy, our group, includins helping a lesbian ICI'Utiny to determine if this is the best extramarital or premarital heterosexual transcend her secrecy and become matter­ for this meetina and this couple. involvement, incest, or any other of-fact about her sexual orientation. dearness bu been reached, the immoral sexual relationship. Why would Now more and more religious groups ·aumqe c::eranooy holds that couple"s we wish to porify immoral homosexual of various denominations are takins in and commitment up to the Light for relationships? homosexuals who have become to see. The ceremonial activities R. Rted Hardy comfortable with their condition and confmn the community's blessing of the DePere, Wis. those who need support in the process. couple and their relationship, and set the God bless the growina chanaes in our example for the youna men and women A vital question we need to ask culture, even though many of the news of the community to follow. For the ourselves is, "Why, culturally, are many media don't recopize them as news. community to thus bless a sinful of us still threatened by homosexuals?" How glad I am to live at a time when relationship would itself be sinful. In the About 20 years qo I asked this question promise is as impressive as danger, giving words of M. Scott Peck, "There is such of two psychologists. Each said that we us choices to serve in this present, a thin& as an excess of sympathy, an all have within us masculine and feminine whether helping toward social justice or excess of tolerance, an excess of cbaracteristics. Ideally we accept both making way for world peace. Yes, we permissiveness•.. • We must somehow these endowments in our selves, have a chance to join in the srowina be both tolerant and intolerant, accepting coordinating them instead of polarizing number of groups striving for a humane and demandins, strict and flexible." We them. Generations taught us what a man world. must simply find a way to say "I love is supposed to be and what a woman is Dorotltetl Blom you, but I don't love this thing that you supposed to be, and our culture took Sandy Spring, Md. are doing." these dictates to be reality. Now we are To permit homosexuals to marry or to outgrowina that false reality. conduct a ceremony of commitment Once at a Quaker gathering we were under the care of the meetins would be asked in the usual fashion to introduce

FRIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 13 Pictures at a Wedding

Let go of this moment, let it drift through me like seaweed bending with the tide. Don't record it on video, don't force the bride to say ''I do! '' fifty times during the reception, the suddenly bloodless bride left flickering inside the TV set at guests who cannot watch her say ''yes'' so often in identical cadences. No photos, no lens manipulated, stretched to fit a mountain range of feelings. Let these private vows be felt once, launched into air in this public space, Marilyn J. Boe lives in be memory told in words, Bloomington, Minnesota. framed in silence. Her poems have appeared in numerous publications. Her background is in - Marilyn J. Boe teaching.

14 January 1989 F RIENDS JOURNAL Credo The spirit is one. Let no sex claim it. Let no nation claim it. Let no race claim it. Let no creed claim it. Let all claim it, for the spirit is one. The spirit, as one, has within it the diversity to accept our diversity. And when we are one, we will have within us the diversity to accept its diversity. Praised be the spirit. R.E. Schultz is a member of Monadnock (N. H.) -R.E.Schultz Meeting.

MeeUng I wait And nothing comes So I wait again Still Nothing Like the cycle of seasons, the waiting is endless Only when I stop expecting does it come Not a reward, but a gift Michael DeHart teaches Star showers, exploding to light my way ninth grade at Sandy I follow the path Spring Friends School. And wait This poem comes from a class called "Relaxation Poetry," a technique -Michael W. DeHart begun by Barry Morley.

FRIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 15 LET* YOUR* LIVES

by Robert A. Lyon ..- Here or near . this rock George J?ox just cannot be done on top of a steep ban areas. I need a working committee preached to about one thousand seekers ·.· hill, covered with sheep and miles from ·to produce posters and see that they get j.Qr three hours on Sunday, June 13, anywhere. What happens if the mist displayed widely. We need newspaper · 1652. Great power inspired his message blows in that morning? But I have talked advertisements the day before, and we . ,_and the meeting proved offirst impor­ to George every day for two weeks, and 'need a serjes of press releases over a .tance in gathering the Society ofFriends he still insists on Firbank Fell . period of four to five days.·~ · !mown as Quakers. ManJ'J men and George talks about drawing 1,000 On site we are goingto have to have women convinced of the truth on this people! If he were less persistent, and if parking facilities at the foot of the fell -fell and in. other parts of the northern I liked him less, I would have walked out · ii1 case a crowd does show up. We must c.ounties went forth through .the land before now, but I sense he's going to do find some nieans of getting the elderly and ov~r the seas with the living word it whether I help him or not. and the disabled to the toi)Jiif we want . of the Lold, enduring great hardships Organizing something like this costs to avoid ·bad publicity on a sensitive ' and winning multitudes to Christ . . big money, and George has said no ad­ point. If we get even, a fraction of the . -Hi$toric plaque at Firbanlc Fell " mission tickets, no taking up a collec­ people George hopes for, we are going " tion. That is madness! I probably can to need portable toilets conveniently .t is n.ot that George is malicious or raise the money, but how am I going to located. If the cold mist moves in, peo­ p'urposefully difficult; 'it is more an pay it back? Who's going to pay the ple ~e going i o need hot drinks, and I aggravatins naivete. I' Have spent printing costs for all the publicity? How finding a cop.cessionai{e who'll take the most ofmy life setting up itinerari~ for about the equipment we have to rent? ·risk will not be easy. We win need a s~kers and planning lectures, COl:lfer­ Why did l ~ffer to help him? first-aid tent and pr:ofessional staff to enc~s.. an~ Jallies, aQd I know it won't "George,'' I finally say, "if I ~t run it. •. work. lt is difficult enough to get a good talk you out of it, I might as well do my George says he has not been thinking crowd out in a comfortable hall, and it best to make of it what we can. There along these lines. George has no eJ(peri­ are some things to be done right now. ence planning something like this. . · Bob Lyon a;:g his wife, Pat, are co-clerks of 4,shvi/Je (N.C.) Meeting. Ourre!ltl)' he is.a develop- First, we need a sponsoring group, some <:•Don't tell me that, George, I ttnow . mei:!t secret~UJ. for Jlr;e,nds World Committee/or well-known outfit that will show we what it takes and fm a professio1,1al at Qoii$Uitatioi'J, .&ctmn of the )JmerlcQS. have solid backing in both rural and ur- this." How many folding chairs atop Fir­ We must have parking lot attendants; this way, George, but there are some bank Fell? I don't dare raise this with guides posted along the climbing trail; things you must leave to the experts." George. He won't understand that the enough young people to keep the sheep To set an example to George, I try to news media people will be more im­ back from the speaking area and the au­ stay out of his role in this meeting as pressed if some people have to stand than dience, and others to pass out the pro­ much as I can. He needs to be free to say if there are too many seats and some re­ grams. We can probably get volunteers whatever is on his heart just as I need to main empty. We can hold the press con­ for this, but we'll have to have insurance be free to see that it is well organized. ference in the staff tent, but George will for them. But on June 13th, when the day final­ have to provide me with advance copies How can we fill the time before ly arrives, I just have to take him aside of his speech for distribution. George speaks? People need a musical for a few minutes and fill him in on the Does he understand how much it is group. If we can get the Greensleaze program and the "do's" and "don'ts" going to cost to build a speaker's plat­ Quartet, they might even attract solhe for an effective presentation. I warn him form, wire it, and install an adequate of their own groupies. What about a that the music and singing of the Green­ public address system? really prominent person to introduce sleaze Quartet is something the younger George has just got to stay out of this. George? Someone attractive enough to generation understands even if the Can't he go off and rehearse his speech be a drawing card. group might not appeal to him. I give somewhere? "I know you have not been thinking him the name of the member of Parlia­ ment who will introduce him, and l con­ fess that I only got him by promising him ten minutes to talk about the up­ coming election. Finally I get to the heart of my message to George, which is based on my long experience in running this kind of show. "George," I say, "that bit you occasionally use about 'steeple houses' will go over big. But, George, go a little easy on the Christology and Scriptures. We don't know where many of these people are coming from. Most impor· tant of all, George, you have got to keep your message to 3S or 40 minutes. Be­ yond that you will lose your audience, and I have worked too hard getting this crowd out to see it blown away. They are just not going to sit on this chilly mountaintop any longer than that. And besides, the local players are producing the final act of 'Dynasty' this evening and people wiU want to get back in time for it." George looks at me gratefully, thanks me for all I have done, and ignoring the platform and microphones, strides to the top of the rock ledge and begins speaking. 0 Our Evolving Constitution

THE QUAKER ROLE

by Margaret Hope Bacon

the nation celebrated 1987 as the by Pennsylvania in 1776. bicentennial of the U.S. Consti­ Nevertheless, the influence of William A tution, many Friends wondered Penn's Holy Experiment was felt by the about what role, and what influence convention. Under Penn, Pennsylvania Friends had in the writing of this historic had begun an experiment in democracy document. unrivaled by the other colonies. Penn­ On the surface the answer is, not very sylvania had a wide franchise for the much. By 1787 Quakers had all but com­ day, including all male property owners pleted their withdrawal from the govern­ except Jews, the secret ballot, and a ment of Pennsylvania, begun in 1755 at bicameral legislature. And Pennsylvania the time of the French and Indian War, had existed for more than 100 years, a withdrawal based essentially on the without an established church. Though V.O conflict between Quaker pacifism and Quakers had been withdrawing from -:il the demand of British colonial policy. government, a Quaker party, under the ~ t=:·;:::·======:: In other colonies where Friends had leadership of Benjamin Franklin, had once been active in government, a simi­ regularly fought for democratic prin­ nation adopted a Bill of Rights in 1789. lar withdrawal had occurred. There were ciples. The two delegates from Penn­ More importantly, Pennsylvania had no practicing Quakers among the dele­ sylvania, Gouveneur Morris and James lived for 100 years without an estab­ gates at the Constitutional Convention. Wilson, having experienced the rough lished church. Though other colonies An earlier generation of Friends some­ and tumble, trial and error years of (Rhode Island, Maryland, New Jersey, times claimed that William Penn's Frame Pennsylvania's experiment in democra­ and North Carolina) had adopted char­ of Government, and in particular his cy, spoke up time and again for the rule ters embodying religious liberty before concepts of individual liberties were of the people, which was feared by the Pennsylvania was founded, it was the embodied in the constitution. Later re­ more aristocratic-minded delegates. Pennsylvanians who spelled out in prac­ search has proven that this was not the Penn's original Frame of Government tice the meaning of religious liberty and case. Madison used the Virginia Bill of had been t_hrough many revisions since set a model for the new nation to follow. Rights as his primary model in develop­ its adoption in 1682. By 1701, the con­ But Friends have historically been out­ ing a similar document for the United cepts of individual liberty, including trial siders, not insiders. At their best they States. While he also looked at the by a jury of one's peers, habeas corpus, have acted as a goad on public con­ Pennsylvania Bill of Rights, it was not the right to protect oneself from self­ science, pushing for a society based on Penn's original, but rather one passed inCrimination, and other legal safeguards, peace and justice. In terms of the con­ had been written into the law and were stitution, this was spelled out in several no longer needed in the Charter. But in long struggles resulting in passage of A member ofCentral Philadelphia (Pa.) Meeting, 1776, when the Pennsylvania legislators further amendments expanding human Margaret Hope Bacon is the author of many books, including Valiant Friend: The Life of wrote a new constitution, they restated rights. The beginning of this contribu­ Lucretia Mott; The Quiet Rebels; and Mothers of the guaranteed liberties in a Bill of tion might be pinpointed to June 2, Feminism. Last fall she traveled widely among Rights. The Constitutional Convention 1787, when the Pennsylvania Abolition Friends as part ofthe visitation program ofFriends itself felt originally that such a bill was Society, organized by Quakers and meet­ World Committee for Consultation, Section of the Americas. Her article is from a speech she gave really not necessary, because these rights ing a few blocks away, sent a memorial at the American Friends Service Committee an­ were guaranteed by natural law. How­ to the Constitutional Convention, im­ nual meeting in 1987. ever, at the insistence of the states, the ploring it to consider the end of the slave

18 January 1989 F'RIENDS JOURNAL trade as part of its deliberations. Since James and Lucretia Mott entertained four women from Philadelphia Yearly Benjamin Franklin was a delegate, as black friends, and worked alongside Meeting appeared in London Yearly well as president of the society, he could black allies to desegregate the Philadel­ Meeting to urge that their British sisters not sign the document. Instead it was phia street cars. After the Civil War, a have a separate yearly meeting, such as signed by the vice president, Jonathon number of Friends went South to teach they had enjoyed since 1681. Penrose, a Quaker. in the freedmen schools. It was these When they became active in the ecu­ This was the beginning of a lobbying teachers who recognized the danger to menical antislavery campaign, however, effort on the part of Friends against the black freedom in the development of the the Quaker women found they were not institution of slavery which was to con­ White Leagues and who lobbied for the allowed to speak in public to mixed tinue until the 13th, 14th, and 15th passage of the 14th Amendment. audiences or serve on committees with amendments were passed. Friends were . The long antislavery struggle led to men, or play a significant role in de­ never more than a minority among U.S. another campaign in which Quakers veloping policy. Out of this conflict, abolitionists, and not all Friends were played a leadership role. The women in Quaker women began to perceive that supportive, some preferring to stay out the Society of Friends had experienced they had to battle for their own rights, of the struggle for fear it would lead to a degree of equality unequaled in other as well as the rights of the slave. Under war. Nevertheless, Friends were the ftrst religious bodies of the time. Respected the leadership of Lucretia Mott, a whole religious body to declare against slavery, as -equal in the sight of God, they generation of Quaker women began to and to insist that all their members give preached in meetings and traveled wide­ press for women's rights. up the practice of slave holding. A ly in the ministry under the leadings of The demand for suffrage as one of number of Quakers were indefatigably the Holy Spirit, sometimes leaving their these rights was first made at the Seneca active in the underground railroad, in husbands home to care for their chil­ Falls Convention of 1848, organized by the organization of abolitionist and an­ dren. These travels developed their gifts, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stan­ tislavery societies, and in speaking and which were further exercised in separate ton. Most of the early pioneers of the writing against slavery. The more ad­ women's business meetings, and by a women's rights movement were also vanced perceived that they must also at­ policy of equal education. In 1784, just abolitionists. After the Civil War, the tack racial discrimination. Friends like before the Constitutional Convention, two groups merged in the American

FRIENDS JOURNAL January 1989· 19 Equal Rights Association, pledged to single factor in causing the 19th Amend­ through Supreme Court decisions, the obtain votes for both blacks and women. ment to be passed in 1919 and ratified meaning of the First Amendment and of Quarreling soon broke out within this in 1920. the due process law in the 14th Amend­ group, however, between those radical No sooner was the federal amend­ ment. The long struggle for the recogni­ feminists who insisted on refusing the ment safely ratified, than Alice Paul tion of the right of conscientious objec­ vote for blacks until it could be ob­ turned to the next step on her feminist tion to military service, culminating in tained for both blacks and women, and agenda, the introduction of an Equal Daniel Seeger v. United States, has those who felt it was "the Negro's Rights Amendment. Her exhaustive taken place in the 20th century. Friends hour," and that women should press for studies of the laws discriminating objected strongly and vigorously to the a 16th Amendment. The old women's against women had convinced her that action taken against U.S. citizens of rights movement split into the National only such an amendment could make Japanese ancestry during the Second Women's Suffrage Association and the equality real. Beginning in 1920, she World War, and have been active in ef­ American Women's Suffrage Associa­ worked tirelessly to build a coalition of forts to overturn the infamous Hiraba­ tion, and so remained for more than 20 women to work with the Woman's Party yashi and Korematsu decisions. Friends years. on the ERA. With her usual flair for have worked unceasingly to make Brown A leader in the National Women's pageantry, she arranged for a reenact­ v. Board of Education a reality. Suffrage Association was Susan B. An­ ment of the Seneca Falls Convention Friends believe in a continuing revela­ thony, a Quaker from Rochester, New held in July of 1923, and there an­ tion. Theologically this means that if York. Other Quaker women were promi­ nounced her new amendment, which she one obeys the Light one has, more Light nent in the early suffrage struggle in originally named the Lucretia Mott will come. In practical terms, this meant Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Is­ Amendment. In the fall it was intro­ that the testimonies of the Society of land, Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa. As a duced into Congress. From 1923 to Friends continue to evolve, as new ex­ result of Quaker influence, the move­ 1972, when the bill was finally passed, periences sensitize us to new areas of ment made imaginative use of non­ she and her colleagues lobbied for it at need. Our role as citizens of the United violence in presenting their demands. every session of Congress. · States has been to help in the evolution Some women and their husbands re­ Alice Paul always considered herself of our democracy, and in the constitu­ fused to pay taxes, claiming it was tax­ a Quaker. Interviewed at the age of 91 tion which undergirds it. The story con­ ation without representation. Others about her stick-to-itiveness, Alice Paul tinues to be written, as we press forward claimed their right to vote by voting. spoke of her Quaker heritage. on the recognition of the rights of gays, Susan B. Anthony was brought to trial of North American Indians, of undocu­ in 1872 for having "knowingly, wrong­ Women are still voiceless. We have to wait mented workers, and other minorities fully, and unlawfully voted for a repre­ until complete equality becomes a reality. I among us. sentative to the Congress of the United grew up in a Quaker family and the Quakers The Constitution's authors had a States." Convicted, she was sentenced believe in the equality of the sexes. It is hard great sense that they were preparing a to grow up in such a family and never hear to pay a fine. When she refused to do document for posterity, a document about anything else. When you put your so, the judge did not press charges, thus hand to the plow, you can't put it down un­ which could be amended to stand the not allowing her to appeal her case. til you reach the end of the row. test of time. We need to commit our­ The final hero of the battle for selves afresh to making real the promise women's suffrage was Alice Paul, a When the ERA finally becomes part glimpsed however dimly 200 years ago Quaker from Moorestown, New Jersey, of our consititution, we can regard it as when we, the people of the United and a Swarthmore College graduate. In yet another area where Quaker values States, first pledged ouselves to establish England she became active in the suf­ have influenced the basic document of justice, promote the general welfare, fragette movement led by the Pank­ the land. Meanwhile, Friends have and secure to ourselves and our posterity hursts, and learned their method of ac­ played an important role in spelling out, the blessings of liberty. 0 cepting arrest and refusing to eat as a way of bringing attention to the struggle. With another U.S. woman, Alice Paul brought these methods to the United States, and began to press for the pas­ sage of a federal suffrage amendment. Soon women from all over the country, including many Quaker women, were flocking to Washington to demonstrate for suffrage in front of the White House, to accept arrest, and to refuse food. The pressure upon Woodrow Wil­ son to involve himself personally in lob­ bying for the suffrage amendment be­ came intense. While many other groups of women were working for suffrage, using less drastic measures, it is clear that the nonviolent methods espoused by Alice Paul were the most important

20 January 1989 F'luENDs JoURNAL idea had fftiled. Had we let our heads lead us into action instead of waiting to be open to the Spirit? Our motive had The Meaning been to try to find something in com­ mon that the diverse yearly meetings could share with others. By suggesting that there was need for a statement of of Membership the essentials of Quaker thought, we were not proposing a creed. We were mindful that 100 years ago Quakers from England and the United States came together, also at Richmond, and eventually produced a rigid statement of · belief known as the Richmond Declara­ tion. Far from being a source of unity, the declaration was not accepted by by Ted Hoare n December 1983 I was invited to London Yearly Meeting and became a join a group of Friends drawn from bone of contention in America. I the different yearly meetings in the Is it possible to define the essentials United States, who met in Richmond, of a creedless Society? If not, how does Indiana, for the annual Friends Con­ the Society continue to hold together? sultation. The subject was membership, As English Friend Alastair Heron Is it possible and I was present because I had been points out fn his "Charity, Liberty, Uni­ asked to write a paper on membership ty: A Quaker Search for Essentials," we to define the for inclusion in the documents in ad­ are not looking for uniformity but for vance for the 1985 Friends Triennial. unity, something around which we can essentials ofa The subject of membership inevitably unite. A degree of diversity can exist raises the question of what are people within a condition of unity, but there creedless Society? joining? Was there a common state­ must be some limits to that diversity. ment, some essentials that the different Twenty years ago another English Ifnot, how branches of the Society of Friends could Friend, Hugh Doncaster, saw this and agree upon? said, "In the last ten or fifteen years does the Society On the evening before the final day, there has been a marked trend within I was one of a small group which met London Yearly Meeting towards indi­ continue to consider progress. It felt right that the vidualism and away from corporate com­ deliberations of the consultation should mitment, so that any Friend can believe to hold together? be taken a stage further and it was decid­ anything and the Society of Friends ed that in his winding up speech, Tom stands for nothing." Brown, a former presiding clerk of Phila­ The Quaker faith is corporate. In the delphia Yearly Meeting, should suggest 17th century there was no membership the appointment of a small group of as such, but those who accepted the testi­ Friends who would meet together dur­ monies of Friends, joined them in what ing the coming months to digest the George Fox called "Gospel Order." working reports of the consultation and Three elements to that are defined: then try to prepare a statement on the purposes of the Society. Emphasis on Experience that comes When Tom made this suggestion at from a sense of the divine Presence, the close of a memorable speech, there 'known personally and frequently ex­ appeared at first to be unity amongst us pressed in community. all. Then two Friends started to ques­ tion: What authority had the consulta­ Emphasis on Wholeness. Jesus said "Be tion to set up such a group? Who would Whole [perfect]." As we come to know select them? Why should those then sug­ and accept the different parts of our­ gested as the nominators be agreed to? selves and to live from our " center," so Our sense of unity was lost, and Tom we come closer to the Spirit and are able withdrew his suggestion. to accept ourselves and to learn to love I walked out into the snow, heavy at our neighbor. heart, wondering why it was that the Emphasis on Service. The inward and the outward journeys cannot be sepa­ Ted Hoare, who has made several visits to North America, was formerly a member of Australia rated; we have to combine the inner life Yearly Meeting. He now lives in England and is of devotion with the outer life of service. clerk of Yeovil Meeting in Somerset. Because we say the one Light is in all,

FRIENDS JouRNAL January 1989 21 we are linked to each other and obliged days, the Society has been Universalist, to take thought for others. seeking the Light from wheresoever it may come, but its foundation has been The community of Friends grew out the teaching of Jesus. By the response to of their acknowledgment of a personal the Lima Document, which was adopted relationship with God, and their unity by London Yearly Meeting in 1986, the came from the belief that the same In­ Society affirmed its position as part of ward Light linked each one. The Friends the Christian church and says, "What meeting was not a time for individual then is the focus of Christian unity? It meditation but for coming together in must be Jesus, who calls us not into the silence to enter into that deep place structures but into discipleship and to where the Presence could be felt in their follow in his way." midst, bringing unity to the gathering. It is not enough to look back to the There was a common intention to wait Pauline church of Acts for inspiration. upon God, a realization gained through The call is to return not to first genera­ experience that there was a Spirit with tion Christian structures (or even 17th which each had a direct relationship, century Quaker structures) but to the and there was acceptance that personal foundation which is the teaching of instruction could be given through its Jesus. George Fox declared that it was power. In Fox's words, "that Christ is not his purpose to preach a reformed come to teach his people himself." Christianity but to "call people off" The Quaker way of worship is a cor­ from the structures of the church and to porate activity. It is a time when we try bring them to the true gospel of Jesus. to come together to seek unity through Jesus saw through the structures of his the Spirit which is in us all. This cor­ time; the message of the Gospels is to porateness must be stressed, for it is call people into a new state of being in what distinguished the first Friends from which the accepted values of Society­ the Ranters. Whereas the Ranters treat­ the pursuit of wealth, the pursuit of ed their personalleadings as God-given, prestige, and the pursuit of power-are the Quakers first tested them in com­ turned upside down. munity with others who were in the same To be a Quaker is not an easy option. Spirit. We have tended to lose sight of It is not just finding a welcoming group this. As Alastair Heron writes, "We have of socially compatible people who will gone along with our culture and have provide an oasis of quiet in which we drifted into a kind of individualism can do our own thing. Being a Friend which, if unchecked, makes no demands is to recognize that there is a divine _ upon us in questions of personal belief.'' Spirit within and around us to which we There are those in the Society who must be prepared to open ourselves, think that anyone who wishes to join which, if we have faith, will lead us should be free to do so regardless of his (sometimes into places where we do riot or her beliefs or lack of them. Although want to go), and that if we are faithful. live. And the task of our meetings is to this may be an admirable, liberal atti­ we shall be given the power to continue. attempt to be examples. As Kenneth tude, it is hardly compatible with mem­ George Fox and the early Friends found Boulding has said, "The Quaker be­ bership of a religious society, which is, that this power was available to sustain longs to a kingdom which is not yet." by definition, a society of people "bound them. We too have to learn that if we Our task is to t~y to proclaim it in the together.'' It also runs counter to the ad­ open ourselves to it, that power is avail­ living of our lives, day by day. vice in Church Government of London able to us as it was to Jesus, who al­ This is what we have to tell our at­ Yearly Meeting which instructs Friends lowed himself to be filled with it. Jesus tenders. All are welcome in our meet­ appointed to visit an applicant for mem­ taught that the power is compassion: the ings, but as Thomas Jeavons wrote, bership that "the chief conditions to be call is to open ourselves to the sustain­ "judgments about membership must be looked for are that he [sic] is a humble ing power we call "God," to learn to judgments about their capacity to grow learner in the school of Christ and that know and be true to our deepest selves in and contribute to the shared vision of [his] face is turned towards the Light and thus come to accept our neighbor a Religious Society," the essential ele­ and that our way of worship helps [him] and to cherish the creation of which we ments of which (experience, wholeness forward in-[his] spiritual passage." are a part. , and service) we have made clear to them. To ignore this advice and to admit There will be times when pon~ering A call to be clear about the basis of pleasant people to membership irrespec­ upon our own life is as much as we can our faith and to speak out may sit un­ tive of their belief, because it would not cope with. But the task to which we are comfortably with those Friends whose be " nice" to refuse them, may have called is to cooperate in establishing on intention for the Society is open-ended been an act of love. But it is hardly earth, under the guidance of the Spirit, and with those whose vision has more honest to admit to membership those that which Jesus called "The kingdom in common with the grave detachment who cannot subscribe to the tenets of of heaven." We have to start with our­ of the 18th century Quakers than with Church Government. From its earliest selves, then the community in which we the vibrant outgoings of George Fox and

22 January 1989 fluENDS JOURNAL To be a Friend is to recognize that there is a divine Spirit within and around us to which we must be prepared to open ourselves.

his 17th century companions or the great tials and face the challenge of speaking traveling Friends of the 19th century. out. Hanging around the neck of the Society, Young Friends from all over the like a dead albatross, are the words world, meeting for their conference in "Quakers do not proselytize." At Lon­ 1985, delivered such a challenge when don Yearly Meeting we were reminded they addressed their parting epistle to us. by a Friend who had found difficplty in They found unity after a time of divi­ "discovering" the Society, that Quakers sions and pain during their discussions. have a pearl of great price and that we Their parting words were: should not confine our good news to the better educated, who can find and read We call on Friends to rediscover our own our publications. By definition it would roots in the vision and lives of early Friends, not be proselytizing to reach out to those whose own transformed lives shook the un­ who have rejected the church because just social and economic structures of their they assume that "Christianity" means day. They treasured the record of God's en­ believing in a set of matters which are counters with humanity found in the Bible, and above all the life and teachings of Jesus. contradictory to the findings of modern And we call upon Friends across the earth science. to hear the voice of God and let it send us If the Society is to have relevance in­ forth in truth and power to rise up to the im­ to the 21st century, if we really believe mense challenge of our world today. that we have a pearl of great price, if our truth is a pathway and not a possession, Three and a half years have elapsed. then we must be clear about our essen- Have we responded? D

F'RIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 23 the physical symptoms were often very oppressive. About three days after this prayer to An Experiential Jesus, I reflected that in life Jesus liked to heal people. With some hesitation I said to Jesus, " If you don't mind, I real­ ly would appreciate a small miracle. Approach These physical symptoms . . . if you could make them a lot less pronounced . . . I understand that I have to change my habits before I can be well, so a full to Jesus cure of the illness can only happen over time. But if you'd help me with these physical symptoms . . . I'm not telling by Marl ellen 0. Gilpin you, 'Heal me or I won't believe in you.' I understand that I need to give you time or many years I had difficulty was a concept I deeply accepted. and lots of opportunities to prove that dealing with the idea of Jesus. I It has been hard for me to learn about you are God. But these physical symp­ Fthought he was a great and good God and Jesus from the Bible, too. It toms-! really would be impressed." man, but that he was man, not God. It has seemed to me that the Bible contains Three days later the symptoms were seemed wrong to me to think of him as the deeply sacred sometimes cheek by almost completely gone. When I de­ God. Yet I acknowledged that my con­ jowl with complete balderdash, and I creased my medication a few months cept of what God might be was formed have been discouraged by my past fail­ later, they came back somewhat, but I by the life and death of Jesus; that God ures to sort gold from dross. Thus my found that I was much better able to loved me and was merciful toward me faith in God has been built experiential­ cope with them and was able to leave my ly. As time has gone on, I have felt in­ medication at the lower level. creasingly that if I were willing to ex­ Since then, I have begun more and perience God directly, then I should stop more to pray to Jesus heart-to-heart­ forming my ideas about Jesus on the to be real with Jesus and tell him the ex­ basis of human wisdom. I really ought act truth. Recently I said to him, ''Jesus, to give Jesus a chance to act on my mind I'm telling you this not because I'm par­ and heart for himself, if he could. ticularly asking anything of you, but A year or two ago, I felt that I was simply because I need to tell you about ready to find out whether or not Jesus it. I'm mad at my friend for being so was divine. For the first time in prob­ maladjusted." And I told him all the ably 30 years, I prayed the Jesus prayer: reasons why I was so angry. Finally I did " Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy ask something of him: ''You know I'm on me, a sinner." Then I paused and overcontrolled, Jesus, and anger leaves took a deep breath. "Jesus, if you're out me paralyzed. It doesn't help a bit to there, you know I don't believe that 'son know I'm right to be angry; I just en­ of God' bit. But I'm ready to find out joy my mad and don't act. Please help if you are indeed God. God understands, me to act in spite of my anger." And I'm sure. I had to test God to find out as a matter of fact I was indeed enabled if s/ he was real, so s/he won't turn on to cope with my maladjusted friend, and me while I learn about you. Jesus, this cope in ways that were entirely new to isn't a fly-by-night decision on my part. me. A change of ways took shape, and I plan to make a consistent trial over out of it a change in the relationship. I time. I didn't believe in God when I have come to trust this enabling, this prayed a similar prayer to him 25 years empowerment from wrong old ruts to ago, and over several years I became better ways. convinced God existed. So I feel I know I am one of Quakerism's many refu­ how to tell if there is a God, and I know gees from evangelical Christianity: I that it can take time." tend to think I'm supposed to have faith I suffer from mental illness, and over before I ask for miracles, and I'm not the last few years I had worked very supposed to test the divine. But I have hard at ignoring the ''physical symp­ learned that if you are honest with toms," as I call them, of my disorder. Jesus-if you experiment with your As long as I could actively ignore the whole heart-then you can test him. Marie/len 0 . Gilpin, a gr:aduate of Earlham Col­ weird buzzings, whirrings, and thumps Miracles can happen without prior faith. lege, is a member of Urbana-Champaign (Ill.) that sometimes woke me up at night, I I now find myself loved by a Jesus who Meeting. She is a group leader f or GROW, a self­ help mental health organization, and she works could keep from hearing voices. I was has become a power in my life-a power at the Computer-based Education Research fighting a hard battle, but I was getting for coping, for change, for loving ac­ Laboratory at the University of 11/ionois. better. I seldom heard voices. However, tion. 0

24 January 1989 FRIENDS JOURNAL Mhondoro on the Move by Carolyn Beckenbaugh Women work in Harrington the sewing room ofthe AFSC project in Mhondoro, Zimbabwe. was brimming with excitement as I settled myself for the ride to Mhon­ I doro. As a Quaker with a special in­ terest in Zimbabwe I had long been curi­ ous about the American Friends Serv­ ice Committee project there. Now I was to see for myself. It was the fall of '87 and my husband and I had recently come to work in southern Zimbabwe. I couldn't resist trying to contact Mhondoro. With some trepidation I phoned the project long distance to see if I could pay a visit. Be­ tween the crackling connection and the African accent on the other end I could make out only a few words with certain­ ty. But the final phrase came through loud and clear: "Be sure to come!" I first had a day's journey from our rural hospital to the capital city of Harare. Then early next morning I made my way to the local terminal. Searching among dozens of buses I was relieved to find one marked with the destination I thought I had heard over the phone. When at last we bumped off into the country I sat back to enjoy the scenery: ploughed fields fenced with thorn bush- es, neat clusters of mud brick homes with conical thatched roofs. Between settle­ ments were oceans of high, tawny grass -just the color to conceal lions, I ~ thought, but that was in a bygone day. -~ I estimated the 60 kilometers should ~ take about 90 minutes with the numer- ~ ous stops. As two hours passed I began ] to wonder if, among animated Shona ] conversations, clucking of chickens, and .::; jingly music on the loudspeaker, I had .; missed the call for Mhondoro. But the .. next moment we arrived and I hopped 'o--.: off at a small general store. The clerk ~ pointed with a smile to a long, low ~ building down the road. 8 As I approached uncertainly, a large, We made our way beside a bus seem­ began working in Zimbabwe shortly genial man came forward with out­ ingly under repair, into a courtyard filled after independence in 1980 to help reset­ stretched hand. "I am Evaristo, the proj­ with rows of metal furniture, past a tle people displaced by the war. One of ect director. We are so happy you are door from which came laughter and the these was Evaristo Matsvaire. He told making a visit. Come meet our staff." hum of sewing machines. In a small of­ me that as he and his neighbors picked up the normal threads of their lives, they Carolyn Harrington and her physician husband, fice, seven staff workers gathered, each A very, were volunteers in Zimbabwe hospitals in eager to tell of his or her part in the began to think about solutions for their 1982-83 and 1987. They are members of Vassal· project. long-standing problems, and the AFSC boro (Maine) Meeting. I knew from my reading that AFSC workers were the logical ones to ask.

FluENDS JOURNAL January 1989 25 (Left) Villagers haul construction materials for a new bridge. (Below) Visitors survey the finished bridge.

weather. A new clinic and school went up in the same way. A bakery was about to open, and long-handled paddles stood ready to receive the loaves. "We ~ d like to grow our own wheat," said Evaristo, "so we're working on ir­ rigation." Farmers have already boosted nutrition through raising, in addition to the staple corn, protein-rich peanuts and a variety of garden vegetables. Grassy The villagers wondered how to improve that school children are required to areas are now fenced, and livestock is the growing of crops arid livestock dur­ wear. not permitted to overgraze the land, ing periods of uncertain rainfall. They Outdoors once more, I saw a man turning it into desert. New plantations were looking for ways to unite two areas emerging from the welding shop pushing of fast-growing gum trees not only hold that were separated by intermittent an iron cart designed to carry a barrel the soil but are useful for fencing, furni­ floods over the only road. And finally of water by donkey power- a great im­ ture, and firewood. Housing, too, is they needed to find a way to generate provement over hauling it by bucket on under scrutiny inside and out. Adobe cash income. the head as many must do. Besides the stoves designed at Hlekweni are coming I suppose the AFSC staffers could tables and chairs I had noticed earlier, into use; they are more fuel-efficient have approached headquarters in Phila­ there were window and door frames, than open fires and far less of a danger delphia with a grandiose proposal. In­ rakes, and other useful metal items. to children. Women are experimenting stead, Evaristo explained, they helped In another corner several men were with solar cookers too. the people of Mhondoro to figure solu­ producing corrugated roof sections of "AFSC people taught us how to set tions for their problems-projects that cement reinforced with locally grown up and administer these programs," would include their own labor- and sisal. This process was developed at the said Evaristo. "They got us connected then to apply for funds to a variety of Hlekweni center for appropriate tech­ with agencies that could help us. Now agencies in the United States, Canada, nology established by British Friends in we in Mhondoro are almost on our own. and Europe, as well as the government Western Zimbabwe. Our committees make decisions about of Zimbabwe and the African Develop­ Just then I heard a motor revving. these things in their monthly meetings. ment Fund. "At first we could hardly The disabled bus had been repaired by I can say that AFSC gave us the gift of believe it, but AFSC helped us see that Mhondoro mechanics trainees. As the self-reliance. People are coming from these things were possible for us." community gradually acquires tractors other parts of Zimbabwe to learn how The center staff members were anxious and trucks, mechanical know-how is in­ we do things." to show me around. First stop was the creasingly important. Back at the center, I had just time sewing room, abuzz with industry and I was invited into one of those trucks, enough for a steaming plate of cornmeal fellowship. One tot crawled on the floor a pickup, for a grand tour of the district. sadza and vegetables before shaking and another snoozed on his mother's Mhondoro is a large area, including hands all around and trekking off to the back as six women cut out garments and dozens of villages with some 20,000 fami­ bus stop. I thought on the long ride back stitched them on heavy-duty sewing ma­ lies. We drove across the very bridge I to the city about how fortunate I was to chines. Florence Mhangwa, their in­ had seen pictured in an AFSC folder. see even briefly this scene of action by structor, told me that the women pro­ The villagers had gathered the rocks, our Service Committee. A saying I duce clothes not only for their families sand, and other materials and worked learned years ago as a workcamper but to sell to neighbors. The center has with the skilled builders in construction. popped into my head: "Work is love contracts to manufacture the uniforms The road is now open in all kinds of made visible." D

26 January 1989 FRIENDS JOURNAL Reports

Northern Yearly Meeting Carter, from Friends General Conference in the effects of employment; working in a com­ Philadelphia. Intergenerational activities in pany engaged in government defense con­ Envisions 'Ideal Friend' the evening included folk dancing and singing. tracts; and workingtoachieveprofits. We also For the fall session of Northern Yearly It was a full time: full of joy, renewal, and in­ recognized the very real ethical dilemmas in Meeting, 250 Friends gathered at Luther Bible spiration to work on healing the dualities in competing with other commercial organiza­ Camp over Labor Day weekend. We were ourselves and our communities. tions, and although we spent much time on the pleasantly surprised by the cool damp weather NYM is a young yearly meeting, only 13 problems we experienced in this country as which broke our drought. Francis Hole was years old. Some of our worship groups are employees and managers, we were not al­ unable to deliver his speech due to his unex­ small and widely scattered. We meet twice a lowed to forget the position of those who were pected surgery. Instead, some Friends took year for spiritual nourishment and conduct unemployed, and the many disadvantages of part in a Quaker simulation led by Mark of business. The spring gathering was in our those living and working in developing Friend. Later Perry-0 Sliwa gave us an ac­ eastern area, held at Imago Dei Village near countries. count of her trip to the FWCC Triennial in Clintonville, Wis., with the theme "We are A panel of four speakers responded to some Japan, contrasting it with her Japanese ex­ Standing on Holy Ground." These two gather­ of the questions raised within the various perience 25 years ago. ings were our largest ever, with many first-time groups, pointing out that there should be cau­ The theme was "Within myself are inter­ attenders. We rejoice in our growth and the tion about taking the high-tech routes, as some twined, flesh and spirit well inclined." new opportunities for fellowship. people like repetitive work. We were remind­ Workshops showed that power need not be in ed too that while there have been positive conflict with pacifism, that sexuality can be Dorothy Hopkirk Ackerman aspects to Quakers in industry, the negative based in spirituality, that the needs of civiliza­ aspect was the degree of paternalism tion can be accomplished by respectful use of experienced. the earth's resources, that meditation can be Quakers in Industry In industry, as elsewhere, the quality of rela­ a tool for social change. There were also tionships was important, and our panelists em­ workshops on spiritual friendship, Quakerism Explore Boundaries phasized that there were values, other than 101, the meaning of membership for Friends, A network of Friends working in industry, economic, which should be nurtured. Train­ intimacy and community, grieving, and able to contact other members .. . A center ing and empowering people are not only for an dreams. where people working in business or industry individual's sake, but for the organization's. In meeting for worship we had messages could go for renewal and other purposes . . . Quakers need to have a concern for processes of organization to enhance their contribution. about the ideal Friend, which we were en­ ~n organized input into Quaker schools and couraged to envision. It was said that the ideal among Young Friends where both the prob­ Spirituality should be sustained in corporate Friend is not perfect, it is oneself, and thatthe lems and creative opportunities and satisfac­ structures, and particularly the experience of ideal Friend must become as fully individual tions of working in industry could be forgiveness. Creative listening was important and unique as the Spirit urges. One Friend sit­ aired .... especially for the voices not usually heard. ting between two squirming children noted These were some of the principal recom­ Lest our discussions became too inward­ that a child is the most convincing argument mendations of the Work and Society Commit­ looking, Alison Norris-an industrial that flesh and spirit can be beautifully balanced tee's biennial conference, ''Quakerism and In­ chaplain in the South London Mission-saved and intertwined. dustry," held at Woodbrooke near Birm­ us from this. In her role as an observer, she Meeting for business approved a procedure ingham, England, on September 9 to 11, picked... up the phrase "That of God in for bringing new monthly meetings into NYM following in a line of industry conferences held everyone" and challenged us to explore the and promptly welcomed the membership ap­ each decade from 1918 to 1948. Over 60 meaning of this in an industrial situation. She plication froin Friends in Bismarck, N.D. We Friends came together to share their ex­ asked," what of God?" Are we talking about spent time brainstorming interesting ways to periences and dilemmas of working in industry God's power, or justice, or compassion? present epistles, state of society reports, and and commerce. Alison recognized that Quakers would have reports from Friends organizations which In our groups we explored and wrestled with difficulty working in an hierarchical organiza­ would be informative yet not overwhelming. acceptable and unacceptable boundaries in our tion, being used to a different structure in their A concern was raised that we do not have our working situations. There were nostalgic own religion. Faith andPractice, nor have we adopted one, references to working in a Quaker business en­ · We came together in our final session to specifically. vironment, with its values, principles and prac­ agree on a statement offering our thoughts to NYM continues to seek a balance between tices as a standard to emulate. The quality of the Society as a whole. In particular we stated Quaker tradition and new openings of the relationships, the importance of the dignity of that the Society of Friends should reaffirm the Spirit, so in traditional Quaker fashion we ap­ work, of honesty and just dealings are as place of industry as a proper and valuable area pointed a committee "to begin a long and desirable now as they were in the past. It is these of service and employment and should offer growthful discussion" of the issue. Meeting issues which exercise Friends in their working its informed support and understanding to for business was "wrapped up" when the environments and are a challenge to Quaker those of its members who encounter younger Friends encircled us with lengths of faith. Bringing about changes in organizations unavoidable ethical issues. We need to be newsprint bearing their outlines. may require martyrs, but for many it is still aware ofhow many people outside the Society We enjoyed the woods, the lake, bird necessary to earn a living, staying within the share our concerns. watching, hiking, dancing, and singing. We organization to work out acceptable com­ -Tom Jackson started off each day with small worship­ promises to bring about beneficial changes. sharing groups and spent much time renewing In our working situations we were par­ This report is excerptedfrom a report that ap­ old friendships and making new ones. We were ticularly concerned about the divisions be­ peared in the Oct. 21, 1988, issue of The especially glad to have with us a visitor, Lee tweenmanagement and staff; automation and Friend.

FRIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 27 News of Friends

Movement for a New Society is disbanding strategy gatherings, an informal organization sions are needed for the spring issue, to free members to experiment with other that will be called the Activist Support "Childhood and Quaker Values" (deadline ways to meet the political challenges of the Network. is January 15), and for future issues. The 1990s. Founded in 1971 by veterans of the new address is Friendly Woman, c/ o Prairie civil rights, antipoverty, and anti-Vietnam Recognizing a climate of increasing Women's Collective, West Branch Friends War movements, the organization brought discrimination against homosexuals, Meeting, Box 851 , West Branch, Iowa 52358. together people dedicated to social change. Westminister Meeting in England approved Focal points were revolutionary nonviolence, a minute stating the members' concern and feminism, ecological sustainability, and their vision for an approach that would social justice. A number of the founding eliminate ''fear, doubt, and a sense of rejec­ members of Movement for a New Society tion." were Quakers. Members sought new forms Each person can be a reflection of the Divine. of political organization, rejecting top-down We need to commit ourselves in our local meetings structures dominated by men and paid staff to the right valuing and acceptance of all who are that were common in social change groups engaged on the same spiritual journey as ourselves. in the '50s and '60s. Turning away from It is our experience that many homosexuals play single-issue organizing, they combined a a full part in the life and ministry of our meetings, comprehensive analysis of society's ills with and. for this we give thanks. As we learn to love one another for what we are, our Society can be alternative visions of the future and strategies an example of a loving community. for action. Teams throughout the United States trained hundreds of activists during A new publisher for Friendly Woman has the 1970s and 1980s. Because many of those been chosen for 1989-90. The women from trained were from Asia and Europe, the Friendship and New Garden (N.C) meetings techniques were carried into political cam­ delegated their duties to the Prairie Women's paigns there. Among the spin-off organiza­ Collective, which consists of women from tions resulting from efforts by Movement West Branch (Iowa) Meeting, West Branch Appointing new officers, planting spruce members are New Society Publishers, an ur­ Friends Church, and from meetings in Iowa seedlings, bird watching, and stargazing oc­ ban land trust in West Philadelphia, and a City, Ames, Paullina, Lincoln (Neb.) and cupied members of Friends Committee on · new training institute still in formation. Penn Valley (Mo.). The Collective will pro­ Unity With Nature when they met at Friends Former members will keep in touch with each duce its frrst issue in January 1989, which will Lake Community in Chelsea, Michigan, for other through a newsletter and periodic be on the theme of simple living. Submis- a weekend retreat. The newly organized com-

AFSC Suit Challenges Government

Charging that the Immigration Reform The AFSC's legal action, filed in the plan. Perhaps one-third of these are un­ and Control Act of 1986 violates the rights U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, is the recognized refugees of Central American of employers and employees to free exer­ result of careful deliberations by the wars. The act seeks to make employers the cise of religion, the American Friends AFSC's Board of Directors, who made instrument by which such people are sent Service Committee filed suit against the the decision in June 1988. "An extra­ back to their countries, according to the U.S. Justice Department on November 22. ordinary prayerful session," is the way AFSC position. The act requires that all employees hired Steve Cary, who chairs the board, charac­ Two years after enactment of the law, after Nov. 6, 1986, must provide their terized the meeting at which the decision evidence shows that many of these un­ employers with documentation proving was made. The board at the same time de­ documented people are unable to safely identity and work authorization. Employ­ cided to expand and intensify its program return to their homes and are forced to ers are required to fill out a verification work in the area of immigration. survive in precarious conditions, accept­ form (1-9) testifying that such documenta­ The AFSC is joined in the suit by seven ing exploitative jobs and enduring hard­ tion has been submitted. Under penalty individual co-plaintiffs. Fourteen religious ship. The inhumanity of this situation pro­ of perjury, the employees must sign the groups have agreed to support the AFSC vided the basis for the AFSC's decision to form, declaring that they are legally as amici curiae, or advisors to the court challenge the law in court. The lawsuit will authorized to work in the United States. without being parties to the suit. help the AFSC focus public attention on The act empowers the Immigration and The Immigration Reform and Control the effects of the law on citizens and im­ Naturalization Service to enter a work­ Act was set up to stem illegal immigra­ migrants, on the cause of worker migra­ place without a warrant to inspect tion while providing an avenue to legalize tion, on the plight of those who are flee­ records. Steep penalities, both civil and undocumented farm workers and undocu­ ing war in Central America and whose criminal, may be levied against an em­ mented immigrants who entered the status as political refugees remains un­ ployer for failing to comply. Even harsh­ United States before Jan. 1, 1982. An recognized, and on the ineffectiveness of er penalties are authorized for employees estimated 3 million undocumented immi­ the law. who submit fraudulent documents. grants are ineligible for this legalization

28 January 1989 FRIENDS JOURNAL We'll plant the seeds. • • mittee is a national Quaker group concerned you do the growing. with spiritual implications of the global en­ vironmental crisis. New officers approved at the retreat were Eric Joy of New Hamp­ Join our learning community for a uniquely fulfilling and shire, clerk; Isabel Bliss of Michigan, alter­ well-rounded educational experience. nate clerk; Bill Howenstine of Illinois, and Robert Schutz of California, recording At Pendle Hill this Spring you will have a chance to clerks; and Jack Phillips of Minnesota, grow in challenging seminars, daily Quaker worship and shared editor of Befriending Creation. Robert work-amid 23 acres of flowering trees and green lawns. Pollard of Maryland was approved as clerk of the Publication Committee, Karen Classes: New Testament, Quaker Thought and History, Greenler of Iowa as clerk of the Spiritual Nurture Committee. Spiritual Nurture, Creative Responses to Evil, Pottery, and Gardening. Individual consultancies: accommodations for solitary Representing their governments in delega­ retreats. tions to the UN General Assembly this fall in New York City were Komiko Nose, head­ SPRING TERM, March 31-June 10, 1989 mistress of Tokyo Friends Girls School, and A. Ligabo of Kenya. Komiko Nose delivered at PENDLE HILL two papers on women and aging. A. Ligabo, Wallingford, PA 19086 is a member of the committee on disarma­ 215-566-4507 ment and is iuso a foreign service officer for Kenya. Both are Friends. Call or write Kurt Brandenburg, Dean, or Katharine Myers, Admissions Secretary. Scholarship assistance is available. The highest medal of honor for struggle in the arena of world peace was awarded to Brian Willson on September 4, by Veterans for Peace in Portland, Maine. Brian, who lost his legs in a nonviolent protest at the Concord Naval Weapons Station in Califor­ nia in 1987, said his latest goal is to par­ ticipate in a walk across the United States for • a non-profit Quaker continuing­ world peace. "I used to be called Paul FoxnALE VILLAGE care community in State College. Bunyan because I wore red plaid shirts. Now • apartments ready now I want to be called Johnny Appleseed. I want • full dining and nursing service to walk across the United States and plant ready spring 1990 trees all across America," he said. ~~MtA • accepting applications Restoring the meetinghouse at Brigflatts, near Sedbergh, Cumbria, is the project of British Friends who wish to preserve and maintain this site where George Fox Michael Levengood, Director preached 23 years before the building was 500 E. Marylyn Ave., State College, PA 16801 erected. The project is more than local Friends can handle, however, and so they are seeking financial help from Friends else­ where in England and abroad. They would like to buy a house adjacent to the meetinghouse property to provide quarters for a warden to oversee the property. Brigflatts Friends estimate that purchase and the necessary repairs to the meetinghouse would cost about 150,000 pounds. George Fox preached in Brigflatts in 1652, and the meetinghouse was built in 1675. More than 2,000 visitors stop by each year. To find out more about the project, write to Robert L. Briggs, Garth Cottage, Yealand Conyers, Carnforth, Lanes. LAS 9SG. To help financially, make checks payable to Brigflatts Heritage Appeal Fund and send them to John D. Mounsey, Woolly Place, Millthrop Mill, Sedbergh, Cumbria LAlO SSJ, England.

FRIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 29 Introductory Offer Bulletin Board

THE • A television series about advances in reduc­ • Sale of war toys has fallen by 45 percent ing worldwide hunger is scheduled to air dur­ from 1985 to 1987, but is still three times as ing January and February. The series was high as in 1982. Some people credit the de­ produced with input from 12 religious crease to the large national protests of the FRIEND organizations, including the American last several years. The protesters have ranged Friends Service Committee and the Right from Catholic nuns to peace groups to scien­ (A Weekly Journal) Sharing of World Resources program of tific researchers. One protest in Los Angeles Friends World Committee for Consultation, offers to exchange teddy bears for toy guns. is a lively source of news and opin­ Section of the Americas. The religious Still, the news remains somewhat grim in ion for and by members and at­ organizations are part of a coalition of 21 light of the fact that toy gun sales increased tenders of the Religious Society of groups. The coalition is preparing study by 74 percent in 1987. Numerous psycholo­ Friends. materials for use during the period the pro­ gists and analysts of human behavior have grams are expected to air. The television found through their studies that playing with A subscription to The Friend keeps series, called "Breakthrough on Hunger," war toys increases violent and aggressive you in touch with Friends and their tells the story of achievements of reducing behavior in children and influences their at­ activities: long-term hunger, both by production of titudes toward how to resolve problems. more food and by giving more people the Spiritual discovery; means to buy food that already exists. • Toys-R-Us has on its market a new type Quaker responses to need; of war toy-a contra video game which Full reports of Meetings for • Seminars on nonviolence education are be­ "urges kids six and up to side with the Sufferings. ing offered to local communities by the Nicaraguan Freedom Fighters" and "battle for their beliefs." To oppose sales of this toy, It also provides a Quaker perspect­ Fellowship of Reconciliation. The seminars are given on either a day-long or weekend write Charles Lazarus, CEO: Toys-R-Us, 395 ive on issues which need discussion : format and explore the roots of nonviolence W. Passaic, Rochelle Pk., NJ 07662, or call The arms race, ethical invest­ and its history, practice, and application. For (201) 845-5033. ment, ecumenism, universalism, more information, write to Richard Deats, FOR, Box 271, Nyack, NY 10960. racism, materialism, and pride. And lest thee forget: "tradition or anachronism?" • Friends for Lesbian and Gay Concerns will hold its 1989 Mid-Winter Gathering at If all this interests you, please fill in Wesley United Methodist Church in Min­ the coupon below for a free copy, neapolis, Minnesota, on February 17-20. The • The United Farm Workers has called for or become a new subscriber today, conference will include keynote speakers, a boycott of table grapes to stop use of five using the same coupon, and get workshops, and special interest groups, dangerous pesticides and to form a joint four issues FREEl Return to: The recreation, and worship based upon tradi­ worker/ grower testing program for pesticide tional Quaker practice. Local informal hous­ Friend Circulation Department, residues. The group is also calling for ing and vegetarian meals are provided. For development of free and fair elections for Headley Brothers Ltd, Ashford, more information or to register, call Robert farm workers, with good faith bargaining. Kent TN24 8HH, U.K. Winters at (612) 455-5181. The boycott focuses on the A&P and Super Fresh grocery chain. The ban on the five un­ I would like a free copy of/to • Pro-Nica is mobilizing to send emergency safe pesticides has been recommended by state subscribe to* The Friend. assistance to Nicaragua in response to Hur­ and federal agencies. (The Philadelphia ricane Joan, which left an estimated 300,000 Y.early Meeting Library has a video for rent, homeless and took the lives of at least 50 peo­ The Wrath of Grapes, which explains the Name ple in regions which were already handicapped problem. The library's address is 1515 Cherry by the contra wars. Pro-Nica is a Quaker St., Phila., PA 19102, or call [215]241-7220. Address project, based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Up-to-date information may be obtained whose mission is to assist the people of from the National Farm Worker Ministry, Nicaragua. It has sent three cargo containers PO Box 302, Delano, CA 93216. to Nicaragua in the past year, each contain­ ing about $700,000 worth of humanitarian • Japanese volunteers are available through I enclose for 1 year in­ aid. Working with the Friends Center in the Never Again Campaign to share the troductory subscription, and look Managua, it has also helped provide for a message of atomic bomb survivors of forward to receiving another four number of self-help projects including health Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They use centers, hospitals, an orphanage, schools, documentary fJ.lms, videos, and slides about issues free of charge. and cooperatives. Money is urgently needed the devastation in those areas, as well as Surface mail: USA $49; Canada $70 for the purchase of supplies and shipping materials about Japanese culture. Depending Airmail rates: USA $64; Canada $80; costs. Contributions may be sent to Pro­ on the amount of time available, volunteers Nica, The Friends Meeting House, 130 19th can also offer demonstrations in such things 6 months UK £14.30 Ave. S.E., St. Petersburg, FL 22705. Material as origami, traditional songs, instrumental *Delete as appropriate F.]. goods are also being collected; for information music and dance, the tea ceremony, martial write or call (813) 896-03 10. arts, or other subjects. Volunteers live in one

30 January 1989 FRIENDS JoURNAL . STTOWN area of the United States for up to six SCHOOL months, often studying English while getting to know their host families and taking speak­ Westtown, Pennsylvania- Founded In 1799 ing engagements. The volunteers pay their own way to and from the ·united States and assume all personal expenses. Local groups Westtown is a Quaker school of 600 students in Pre-K through who wish to have them as speakers are ex­ 12th grade, co-educational, college preparatory, day and boarding pected to pay local transportation expenses. For more information about the campaign or to get a list of currently available volun­ teers and their locations, contact Donald • Excellent academic programs and Marion Lathrop, Miller Road, Cannon, • Individual attention within a caring community NY 12029, telephone (518) 781-4681. • Before and after school day care programs • Applications are being accepted for the Mary R.G. Williams Award, a grant which • Performing and fine arts will allow a man or woman to assist in • 600-acre campus with lakes and woods teaching and extracurricular activities at either the Friends Boys School or the Friends • Outstanding facilities (science center, arts center Girls School at Ramallah, a few miles north fieldhouse, 25-meter indoor pool) of Jerusalem. The recipient will also be ex­ pected to act as interpreter of his or her home country and culture. Board and lodging will be provided by the school during the eight­ For more information and to arrange to visit classes, month school year. The grant of $1,500 will please call Henry Horne, director of admissions, Westtown School help provide travel expenses, enabling the Westtown, PA 19395 (2151399-0123) recipient to travel or study abroad during the summer previous to or following the school year. The grant will be awarded by the Com­ mittee of Award of the American Friends Service Committee, in consultation with the Wider Ministries Commission of Friends United Meeting, to an individual who is preferably a member of the Society of Friends, or at least familiar and in sympathy with Quaker testimonies, and who shows an eagerness and aptitude for teaching. Appli­ cations, along with academic transcripts and three references, are due by February 15, and may be requested from the Committee of Award, American Friends Service Committee, Quaker Hill 1501 Cherry Street, Phila., PA 19102. Ap­ Bookstore has a plicants must also file an application for a teaching position with Wider Ministries Book Club? Commission, Friends United Meeting, 101 Quaker Hill Drive, Richmond, IN 47374.

These prisoners have asked for letters: Quaker Book Club is great Richard A . Fultz #183-589, P.O. Box 57, for individuals or church li­ Marion, OH 43302; Richard A. Russell braries. We offer a 15% #200-488, P.O. Box 4571, Lima, OH 45802; discount (plus postage) Noah Pinkston #200-387, P.O. Box 5500, Chillicothe, OH 45601; Gregory J. Meche/ and only require a mini­ #R-135-546 C.C.I., 15802 S. Route 104, mum purchase of 2 books P.O. Box 5500, Chillicothe, OH 45601- 0990; Neil McMasters #160-073, P.O. Quaker Hill Bookstore per year. Box 7010-R.C .C., Chillicothe, OH 45601; 101 Quaker Hill Drive Randolph Wilkins #190-094, P.O. Box 69, Richmond, IN 47374 London, OH 43140-0069; Michael V. 317-962-7575 Contact us for further Nickerson #190-027, P.O. Box 69, London, 1-800-537-8838 (outside IN) details! OH 43140-0069; Robert Ray Mallory #191253, 5500 Box, Chillicothe, OH 45601.

F'RIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 31 A coeducation boarding I day Books school for 24 students in 7th - 9th grades. Students are involved in working, sustainable rural United States upon their studying, hiking, caring, coping; learn­ faith. They make clear, however, that the ing and living in a small community in future they envision can be embraced by all the Black Mountains of North Carolina. those in the United States who seek to Arthur Morgan School preserve our resources and renew our com­ 1901 Hannah Branch Road munities. Since all of us participate in Burnsville . NC 28714 • (704 ) 675-4262 Hope for the Family Farm agriculture by the food we consume, this im­ portant book should receive our attention. By LaVonne G. Platt. Faith & Life Press, Box 347, Newton, Kans., 67JJ4, Gretchen T. Hall 1987. 240 pages. $7.95 plus postage! paperback. Gretchen T. Hall works on domestic policy in rural affairs with Friends Committee on National Legis­ In recent decades the official wisdom lation. She is a member of Friends Meeting of about agriculture has been that "bigger is Washington (D.C.). better." Arguing that larger producers are both desirable and inevitable, public policy and private interests have paid little more Ted's Stroke: than lip service to family farms while watch­ ing them vanish. Economic values such as The Caregiver's Story costs, prices, inputs and outputs have been paramount; the values of stewardship, fami­ ly, and community have often been ignored By Ellen Paullin. Seven Locks Press, or forgotten. Cabin John, Md., and Wash., D.C. 1988. Among the voices protesting present 175 pages. $14.95. trends is a new collection of essays published by Mennonites. Hope for the Family Farm This small book is packed with material takes as its basic premise the covenant re­ useful not only to all caregivers ("sounds bet­ Bringing Friends' Concerns lationship of the Old Testament, emphasiz­ ter than caretaker," Ellen Paullin says), but for Peace & Justice to ing the responsibility of human beings to also to those receiving care and all their Congress Since 1943 preserve a harmonious creation. Throughout associates. Offerings range from a clinical Write. or call (202)547·4343 for action suggestion tape. the book the themes of sustainability and description of how strokes damage their vic­ community-those institutions which are tims to a description of the aid caregivers renewable and will endure-are emphasized need. as the necessary basis for agriculture. Organization is chronological, beginning Farmer Mark Epp reaches the heart of the with Ted Paullin's collapse while driving matter when he states that in our farming home from a grandchild's birthday party. , practices, "We have created an ethic of ex­ We are taken on Ellen Paullin's hospital A summer full of fun and friendship traction rather than stewardship." He ac­ vigils, we see Ted's return home and their knowledges that such measures as use of shared experiences. Among those experiences STONE technology, acquisition of more land, and most useful to others: the workings of adult increased productivity are contemporary day care centers, HMOs, support groups; the MOUNT/fiN measures of a successful farmer. He suggests thoughts and emotions common to stricken IJDVENTURES applying biblical principles instead as the people and their caregivers. Some of the measure of a good farmer. These should be: most priceless helps are the means the small summer camp A meaningful involvement of all family mem­ Paullins devised for coping with physical of the higheat quality bers; creation rather than elimination of challenges of their new life, little things Our community of 44 campers (c~) grades jobs; production of high-quality food, feed, seldom included in material given by doctors 7 thru 11, is designed for teenagers to choose only the activities they want. We listen to you, or fiber; concern for long-term health of the or hospitals. Most inspiring, perhaps, is the then help direct the fun and the challenge. land; and use of resources to benefit the pair's determination not to let Ted's stroke Our farm is located in the mountains and larger society now and in the future. bar the travel they both loved or the interac­ lakes of Central Pennsylvania, from our home base we travel to: The relationship of land ownership to tion with friends. * Watenki * Ride Hones communities and democratic structures is This grateful zest for life is one of the ways * Rockclimb * Raft discussed from historical and contemporary Quakerism permeates the book, though it is * Sail * Wtndsurf * Canoe * Cave perspectives. If rural communities are to referred to only a few times. The author tells *Fish *Scuba flourish, land ownership vested in modest­ us about their becoming members of a meet­ Drive Tractors and many others . .. * 1942 It's your swnmer home, and the friendships are incredible. sized, family operated farms must be actively ing in and mentions their local meeting For a brochure, write or call: promoted. Public policy incentives (e.g. tax and Quaker conferences among activities policy) should be directed toward sustaina­ before and after the stroke. In giving her hus­ ha or Bift Ho.Wia I.D. 2, Box3568 bility. Concepts of economic justice on a band's career history, Ellin Paullin remarks ~,PA16652 global scale are also raised by the authors, that he W!\S, for two years, director of (814) 667-2497 but not adequately explored. Quaker International Seminars in Europe. The authors base their views of a just and How their faith helped them through dif-

32 January 1989 F RIENDS JOURNAL l(KIRKRIDGE

ficult times is shown rather than described. ing about love! The couple has already met LIVING INTO THE Several admiring words must be said about and faced problems that heterosexual couples FORGIVEN LIFE the concise, graceful style which allows Ellen have never had to face. What a gift of grace March 17-19 Paullin, author of four books for children, love can be under such circumstances, what to impart useful data naturally, conversa­ a deepening for the entire meeting of the JOHN & PENELOPE tionally, even entertainingly. She also pro­ understanding of marriage. YUNGBLUT vides five pages of reading relevant for those Missed also is an appreciation of the cour­ who find themselves in similar positions. age of a same-sex couple in wishing to make * * * * * Two doctors who worked with the Paullins a public commitment concerning their rela­ THEREFORE, WE DO NOT each wrote an afterword, and Emily Dickin­ tionship, in wishing to affirm family and son's work serves as chapter preludes. I community values, in wishing to take a stand LOSE HEART recommend Ted's Stroke for everyone who against the privatization of marriage. There March 27-31 needs to increase understanding of what is an important witness here. The tone of A WILLIAM SLOANE COFFIN must be faced when devastating illness Quaker Marriage pamphlet as well as that WALTER WINK strikes. of the same-sex guide unintentionally sup­ JUNE KEENER-WINK Joan Gilbert ports the privatization of marriage by focus­ ing heavily on the quality of the couple rela­ * * * * * Joan Gilbert keeps in touch with Quakerism tionship. Of course marriage is a meeting af­ through Wider Quaker Fellowship. She is an in­ fair and a public matter, or there would be A FESTIVAL OF HOPE active member of Columbia (Mo.) Meeting and no marriage procedures at all. But why are April 7-9 a freelance writer and editor in Hallsville, Mo. there no queries about the public responsi­ DANIEL BERRIGAN bility implied in the marriage vow? Have we lost the sense of what I might call the ser­ vant nature of marriage? For Friends, surely A Resource Guide the marriage choice is a choice of a partner To Be Used with whom to work in bringing the world Write or ull for r•t~. registration, and further Information. around us closer to the vision of what the KIRKRID<#E, Dept. T world can be. When lesbians and gays marry, &.~nsor, PA 18013 By a Same-Sex Couple (215) 588-1793 they know-what a heavy task they are tak­ A mountain ret,eJt renter 8S mi~ from New Y04'k City Jnd Published by the Family Relations ing on as a couple to make the world a bet­ Philadelphio, occes~l* from Allentown, Nework , ond NYC oirpom. Committee of Philadelphia Yearly ter and more loving place. Let us celebrate Meeting, Philadelphia, 1988. 13 pages. this! $1.50, plus postage. Paperback. These comments are in no way meant to detract from the weight and value of the This resource guide represents a ground­ pamphlet prepared with so much love and Caras 6y ?(aili breaking effort to help meetings adapt the care by the Family Relations Committee. My 222 Gunson St. wise and careful procedures for clearness only plea is that we not emphasize the prob­ East Lansing, Ml committees to help same-sex couples prepare lems of same-sex marriage to such a degree 48823 that we minimize the great gifts that such for marriage. Much thought has gone into (517)351~18 the preparation of queries to help such marriages bring to the meeting that are ready couples think through the special problems to receive them. FREE CATALOG they will face with their families, the meeting Elise Boulding Gentle Spirit is a sma!C liome 6a.se4 can£ community, the larger community, and each &usiness. Tli£ can£s represent a fine of other, in the face of the nontraditional nature Elise Boulding is professor emeritus ofDartmouth of their marriage choice. Also, the reading College. She is a member of Boulder (Colo.) 0Ji9inaf pen ruuf ink~ tiUtt convey a list at the end is a very good one. Meeting and has worked internationally as a spirit of lfU19ic, fiopt, WOMer ruuf_frieru{ship. The fact that the booklet is intended to be scholar and an activist on problems ofpeace and used as a supplement to, rather than a re­ world order. placement for, the existing guide, Quaker Marriage, indicates the commitment of the Family Relations Committee to making a -Scattergood Lesbian Couples ~ Friends School I I o place for this form of marriage within the . . Established 1890 practices of the Society. The queries and ad­ By D. Merilee Clunis and G. Dorsey vices are helpful and realistic. Not all meet­ Green. Seal Press, Seattle, 1988. 261 High School ings will be ready to use these procedures, pages. $10.95/ paperback. with a Difference but when a meeting is ready, it will find a sensitive guide to working with same-sex Two Seattle therapists, one of whom is a We offer solid academic preparation for college. training in good work habits, fun. couples. Quaker, have collaborated to produce this supportive community life. creative and What I miss in the pamphlet is a note rich, well-written guide to the strengths and performing arts. Boarding students only, of joy that two human beings have found a struggles of lesbian relationships. The in­ grades 9- 12. Rte . 1, Box 32 deep love under circumstances which socie­ tended audience is lesbian women who are West Branch, Iowa 52358 ty has made stressful and unpromising. How presently in a couple relationship. Still, any (31 91 643-5636 much a same-sex couple has to teach a meet- couple- gay, lesbian, or straight-could pick

FluENDS JOURNAL January 1989 33 Books continued

up this book and find relevant sections on bian women, therapists, or counselors, but such universal challenges as understanding it should also be useful to Friends who seek differences, dealing creatively with conflict, a deeper understanding of the lesbian couples communicating about difficult issues, and in their meeting. growing older together. Arlene Kelly This very readable guide overflows with examples of the variety of ways that lesbian Arlene Kelly is a counselor with the family counsel­ couples organize their lives together. Thus, ing service of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. She lesbians who are isolated and lack access to is a member and past clerk ofCentral Philadelphia a supportive community will find the multi­ (Pa.) Meeting, where she serves on the Commit­ tude of examples helpful as they ask the in­ tee of Overseers. evitable question: "What is really typical in a lesbian relationship?" In Brief The authors draw on extensive experience in private practice, as well as a large network of professional colleagues. They also make The Church and the Homosexual extremely helpful reference to many recent By John J. McNeill. Beacon Press, Boston, nontechnical articles and books. The bibli­ Mass., 1988. 266 pages. $9.95/paperback. ography of almost 200 works is itself prac­ This book was so controversial when it first tically worth the price of the book. appeared in 1976 that the Catholic church The issues covered are extremely broad, imposed a nine-year silence on its author, including separateness and togetherness, liv­ who was a member of the Society of Jesus, ing arrangements, work, time management, and eventually expelled him from the order. money, sex, monogamy-nonmonogamy, This edition, the third, has an updated text raising children, and building a support net­ and three new appendices, based on work. Throughout the book, the authors il­ McNeill's work as a psychotherapist and SUBSCRIBE! lustrate the pros and cons of various options, minister to the gay community. The book has without saying that any particular way is broad appeal. McNeill illuminates heterosex­ TO FRIENDS JOURNAL necessarily right. An important exception is uality as well as homosexuality as he ex­ their strong stance against abuse and violence amines the history of Western society's at­ Please enter a subscription to within a relationship. The chapters for titudes toward homosexuals. Friends journal, payment for which women recovering from various kinds of is enclosed. abuse, or from chemical dependencies, are Celebrations 0 One year $15 0 Two years $29 of great value. The authors' experience in of Biblical Women's Stories 0 Three years $43 working with these issues is apparent. {Add $6 per year for postage In a desire to be as inclusive as possible, By Martha Ann Kirk, with songs by Colleen outside North America.) Clunis and Green collaborated with various Fulmer. Sheed & Ward, Kansas City, Mo., other therapists, notably Vickie Sears, in 1987. 113 pages. $9.95/paperback. Martha 0 Enroll me as a Friends journal writing the chapters on disability and racism. Ann Kirk has given us thought -provoking in­ Associate. My contribution of $ ___ The results, on the whole, seem io be bal­ terpretations of nine women of the Bible. is in addition to the subscription price anced, thoughtful, and illuminating, although Each chapter presents a prayer service for and is tax-deductible. since my own class and professional back­ retelling a biblical woman's story and sug­ gests movements and songs to enhance the My Name ground coincide closely with the self-de­ scription of authors, I am not in a posi­ story. There are questions for reflection and Address ------tion to make an assessment regarding their discussion at the end of each chapter, as well level of success in transcending the limita­ as ideas on developing and using the material tions of their perspective. further. This is a useful resource book for The early chapters are a little slow and groups exploring feminism vis-a-vis the laborious at times in that examples on varia­ Bible. 0 This is a gift subscription tions in a theme such as living arrangements in my name for: seem to be drawn out in more detail than is Making Enemies Friends Name ------­ necessary. Also various provocative com­ By Jim Forest. Marshall Pickering, London, ments are made

34 January 1989 FRIENDS JOURNAL Small classes. strong Resources Friends academics in a supportive, caring environment empha­ Select sizing Quaker values. • Forming Spiritual Base Communities in the School A dynamic setting for U.S.A. offers practical advice on how to do grades K-12 in the heart the work of community-building. Quaker of Philadelphia. 17th and the Parkway, author Gene Knudsen-Hoffman addresses Philadelphia the spiritual hunger felt by many working in (215) 561-5900 social change movements today. The 12-page Richard L Mandel. booklet can be purchased for $3. (10 or Headmaster ·stuart Land more, $2.50; 50 or more, $2.) from In­ Director of Admissions terhelp, P .O. Box 8895, Madison, WI 53708. • "Carry It On" 1989 Peace Calendar by Syracuse Cultural Workers is a full-color • Eldering, a pamphlet by Canadian Friend celebration of life and justice, dedicated to Peter Wood, describes this once-integral AIDS victims and care givers. Rich with im­ function in Quaker communities, and cur­ ages and information, it includes a painting rent work among Friends which will breed about literacy by Jac:ob Lawrence, a the elders of the future. Available from photograph of Ernesto Cardenal reading his Fyfe & Miller Canadian Quaker Pamphlets, Argenta poetry, a tribute to the Bread and Puppet FUNERAL SERVICE Friends Press, Argenta, B.C., Canada VOG Theater, an image of the AIDS Names Proj­ 7047 Germantown Ave. 1BO. ect Quilt, and other graphic work. It also features date notations about people's Philadelphia, PA 19119 history, lunar cycles, and holidays. Cost by (215) 247-8700 mail is $10.95, three for $27.70, or five for James E. Fyfe Edward K. Miller $43.95. A full-color catalog is also available, Simple earth burial featuring posters, holiday cards, and and cremation service notecards. The catalog is $1 ordered available at reasonable cost. separately or comes free with another order. Write to Syracuse Cultural Workers, P.O. Box 6367, Syracuse, NY 13217.

• The War Resisters League's 1989 Peace • Peace and Justice, Religious Perspectives Calendar, 365 Reasons Not To Have An­ from the '80s, is a 64-page book containing other War, is now available. The calendar seven speeches about human rights viola­ contains stories and poems by Grace Paley tions; the threat of nuclear destruction; the and full-color, painted illustrations by Vera struggle of conscience, theology, and war; B. Williams. The calendars cost $8.75 each, Christians in the Soviet Union; and the in­ or four for $32. To order, write War Re­ dividual citizen's responsibility for peace. sisters League, 339 Lafayette St., New York, The book is published by the Reston Peace NY 10012. Forum, an interdenominational group of people concerned with finding and sharing • MAP International, Health for the World's the truth about issues affecting worldwide Poor, publishes an AIDS resource kit designed Greystone House peace and justice. The book is available for for Christians. It contains a half-hour at Friends Hospital a suggested donation of $3.00. To order, videotaped interview with the Surgeon make check payable to the Peace Forum and General of the U.S. Public Health Service mail it to: Peace Forum Coordinator, United and four booklets dealing with AIDS on na­ If a family member should require Christian Parish, 2222 Colts Neck Road, tional and international levels. Subjects in­ an extended period of psychiatric Reston, VA 22091. clude education, prevention, and disinforma­ treatment you may want to consider tion, along with the impact on health pro­ the Greystone Program. Since 1980, • The Prepared Heart is an anthology of fessions, the church, and the average citizen. we have been providing care for a writings of Lorna M . Marsden, a Quaker For information about the resource kit or the small group of residents in a wann, writer and speaker. The theme of the bqok MAP organization, write MAP International, personal. homelike setting amid is the possibility of an aroused awareness by Health for the World's Poor, Box 50, Bruns­ broad lawns and stately trees, under which the Quaker way could contribute to wick, GA 31520, or call toll-free, the direction of Friends Hospital, creative change. The book is published by 1-800-225-8550. America's first private non-profit Quaker Home Service, Friends House, Euston psychiatric hospital. Road, London, NW1 2BJ; telephone 01-387- • "Justice and Peace" is the theme of the 3601. The cost is £3.75. Summer 1988 issue of Quaker Religious For information write Thought. Topics covered in the issue include Barbara Hines, R.N. • Peace in the Power and the Light is a insights into the theology of active non­ Greystone Program Quaker booklet by David Lonsdale. The violence in the Philippines, and the " Power Friends Hospital booklet summarizes the attitudes and think­ of Pacifism," biblical and historical roots of 4810 East Roosevelt Boulevard ing of Friends on some contemporary peace the Quaker peace testimony. The issue is Philadelphia, PA 19124. issues. The book costs £1.00 and is published priced at $5.00 and may be obtained from by Quaker Home Service. QRT, 128 Tate St., Greensboro, NC 27403.

FRIENDS JoURNAL January 1989 35 Milestones

WILLIAM PENN CHARTER SCHOOL Est. 1689 Kindergarten through 300 Years of Quaker Education Twelfth Grade Births The William Penn Charter School is a Quaker college-preparatory school Dzierlenga-Michae/ Dzierlenga, on October 19, stressing high standards in academics, the arts and athletics. Penn Charter to Donna and Gary Dzierlenga. Donna is a is committed to nurturing girls and boys of diverse backgrounds in an member of Live Oak (Tex.) Meeting. Gary is an attender. atmosphere designed to stimulate each student to work to his or her fullest potential. Gibian-David Richard Gibian, on June 29, to David and Christine Gibian. Both parents attend Applications from Quaker students and teachers are Invited. Live Oak (Tex.) Meeting. Earl J . Ball III, Headmaster Graebener-Anne.ssa Graebener, on October 8, to Mary Hunt and Bernard Graebener. Mary is a 3000 W. School House Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19144 member of Mt. Holly (N.J.) Meeting. (215) 844-3460 Marriages Nicklin-Moreno-James Moreno and Sarah Margaret Nicklin, on Sixth Day, Eighth Month, under the care of Westbury (N.Y.) Meeting. Sarah "Crones: Interviews with Elder Quaker Women" and her parents, Kate and George Nicklin, are members of Westbury Meeting and Shelter Island A Video by Claire Simon (N.Y) Executive Meeting. QUAKER Deaths NOW AVAILABLE IN VHS! Bennett-Kenneth Arnold Bennett, 77, on August 12. Converted to pacifism shortly before World VIDEO $14.95 postpaid War II, he worked with the Friends Ambulance \ll',l> !I ll 11<.!11 Unit in China and later briefed Friends who were going to China. He was born in London and later ' : . 71 Boyden Ave., Maplewood, N.J. 07040 attended Friends Meeting in Streatham, England, with his wife and family. In 1947 he joined the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and moved to the United States, where he and his family attended Friends Meeting of Washington BRILLIANT • INSPIRING • WITTY (D.C.). His work for the UN took him to Egypt, India, and Nigeria before he became overseas aid director for Oxfam. Later the American Friends Service Committee asked him to be an associate DYNAMICS OF CREATIVITY Quaker representative at the U.N. During this FOR ARTISTS AND LOVERS OF ART period, he attended meeting in New York City. In by 1975 he became the frrst chairman of the Quaker Council for European Affairs in Brussels. Together with other Friends, he ·helped re-open the Friends PETER FINGESTEN meetinghouse in Charlbury, where there is now a thriving Quaker group. Ken was a man who lived Soft Cover, $7 .95 by his ideals, and these were expressed in practical action. His love for his family and his need for them Order From Windham Hall Press was an extension of his need to serve humanity. He P .O. Box 877, Bristol, Indiana 46507 is remembered for his humor, his commitment to practical application of principles, and his willing­ ness to question and search for alternatives. Doty-Hi Doty, 15, on August 11, in Chadds Ford, Pa. Born a Friend, but raised as a Methodist, Hi returned to Quakerism as an adult after he became ~WOODS COURT______~ involved in the struggle for racial equality. He was imprisoned as a war resister during World War II, and was paroled to work for the Pacifist Research One bedroom apartments available for people age 60 Bureau in Philadelphia, the frrst c.o. to be paroled and above. Applications to be put on waiting list to a job doing peace work. He later set up the ar­ chives of the American Friends Service Committee are being accepted. and became the first member of AFSC's employee credit union. He helped organize the Peace CoUection at Swarthmore College Library. He served Robert L. Hawthorne, Administrator Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in many capacities­ Friends Home at Woodstown Representative Meeting, Testimonies and Con­ cerns, Meeting for Social Concerns, Friends Subur­ llJ. Woodstown, NJ 08098 Telephone (609) 769-1500 ban Project, Indian Committee, Sanctuary Work­ WO

36 January 1989 F'RmNDs JoURNAL peace and social concerns. With his first wife, the to rural Michigan, and acting as organizer for con­ late Margaret Mitchell Doty, he worked at Quaker sumer cooperatives and the Farmers Union. He Expand your Institutes in New England. In his antiquarian book was also a lobbyist for the Friends Committee on business he specialized in the literature of National Legislation and executive secretary for Quakerism and Quaker concerns. In the course of the Illinois-Wisconsin Friends Committee on horizons his life he belonged to Kickapoo (Okla.), 57th Legislation. He and his second wife, Viola Jo Street (ill.), Birmingham (Pa.), and Concord (Pa.) Kreiner Graham, joined the Society of Friends at at Mohonk.--. meetings. He wrote the series of articles collected the time of their marriage in 1944 and were active and published as Quaker Philately in Concord in Madison (Wis.) Meeting for many years. For comfort and hospitality in an Meeting's newsletter. Some of them were reprinted Chester also served as clerk of Illinois Yearly unspoiled natural setting. come to in FRiENDs JOURNAL. In all his Friendly activities, Meeting and Green Pastures (Mich.) Quarterly Mohonk. in the heart of the Hi insisted that we maintain our high ideals and Meeting. Chester was preceded in death by his frrst Shawangunk Mountains. Our lake. struggle to live up to them, no matter how difficult. wife, Margaret Rutledge Graham and two sons, cliffs and miles of mountain trails are He is survived by his wife, Anne Davis Cope; two Frank and Donald. In addition to his wife, Viola perfect for activities like golf. tennis. children, Carol D. Doty and Riley B. Doty; two Jo, he is survived by two sons and four daughters: swimming. riding. hiking and old­ stepchildren, Margaret S. Ogle and Jonathan K. James Graham, Martha Hampton, Lois Edgerton, fashioned carriage rides. too.Hearty Ogle; and two sisters, Eva B. Doty and Anna Laurie Graham-Wilson, Jean Graham, and Jere meals. And special theme programs Grace Doty Winters. Graham; 18 grandchildren; six great­ that let you learn while enjoying the Eisenhart-}. Henry ("Hank") Eisenhart, Jr., 65, grandchildren; a brother, Horace T. Graham; and peaceful surroundings. We're not on December 20, 1987. Hank was a member of several nieces and nephews. artificial. just down-to-earth. In the Huntingdon (Pa.) Preparative Meeting, which he Jones-Gordon P. Jones, 88, on July 3 at the Hudson River Valley. Exit 18. N.Y. helped found in 1985, and where he served as Cokesbury Village retirement community in State Thruway. treasurer until his death. In 1963 he and his family Hockessin, Del. Gordon had a strong commitment Heres what's happening at Mohonk: became members of Yardley (Pa.) Meeting, where to Quaker concerns and service and at 36 became he served as overseer for many years. He also served assistant clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. He Science Fiction as convenor of the Camp Onas Committee. Hank later served as clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, December 9-1 1 graduated from Juniata College and served as an as well as clerk at New Garden (Pa.) Meeting and Scottish Weekend educator throughout his life. He was chairman of Western Quarterly Meeting. He was also active on january 6-8 the mathematics department at Medill Bair High yearly meeting committees. His experience as a Language Immersion january 8· 1 3 School; president of the Pennsylvania State Edu­ Chester County dairy farmer gave him the authority cation Association; board member of the Public to write a study guide for the Yearly Meeting School Employee's Retirement System; member Religious Education Committee entitled, "Chris­ of Bucks County Teachers of Math, and held a tian living in Rural Communities." During the war Mohonk variety of positions as an athletic official. He was years, Gordon visited young men at Civilian Public MOUNTAIN HOUSE granted an honorary membership in Chapel of the Service camps, supporting them in their conscien­ A National Historic Landmark Four Chaplains in Philadelphia in recognition of tious objection. He is well remembered for his New Paltz. his services in the field of education. He is survived ministry at Friends funerals and memorial services. N.Y.12561 by his wife, Edna Jane Peffer Eisenhart; a son, Gordon's faith in people and in the dignity of work Craig; two daughters, Lynne and Jane; his mother, led him into community concerns as well. He acted Mary Eisenhart; and eight grandchildren. as secretary of the Chester-Delaware Farm Bureau Cooperative Association and helped found a number of organizations, including the Chester County Dairymen's Cooperative Association, a local 4-H club, and a Vo-Ag program at Kennett High School. His wife, Katherine Yocum Jones, preceded him in death by three months. Surviving FRIENDS' him is one son, G. Pownall Jones; four grand­ CENTRAL children; and six great -grandchildren. SCHOOL Lebmann-Marcella River Lehmann, on May 4, Founded in 1845 in Frankfort, Ill. Marcella had been a member of the 57th Street (Ill.) Meeting since the 1940s. She A CO-EDUCATIONAL DAY SCHOOL is survived by four children: Frederick, Gerald, FOR GRADES K-12 Donald, and Elizabeth Lehmann. 23-Acre Overbrook Campus Perisbo-Margaret White Perisho, 71, on Aug. 9. Margaret grew up a member of Charlottesville New 18-Acre Lower School Opening (Ind.) Friends Church, and later became a member Fall 1989 in Wynnewood of Central City (Nebr.) Meeting. At the time of David M. Felsen, Headmaster her death, she was a member of Paullina (Iowa) Meeting. Margaret majored in mathematics and For information: (215) 649-7440 home economics at Earlham College. In 1941, she married Clarence R. Perisho, and in 1954 they 68th Street & City Line Avenue, moved to Mankato, Minn., where Margaret taught Philadelphia. P A 19151 mathematics at Mankato State University. Mar­ garet was a yearly meeting appointee to Friends Graham-Chester A. ("Bat") Graham, 96, on World Committee for Consultation, attending an­ September 19, in Muskegon, Mich. Chester, a nual meetings and the Triennial in Mexico. She served on two committees of the American Sec­ CREMATION member of Grand Rapids (Mich.) Meeting, gradu­ Friends are reminded that the ated from Oberlin College in 1917 and received tion of FWCC, the nominating committee, and Wider Quaker Fellowship. Margaret was also ac­ Anna T. Jeanes Fund a master's degree from the the University of Il­ will reimburse cremation costs. linois. A veteran of World War I, he served in the tive in Church Women United, serving as chair­ {Applicable to members of ambulance corps on the front line in the Italian woman for the Ecumenical Celebrations for two Philadelphia Yearly Meeting only.) Alps. His adult life was devoted to the causes of years. She is survived by her husband; daughter­ for information wrile or telephone civil rights, nonviolence, world peace, and the con­ in-law, Marjorie Nelson Perisfto; daughters Ethel RICHARD F. BETTS Kawamura and June Schlipf; brother Edgar 500-B Glen EA>ho Road sumer cooperative movement. He had a long and Philadelphia, PA 19119 varied career, serving as director on a number of White; sister Lois Ruth Shields; and four (215) 247-3354 educational committees, helping to bring electricity grandchildren.

FRIENDS JOURNAL January 1989 37 Prentiss-Evelyn M. Prentiss, 78, on October 14, finance redevelopment of a West Philadelphia Exciting Hlectlon of booka, cooperative games, other in Camden, N.J. She was a member of Mt. Holly neighborhood. She was also active in the Phila­ resources for ethical, ecological, stimulating teaching (N.J.) Meeting, where she was known for her gentle, delphia Anti-Poverty Action Commission and and parenting. Free catalogue: GEODE, Box 106, West Chester, PA 19381. (215) 692.()413. loving spirit. Formerly a member of Elmira (N.Y.) served as a board member of Friends Housing Inc., Meeting, she attended Albany and Old Chatham later to become Mantua Gardens Inc. Nancy took (N.Y.) meetings. She was a graduate of Syracuse a break from housing projects for a brief time to Quaker Monthly-What are those British Fnends thinking? volunteer for the 1982 re-election campaign of U.S. Enjoy this monthly menu of thought provoking articles, University and attended Oakwood Friends School poems and reviews. Not too little, not too much. Send QHS and William Smith College. She is survived by her Rep. William H. Gray. She then returned to be­ (FJ), Friends House, Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ, U.K. husband, Samuel Gilbert Prentiss; two sons, Bard come executive director of the Friends Guild for a free sample copy. Annual subscription $14. Make V. and John G. Prentiss; and six grandchildren. Rehabilitation Program Inc., which operates three check payable to 'London Yearly Meeting'. Rorem-C. Rufus Rorem, 93, on September 19; complexes for needy, handicapped, and elderly and Gladys Miller Rorem on April 10, both in residepts. Surviving her are her husband, Robert Quakers Are Funnyf And proof is in the pages of Quakers Are Funny, the first Cherry Hill, N.J., members of Central C. Folwell; her sons, John B., Stephen C., and Paul; daughter Rebecca; and three grandchildren. book of new Friendly humor in 20 years. 100+ pages Philadelphia (Pa.) Meeting. A native of Radcliffe, of rollicking jokes, quips, anecdotes, cartoons, puns, and Iowa, Rufus Rorem graduated from Oberlin and Sboll-Edward Steelman Sholl, 77, on August 22, poetry in a quality paperback. Get in on the laughs now: received master's and doctoral degrees at the at Bordentown, N.J. Edward was a graduate of $6.95 plus $1.05 shipping; two or more copies shipped University of Chicago. After army service in World Westtown School and a lifelong member of postpaid from Kimo Press, Dept. B12, P.O. Box 1361, War I, he taught economics and accounting at Crosswicks (N.J.) Meeting. Falls Church, VA 22041. Earlham and the University of Chicago. While Rise Up Singing, The group singing songbook. $15/copy at Earlham, Rufus and Gladys became members plus $2.50 shipping/handling. 5 + copies are $12 each plus of the Society of Friends. In 1929 he joined the $5 S/H. 10+ copies are $10 plus $10 S/H. $250 for box staff of the federal Committee on the Costs of of 30. Peter Blood, 22 Tanguy Road, Glen Mills, PA 19342. Medical Care and began a career in the health field Calendar Let Frlendll Serve You. Quality bookstore service to that led to his being named to the Health Care Hall Friends everywhere. Quakers classic and modern; inspi­ of Fame. Highlights of that career were: In the JANUARY rational readings; peace and conflict resolution; minority early 1930s, he became principal author of a report issues; books for women, children, and all readers. Friends 14-Friends Social Union's 64th annual luncheon, Book Store, 156 N. 15th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. advocating group medical practice and prepayment 11:30 A.M. at 4th and Arch Street Meeting House, (215) 241-7225. of hospital bills; in 1937, he became head of the Philadelphia, Pa. To make a reservation, send a Free. Our new catalogue of inspiring books by contem­ American Hospital Association's hospital services $10 check, made payable to Friends Social Union, porary Sufi Master Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. Write or call: committee and fostered the first prepaid to Daniel C. Frysinger, R.D. 1, 1634 E. Street Fellowship Press, 5820 Overbrook Ave., Phila., PA 19131. hospitalization plan and doctors' group practice Road, Glen Mills, PA 19342, or call (215) Phone (215) 879-8604. in New York and other cities; and after World War 399-0395. Books-Oullker spiritual claalcs, history, biography, and II, he was consultant to the commission that current Quaker experience published by Friends United developed the plan that became Blue Cross and Press, 101-A Quaker Hill Dr., Richmond, IN 47374. Write for free catalogue. Blue Shield. Gladys' life work was in the interests of peace. Wherever they lived-Chicago, New York, Philadelphia-she was an active leader in Classified Do You Read A Friendly Letter peace and social order activities, not only in plan­ Every Month? Place your ad today: ning and talking but as a visible symbol in the If not, maybe you should. Few Quaker publications have forefront of marches and picket lines. They are so• per word. Minimum charge is $10. caused as much talk and controversy per page as A Add 10% if boxed. 10% discount for Friendly Letter since it first appeared in 1981. That's survived by a son, Ned Rorem; a daughter, Rose­ three consecutive insertions, 25% for six. mary Rorem Marshall; six grandchildren; and because it has brought a growing number of readers a Appearance of any advertisement does not imply unique series of searching, crisply written reports on seven great-grandchildren. endorsement by FRIENDS JOURNAL. today's key Quaker issues and even1s, in a convenient Sandbacb-Mary Thompson Sandbach, 74, on Copy deadline: 45 days before publication. newsletter format. Many of these reports have been the August 2, at Corpus Christi, Tex. Mary was born first and some the only coverage of these important topics. A year's subscription (12 issues) is $13.95; sam­ in Lansing, Mich., graduated from Ohio State and ple copies free from A Friendly Letter, P.O. Box 1361, was working for a master's degree at the Univer­ Dept. FJ28, Falls Church, VA 22041. sity of Iowa when she married Walker Sandbach Accommodations in 1938. They joined 57th Street (Ill.) Meeting in Looking for • crutlvellvlng alternative in New York City? Chicago in the 1950s. While in Chicago, Mary Pennington Friends House may be the place for youl We are looking for people of all ages who want to make a For Sale worked on projects for the American Friends Serv­ serious commitment to a community lifestyle based on ice Committee, was president of her PTA, and a Quaker principles. For information call (212) 673-1730. We Reacuel The totally cooperative, noncompet~ive , fun board director of the Jane Addams Peace Association also have overnight accommodations. game that teaches Quaker peace skills. $6.95. George Gjelfriend, East Orland, Maine 04431..0031 . for 23 years. After moving to New York, they Mexico City Frlenda Center. Reasonable accommodations. 100% Wool Yam. Soviet-American "Peace Fleece"; joined Scarsdale (N.Y.) Meeting. In New York Reservations recommended. Casa de los Amigos, Ignacio Mariscal132, 06030 Mexico OF 705-0521 . Natural or uniquely dyed skeins or carded fleece from our Mary worked for the Funeral Planning Associa­ Corriedale sheep; Bartlettyarns; natural spun yarns. Price tion of Westchester and the Mental Health/ Caa Heberto Seln Frlenda Center. Reasonable accom­ list $1.00. Yarn Shop on the Farm, RD 2, Box 291, Stevens, modations. Reservations. Asociacion Sonorense de los PA 17578. Mental Retardation Clinic of White Plains. After Amigos, Felipe Salida 32, Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico Walker's death in 1975, she lived and worked at Friends Meeting, Sundays 11 a.m. Phone: (011-52-621) Limited edition of reproduction of Edward Hicks's famous Peaceable Kingdom. Handsome 20-by-24 inch print for your Gould Farm in Mll.ssachusetts until illness forced 7..01-42. home, school, public library, or meetinghouse. $15 her to retire to the care of her son, Richard, in Washington, D.C., Accommodations for sojourners/seminar postpaid. Sand check to: Planned Parenthood Auxiliary, Corpus Christi, Tex. She is survived by three sons, groups. Capitol Hill location, reservations advisable. William Box 342, Newtown, PA 18940. Larry, Richard, and Robin Sandbach; a daughter, Penn House, 515 E. Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC 20003. Telephone: (202) 543-5560. New Agen1, Quakel'll, Seekera-Crystal, gems, herbs, Jill Sandbach; and four grandchildren. (over 70 types), books. S.A.S.E. for free catalogue: LondOn? Stay at the Penn Club, Bedford Place, London Rockytop, PO Box 33, Stamford, New York 12167. Sennott- Nancy Butler Sennott, 61, on June 26, WC1B SJH. Friendly atmosphere. Central for Friends at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. House, West End, concerts, theater, British Museum, Nancy was an attender at Central Philadelphia university, and excursions. Telephone: 01-636-4718. Opportunities (Pa.) Meeting, where her husband was a member. Come live and learn In community. The Resident Pro­ A graduate of the master's degree program in Books and Publications gram at St. Benedict Center, Madison, invites people of all public administration at Drexel University, Nan­ ages and backgrounds who seek spiritual growth social cy was a housing activist in Philadelphia, as well change, or reflective time and space in a supportive, Studying Fox. Here are two books that are excellent for challenging Quaker-Protestant-Catholic "school of the as being mother to four children and a foster individual or group study. Both are by Douglas Gwyn. spirit" to spend one, two, or three 1D-week terms with us mother to three more. She was energetic and con­ ApocaJypse of the Wotd: The L.He and Message of George in a rhythm of work, worship, classes, companionship, cerned and made great strides as a housing activist. Fox is $14.95 in soft cover. The Study Guide to it is $1.50. solitude, and stillness. For a catalogue and full information, Nancy worked with the Powelton Village Develop­ Order from Friends Book Store, 156 North 15th Street, write: Director of Admissions, Dept. 81 , St. Benedict Center, ment Association, selling stocks and notes to Philadelphia, PA 19102. Phone (215) 241-7225. Box 5588, Madison, WI 53705.

38 January 1989 FRIENDS JouRNAL School-Estell, Nlc:~~rague. Nice's programs offer Pendle Hill, a Quaker center for adult study and contem­ interests, availability, and salary requirements will be con­ classes, socio-political seminars, volunteer work, plation, is accepting applications for a resident teacher in sidered. Reply to: Box T3, Friends Journal, 1501 Cherry living with Nicaraguan families. Scholarships available. the field of social concerns. Qualified candidates will have Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102. or write today! P.O. Box 1409-FF, Cambridge, MA the following credentials: college or graduate teaching ex­ " I want to Hrve others." Year long assignments in perience, grac:luate degree or published work, or extensive Quaker outreach (inner city, peace, refugees, hunger, fl91d experience in social chang41. Credentials will be in one social services). Inquiries: Quaker Volunteer Witness, 101 or more of these areas: peace and justice, communities, Quaker Hill Drive, Richmond, IN 47374. (317) 962-7573. environmental concerns, right sharing of world resources, and interfaith collatooration in these areas. The position re­ quires an instinct for community, multi-generational and in­ Schools ternational, and compatibility with the witness of the The MHtlng School, a challenge to creative living and Religious Society of Friends. Pendle Hill's philosophy calls learning. A Quaker high school that encourages individual for a faculty ensemble with an open approach to educa­ growth through strong academics and an equally demand­ tion in which teaching and leading are balanced by listening ing emphasis on community cooperation. Students live in and learning. Position available September 1, 1989. For faculty homes. Art and farm programs. Coed, boarding, more information and application procedures, call or write grac:les 9-12 and post grac:l, college prep. Founded in 1957. Kurt Brandenburg, Dean, or Margery Walker, Executive Rindge, NH 03461. (603) 899-3366. Clerk, Pendle Hill, Wallingford, PA 19086. (215) 566-4507. Quaker School at Horsham, 318 Meetinghouse Rd., Hor­ Sente Fe Monthly MHtlng seeks resident to serve in ex­ sham, PA 19044. (215) 674-2875. A friendly, caring environ­ change for rent-free housing beginning October or ment where children with learning disabilities can grow in November. Details available from: Resident Search Com­ skills and self-esteem. Small classes. Grades 1-6. mittee, Santa Fe Friends Meeting, Senta Fe, NM 87501 . Fundraleer. (Associate Development Secretary) for Friends Services Offered Committee on National Legislation in Washington, D.C. The person filling this key professional position will participate in all aspects of fundraising and financial development for Therapeutic Mauege by Wendy Hemrneratrom, cer­ FCNL. Major role will be working with the Development tified by the American Massage Therapy Assoc. Relax­ Secretary in planning and Implementing the development ing and beneficial therapeutic massage can help you find program, including travel to solicit contributions and interprat relief from stress, and minor aches and pains. Great for the work of FCNL to individuals and groups throughout the all ages, and athletes tool Also classes offered in self U.S. Excellent verbal and writing skills are critical, a and partner massage. Gift Certificates available. For ap­ background in fundraising/sales desirable. A well-founded pointment, information, or brochure call Philadelphia, understanding of Friends and Friends' testimonies is very (215) 927-6921 . important. For information and an application call or write David Boynton, FCNL, 245 Second S1reet, NE, Washington, DC 20002, (202) 547-6000. Quaker Unlverullet Fellowlhlp Is a fellowship of seekers wishing to enrich and expand Friends' perspectives. We Religious EduCIIIIon Coordination for Westfield Monthly meet, publish, and correspond to share thoughts, insights, Meeting, Cinnaminson, N.J. 28 hours per month at $10 per and information. We seek to follow the promptings of the hour. Contact Ellen Miller, (609) 778-1898. Spirit. Inquiries welcome! Write QUF, Box 201 AD 1, Plymouth Meeting Friends School seeks applicants for Scattergood Friend• School, a co-educational boarding Landenberg, PA 19350. Principal to assume leadership summer 1989. PMFS is high school, is seeking qualifiac:l candidates for the position From menuecripta to flnllhed booke: Celo Book Produc­ under the care of Plymouth Monthly Meeting and is of director beginning with the 1989-1990 school year. tion Service produces books for Individuals. If you or your located in suburban Philadelphia, Pa. Day school, pre­ Established in 1890 under the care of Iowa Yearly Meeting group have a manuscript that you want edited, designad, of Friends (C), Scattergood is located in the rolling farmland preliminary through 6th grade, 150 students. Candidates typeset, printed, and/or bound In a professional and should have firm grounding in Quaker tenets, experience of east central iowa near West Branch. With an enrollment economical way, write to Celo Books, Attn: D. Donovan, in teaching, administration. Send letters of application of 60 students in grades 9-12, Scattergood provides a solid 346 Seven Mills Ridge Road, Burnsville, NC 28714. or nomination to: Search Committee, PMFS, Butler and academic education along with training in practical life Germantown Pikes, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462. PMFS skills. For more information and application forms, write to is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. the Search Committee, Scattergood Friends School, Route Typnettlng by Friend• Publllhlng Corporation. 1, Box 32, West Branch, lA 52358. The deac:lline for applica­ Our organization offers you professional typesetting at too is February 28, 1989. Scattergood is an equal opportunity friendly rates. We typeset books, manuscripts, newslet­ Interns. Three positions available assisting employer. ters, brochures, posters, ads, and every issue of Fri&nds lobbyists with legislative work. These are eleven­ Jouma/. We also produce quality type via modem assignments, usually filled by recent college Relldent Friends in New Zealand-The Friends Centre in Wellington, New Zealand is looking for Resident Friends. transmission. Call (215) 241-7282, or 241-7116 for more ·l~rac:lua,tes, beginning September 1, 1989. For information, information. David Boynton at the Friends Committee on Accommodation: newly renovatac:l, nuclear-free small flat •t~at~onal LA

.JS JOURNAL January 1989 39 Consider the times in which we live . . •

. . . and consider FRIENDS JouRNAL. Your gift articles, reports, news of Friends, poetry, and special subscription to FRIENDS JoURNAL will help us to features that respond to today's issues. spread the Quaker message to an even larger number So greet a new attender with a gift subscription; of readers-a message of peace, simplicity, justice, remember a Friend away from home and meeting; and spiritual seeking. introduce Quaker values to a local library; reach out When the holiday festivities are over-and the rib­ to a prisoner who has lost hope. Consider FRIENDS bons and wrapping paper have been packed away­ JOURNAL. FRIENDS JoURNAL will arrive each month, full of timely

I enclose 0 $15 for one year. 0 Send renewal notice to me. 0 $6 additional for an address out­ 0 Send renewal notice to recipient. side North America. Send FRIENDS JoURNAL to: Subscription is from:

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Friends Journal will send a card announcing your gift. Frlelds JNrul, 1H1 Cllerrr Street, PMIIIIIIIIIII, PI 11112·1417 (215) 241·7277