Turning Quaker Gray into Quaker Green

"Ignorance ends today. Negligence starts tomorrow." —Architect William McDonough Whatever one might think, suspect, or wish away, climate change and…

Erica Bradley

The FGC Experience I Did Not Expect to Have

I am on the worship planning committee for the semi-programmed meeting at Minneapolis (Minn.) Meeting. I asked myself to speak…

Judith M. James

Gifts of Eldering

I had planned this year to take a break from FGC Gathering. Polly, my partner of 27 years, couldn’t come…

Wendy C. Sanford

Quaker Identity Crisis

As a child I was a constant attendee at annual Gatherings of Friends General Conference. I *have many fond memories…

Liz Wine

‘An Investment … with High Returns’

The first time I attended Gathering, in Rochester, New York, I bathed my one-year-old daughter, Eleanor, in the bathroom sink…

Brenda Rose Simkin

The Mystery of Being a Neighbor

Toward the end of my Gathering workshop I wrote, "Fear that this experience will have no significant impact on my…

Robert Renwick

Kent Thornburg

Quaker scientist? That’s how Kent Thornburg describes himself. He was born into a Quaker family, and his parents recognized and…

Kara Newell

Happy 70th Anniversary, FWCC!

When I first began my work among Friends in 1977, I was only dimly aware of the Friends World Committee…

Susan Corson-Finnerty

Taking the Pulse of FWCC

Ask a scuba diver, what’s it like? You’ll hear about thrill, but miss the feel. Ask an FWCC rep, what…

Marion Love

My History with FWCC

In 1937, when I was nine years old, my father attended the Friends World Conference in Pennsylvania, which is when…

Heather Catchpool Moir

Facing a Fractured Quakerism

The establishment of Friends World Committee for Consultation was an attempt to mend a fractured faith. In the first four…

Thomas Hamm

All Friends’ Conference of 1920

Before the 1937 Friends World Conference, Friends from throughout the world and across the various branches of the Religious Society…

Elizabeth Cazden

A Portrait of Two Founders

I earnestly believe our Society will serve the Kingdom [of God] better as we are unified. —J. Passmore Elkinton, in…

Steven Elkinton

1967 Friends World Conference: A Youthful Recollection

My sister Jane and I bumped our suitcases down the stairs from our bedrooms on the second floor and headed…

M'Annette Ruddell

”Why Does (or Doesn’t) FWCC Do That?

When asked to explain our faith and practice, we Friends often tell stories—of the steadfastness of those who faced persecution,…

Margaret Fraser

The Challenges of ‘Face-to-Face’ and ‘Heart-to- Heart’

At its core, FWCC is about providing opportunities for Friends in all our theological, cultural, and linguistic traditions to connect…

Louise Salinas

Tom Louderback on Quakers and Capitalism

Capitalism is supposed to be an economic system with checks and balances, like democracy, and we…
Steven Davison on Speaking with Spiritual Authority

Thank you, Peter, for this ministry. I share your concern. In fact, Pendle Hill just published…
Ron Braithwaite on Hoopes Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Prison for Assaulting an ICE Agent

At the actual sentencing, Jacob was sentenced to 30 months at the Sheridan, Oregon Federal Minimum…
Kevin Johnson on Hoopes Sentenced to More Than Two Years in Prison for Assaulting an ICE Agent

I would have hoped that Friends would refrain from violent protests in these difficult days. Friends…