Quaker Works, April 2026

This semiannual column highlights the recent works of Quaker organizations. Categories include:

• Advocacy
• Consultation, Support, and Resources
• Development
• Education
• Environmental and Ecojustice
• Investment Management
• Retreat, Conference, and Study Centers
• Service and Peace Work

Advocacy

Friends Committee on National Legislation

fcnl.org

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) lobbies to advance peace, justice, and environmental stewardship in Washington, D.C. Its nonpartisan advocacy combines prophetic witness with strategic action.

Recently, FCNL’s movement for peace and justice has seen significant wins and setbacks. After decades of advocacy, FCNL had a major win to bolster Congress’ war powers. In late December 2025 Congress repealed the 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Iraq. Advocacy Teams are building on this victory through the “No War at Home or Abroad” campaign focused on accountability for unlawful U.S. military actions in the Caribbean Sea and Venezuela.

Migration justice has taken on special urgency as the Trump administration violently abuses its immigration enforcement authority. FCNL is advocating for systemic reforms as a testimony of faith and out of the lived experience of its community members. Through the young adult Advocacy Corps, the Diaspora Organizers program, and more, FCNL is equipping people to speak truthfully and strategically to lawmakers. In total, more than 3,250 people lobbied with FCNL in 2025 across many issues.

The relationships formed through this work sustain FCNL during challenging times, as does worship. Whether online in FCNL’s weekly Witness Wednesday Silent Reflection, on Capitol Hill with faith colleagues preparing to lobby, or in governance gatherings, this grounding in listening and connection provides strength.

Quaker Council for European Affairs

qcea.org

Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA), based in Brussels, Belgium, brings a vision of peace, justice, and equality to Europe and its institutions.

Over the past months, QCEA has been advancing work across its programs (Migration and Peace, Climate Justice and Peace, and Dialogues for Transformation) while also developing a new strategy.

Last April, QCEA held a series of promotional events for the newly published handbook Moving with Dignity: A Positive Peace Approach to Migration. A roundtable on migration, peace, and security attracted many participants eager to learn from experts on the topic.

QCEA also organized six Dialogues for Transformation (private conversations among diverse stakeholders) covering topics ranging from water security to narratives surrounding migration. These dialogues are held in an informal setting, allowing for deeper discussions on pressing issues in Europe.

Events on conscientious objection to military service included an in-person roundtable with Young Professionals in Foreign Policy and a webinar in collaboration with Pax Christi International and others. 

Facing the challenges of today, QCEA has been reflecting on how best to fulfill its mission. Next year, QCEA will begin a new strategy focused on climate displacement, rethinking security, and speaking truth to power in a time of democratic crisis.

In 2026 QCEA will continue to engage with European institutions, collaborate with civil society, and share analysis through its publications and events.

Quaker United Nations Office

quno.org

Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) is a Quaker presence at the United Nations (UN) sharing Friends’ concerns for global peace and justice with the international community.

In uncertain times, one of the most powerful forces that Quakers and their communities can invoke is hope. QUNO spent part of the past year bringing hope to the UN so that those with the ability to enact change could be inspired to advocate for peaceful resolutions to conflict.

Last fall, QUNO partnered with Okedongmu Children in Korea (OKCK), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and the Permanent Mission of Ireland to bring the traveling art exhibition “Drawing Hope: Children’s Art for Peace” to UN diplomats and staff in New York City, N.Y. The project was started in 1996 by OKCK as an effort to connect young people on both sides of the divided Korean Peninsula. Since then, it has expanded to include artwork by children from eight countries.

The exhibition was on display November 10–21, 2025, arriving in time to coincide with the eightieth anniversary of the founding of the UN. Situated in the main entrance lobby for representatives of UN member states, the artworks sent a message that creativity and empathy are key to supporting the UN’s founding goals. QUNO’s role in sharing this message reflects its core commitment to peacebuilding through dialogue and inclusion.

Consultation, Support, and Resources

AQORD 

aqord.org

AQORD is a national association empowering values-aligned health and human service organizations to lead with excellence, integrity, and purpose. It provides consulting, compliance support, leadership development, and collaborative networks.

AQORD was born from the 2026 merger of two faith-based organizations: Friends Services Alliance (formerly Friends Services for the Aging), a Quaker-founded association of organizations serving seniors, based in Pennsylvania; and MHS Association, a health and human services network of Anabaptist ministries, based in Indiana.

FSA and MHS Association membership approved the merger in April, pending legal approvals. The name AQORD is a respelling of the word accord, with the letters A and Q representing the organization’s Anabaptist and Quaker roots.

By combining expertise, resources, and Anabaptist and Quaker values, the new organization expands its ability to support members and the communities they serve. AQORD became effective on January 1, 2026.

Building on a strong history of service to nonprofits in this field, AQORD has expertise in leadership development, governance, compliance, and consulting, as well as facilitation of peer collaboration.

Fellowship of Quakers in the Arts

fqaquaker.org

The Fellowship of Quakers in the Arts (FQA) is a loosely organized international group of Quaker artists, including musicians, writers, poets, visual artists, and those interested in supporting artistic work among Friends.

Within FQA there are four artist groups, made up of approximately 15 people each, who meet virtually: a monthly writers’ group; a bimonthly group focused mostly on visual arts meets to share in-progress and completed work; and a group of poets and a group of musicians meet sporadically. FQA also offers virtual workshops to members based on interest. These have included sessions on some of the how-tos of publication and podcasting.

FQA-sponsored art exhibits are a feature of annual gatherings at both Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s Caln Quarter in May and TriQuarter in September. FQA is currently developing a virtual art event scheduled for  this summer.

FQA publishes a quarterly journal entitled Types and Shadows, which is distributed both in print and digitally online. The Winter 2026 issue featured two Quaker authors with new novels: Mitch Gould and Barbara Schell Lutke.

The group also cooperates with several local art organizations throughout the United States, assisting with mounting exhibitions and performances. It recently developed a new cooperation with the South Jersey Artist Collective, which uses space at the Woodbury Meetinghouse property.

Friends General Conference

fgcquaker.org

Friends General Conference (FGC) is a volunteer-led association of 16 yearly meetings and 12 directly affiliated monthly meetings in the United States and Canada. With divine guidance, FGC nurtures the spiritual vitality of the Society of Friends by providing programs and services for Friends and seekers.

In October 2025, FGC adopted a new governance structure. Under the new structure, each yearly meeting will name two representatives instead of using proportional representation. This change allows meetings to balance their work with FGC and other Quaker organizations. Monthly meetings directly affiliated with FGC will also have representatives.

Staff have been joyfully preparing for the 2026 Gathering of Friends. New this year, registration for the Gathering opened in Fall 2025. Over the winter, FGC sought input from Friends to develop a mutual aid and safety plan for the Gathering. The Gathering will be held in Burlington, Vt., from July 7–12.

In February, the legal team that represents FGC and 20 other faith groups shared its appeal in the legislation against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, opposing immigration enforcement in houses of worship. The litigation is ongoing. FGC’s website shares updates as they become available.

The Spiritual Deepening Program’s newest eRetreat, “Poetry, Spirit, & You,” ran for six weeks in February and March. FGC’s Ministry on Racism offers virtual and hybrid worship spaces for Friends of Color.

Friends Incubator for Public Ministry

friendsincubator.org

The Friends Incubator for Public Ministry is a Quaker initiative held under the fiscal sponsorship of Sandy Spring (Md.) Meeting that is rebuilding shared structures of care, accountability, and formation for public ministry.

In its first year of funding from the Shoemaker Foundation and 150 individual donors, Friends Incubator centered deep listening, communal discernment, and relationship building across the Religious Society of Friends, clarifying that the main challenge facing public ministry today is not a lack of call but the absence of trusted, shared structures of support.

Nearly 60 Friends entered extended discernment conversations, leading to the selection of Friends Incubator’s first five public ministry fellows. Each fellow is accompanied by an elder and their meeting, forming a pilot cohort drawn from five U.S. East Coast yearly meetings. Together they are undertaking a two-year program grounded in theological reflection, shared accountability, and sustained accompaniment, including a retreat at Pendle Hill retreat center in Wallingford, Pa., in April.

Alongside this work, Friends Incubator offered public programs on Quaker history, eldership, discernment, grief, creativity, and spiritual inspiration, and helped convene two panels on public ministry for the Quaker Theological Discussion Group. A developing collaboration with Quaker Voluntary Service will soon add a QVS Fellow. 

Friends Incubator is also coediting a collection of Quaker ministry stories, illustrated by Joey Hartmann-Dow, expected to be completed later this year.

Friends World Committee for Consultation (Section of the Americas)

fwccamericas.org

Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) encourages fellowship and understanding among all branches of the Religious Society of Friends.

For last October’s World Quaker Day, more than 80 events occurred worldwide with the theme: “Love Your Neighbor.” It was joyous to see how international Friends focused on loving their communities.

In the Section of the Americas, Quaker communities extend from the Arctic to the Andes, spanning a rich diversity of cultures and styles of worship. On March 21, the Americas Section gathered over Zoom for its annual section meeting also themed “Love Your Neighbor”; it was an enriching time of connection, listening deeply in worship, and addressing business.

Highlights from FWCC Americas this last year include releasing a digital glossary of Quaker terms now in English and Spanish (with French and Russian in progress); a digital Quaker map of meetings and churches around the world to help people locate Quaker community; and Quaker Connect’s first two cohorts working on bringing together their local communities. A new website went live in February; it’s bilingual, more accessible, and also includes a publications library.

This year, the Section has been focusing on the long-term sustainability of its work, honoring the gift of diversity and strengthening Quaker community.

Public Friends

publicfriends.org

The mission of Public Friends is to ensure the future of Friends in North America by supporting and developing Quaker ministers to a professional standard.

In its first year of operations, Public Friends supported ministers by writing a comprehensive recording process and providing monthly professional meetings for members.

Now in its second year, the organization has expanded to provide a professional association for ministers. Public Friends is now offering events that focus on practical skills and advice, such as workshops on making money in ministry and the practical aspects of traveling ministry, as well as a panel on the pros and cons of seminary, co-hosted by Earlham School of Religion’s Quaker Leadership Center. This work is supported by grants from the Shoemaker Fund and the Tyson Memorial Fund.

Public Friends aims to give Friends ministers the tools and resources they need to succeed as professionals.

Quaker Parenting Initiative

quakerparenting.com

The Quaker Parenting Initiative (QPI) continues to fulfill its mission by providing programs for parents and others looking to their faith for direction and support in nurturing and guiding the children in their lives.

Last spring, working with the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative, QPI provided a series of four sessions, virtually, for grandparents. Attenders from across the country, shared the different ways they were involved in their grandchildren’s lives. One couple provided basic daily childcare. Another had frequent Zoom calls but visited only annually. One grandmother gave her daughter some quiet by occupying the grandchildren virtually for half an hour each week. Grandparents told stories, read books, and played games. They all shared their experiences, their ways of passing on their Quaker faith, some by taking grandchildren to meeting for worship, others by telling stories about Quakerism and all by sharing what their faith means to them.

At the request of a parent in a local meeting, QPI is collaborating with Gretchen Baker-Smith, of Westport (Maine) Meeting, to host a virtual conversation for Quaker parents around how they are guiding their children through these authoritarian, violent times. Quaker parents, often geographically isolated, are finding that virtual gatherings provide a way of finding ideas and nurturance from other like-minded seekers as they love and guide their children.

Tract Association of Friends

tractassociation.org

The Tract Association of Friends is an association of members of the Society of Friends with a special sense of unity in the concern for distribution of sound Quaker literature. The association has been publishing pamphlets and books on traditional Friends faith and practice since 1816. It has been producing the Friends’ Calendar since 1885.

The 2026 Friends’ Calendar, with the months and days numbered in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and consistent Quaker practice, is now available. Through collaboration with Friends International Bilingual Center in Bolivia, this year’s calendar is also available in Spanish. An order form can be found on the website.

Some of the pamphlets published by the Tract Association can be downloaded for free on the website.

Development

Progresa: Guatemala Friends Scholarship Program

progresagt.org

Progresa is a Quaker-sponsored scholarship program for Indigenous Mayans to attend universities in Guatemala.

Most of the current 100 scholarship recipients, who study in universities in Guatemala, are from 22 Indigenous Mayan language and cultural groups. The current recipients include more women than men. Popular majors among the students include medicine, social work, nursing, agronomy, law, engineering, and many more.

In January, volunteers from the United States visited Progresa students during the students’ winter break. Scholarship recipients who wished to practice English with a native speaker had one-on-one lessons with the volunteers. Throughout the week, 38 students practiced their English skills by teaching the volunteers about Guatemalan history, geography, and Indigenous languages and culture.

Progresa scholarship recipients complete community service requirements each year that benefit the students’ communities as well as strengthen their resumes. It is increasingly important for young Guatemalans to find ways to live successfully in their respective communities. Progresa has four in-country staff members who offer material as well as social support to the scholarship recipients.

Education

Faith & Play Stories

quakerfaithandplay.org

Faith & Play Stories provides a unique resource for Friends meetings and Friends schools to help nurture the spiritual lives of all ages through stories of Quaker faith, practice, and witness.

Training Friends on how to use Faith & Play stories equips religious educators to explore topics like children’s spirituality, supporting families in faith communities, and using Quaker stories as a tool for outreach and inclusion. In October, Friends Theological College in Kaimosi, Kenya, hosted the first training for Quakers in Africa. Training this year kicked off with weekends at Woolman Hill retreat center in Deerfield, Mass.; and Quaker Hill conference center in Richmond, Ind.

As the Faith & Play community grows, the organization is utilizing surveys to collect feedback and supporting two additional Friends to become licensed trainers.

Other areas of growth include expanded publications and programs. At the end of December, Faith & Play Stories released three new stories to add to its published collection, including two about Friends of Color: Sarah Mapps Douglass and Bayard Rustin. Two new online workshops launched: one about pairing picture books with Godly Play and Faith & Play stories, and the other a three-part series held during the holiday season exploring the Nativity story.

Friends Association for Higher Education

quakerfahe.com

Friends Association for Higher Education (FAHE) is both a network of colleges, universities, and study centers historically or currently associated with the Religious Society of Friends, and a network of Quaker faculty and staff who work in higher education (including non-Quaker colleges) and wish to engage their work harmoniously with Quakerly values. FAHE was founded in 1980 by Friends wishing to develop a distinctively Quaker vision of higher education, fostering the integration of spiritual commitment, academic excellence, and social responsibility.

FAHE hosts annual conferences at the various member institutions, and publishes a book series called Quakers and the Disciplines. FAHE also hosts opportunities for the presidents of member institutions to share accomplishments and brainstorm together about the challenges faced by spirit-based higher education in today’s world.

The most recent volume in FAHE’s book series, Quakers and the Future of Peacemaking, was published in 2024, collecting some of the papers presented in the 2021 conference, “Peacemaking and the Liberal Arts,” hosted by Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Ind.

In June 2025, Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., hosted FAHE’s conference on “Science, Sustainability, and Stewardship.” Volume 9 of the book series, Quakers and the Sciences, currently in preparation, will include some of the papers from this conference.

The School of the Spirit Ministry

schoolofthespirit.org

The School of the Spirit is a Quaker-founded ministry of prayer and learning that offers programs and contemplative retreats throughout the year. It is dedicated to helping all who wish to be more faithful listeners and responders to the Inward Teacher.

The school’s newest spiritual formation program completed the first of two years in February. The second year of God’s Promise Fulfilled runs May 2026 through February 2027. Participants gather both online and in-person in a hybrid format. Participants are listening for the Spirit in community to grow into an understanding of their gifts and ministries while living under our culture’s damaging logic of domination and injustice.

On Mondays, f/Friends gather for an hour of worship online at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. A reunion of alumni of extended programs is scheduled for this fall near Philadelphia, Pa.

Contemplative retreats were held in October and January, with plans for gatherings at Powell House in Old Chatham, N.Y., next January; and in Racine, Wis., next April. An online weekend retreat is being scheduled for late fall or winter.

Participating in God’s Power is a 16-month program designed to help participants open powerfully to the Source, work through internal resistance and connect this grounding to actions in the world. This program of six residences is planned to return in 2028.

Woodbrooke

woodbrooke.org.uk

Woodbrooke, based in Britain, continues to deliver a wide range of learning courses and research programs, rooted in the Quaker tradition and open to all. These are offered online and in person, alongside regular online worship sessions six days a week.

At the beginning of the year, Woodbrooke welcomed the first cohort of students to the refreshed and re-discerned Equipping for Ministry program. Long valued as a core part of Woodbrooke’s offering, the two-year learning journey has returned in a renewed format, bringing together both online and in-person elements.

In March, Woodbrooke announced its programs for May to October 2026. From exploring the theological grounding of the Quaker way to developing practical skills and deepening spiritual life, the courses and sessions offer a wide range of opportunities to learn, reflect, and grow.

Beyond the learning program, Woodbrooke also continues to host key lectures in the Quaker calendar. In May, Stuart Masters will deliver the 2026 Swarthmore Lecture on “Tangled Roots: Navigating the Complex Legacy of Early Quakers.” In September, David Harrington Watt will deliver the 2026 George Richardson Lecture on “Quakers and Nazis: The Stories We Tell.”

In 2025, Woodbrooke welcomed 2,255 participants, including over 1,000 engaging with Woodbrooke learning for the first time, from more than 45 countries.

Environmental and Ecojustice

Earth Quaker Action Team

eqat.org

EQAT (pronounced “equate”) is a grassroots, nonviolent action group inspired by Quaker values that uses strategic corporate campaigning to work toward a just and sustainable economy.

EQAT has continued with its Spirit-led direct action in the Vanguard S.O.S. campaign, calling on Vanguard, the world’s biggest investor in fossil fuels, to invest instead for a safe and healthy future for all. In recent months, EQAT has taken action where Vanguard leaders are showing up in public, to bring attention to their opportunity and responsibility to do better. EQAT has also recently collaborated with national partners to reach more people in the campaign and taken time to reflect on how to continue taking powerful action in these times.

In recognition of the interconnection of social justice movements, EQAT has been working with allies near and far to share the direct action campaigning skills it has honed over the years. In 2025, EQAT offered trainings for people showing up as peacekeepers and de-escalators at the year’s biggest anti-authoritarianism marches and for others preparing to launch their own action teams across the country. EQAT plans to continue sharing skills and offering trainings throughout this year.

Investment Management

Friends Fiduciary Corporation

friendsfiduciary.org

Friends Fiduciary Corporation (FFC) is a Quaker faith-based investment firm based in Philadelphia, Pa. It manages money for Quaker meetings, schools, and other organizations across the country and aligns its investments with broadly held Quaker values.

Friends Fiduciary continued its work this proxy season despite changes enacted at the SEC that substantially weakened shareholder rights. FFC continues to serve as witness to the peace testimony, prioritizing tech company engagement on human rights risks related to customer end use of their products and services in conflict-affected and high-risk areas. FFC is also engaging large pharmaceutical companies on good governance and the human right to health, as well as food service companies on living wage concerns.

FFC is in dialogue with a branded food manufacturer and supermarket on reducing emissions and developing climate transition action planning.

FFC continues to seek transparency from companies on their lobbying and political spending as well as alignment of this spending with company-stated values and business strategy. The firm is also seeking good governance through separation of chair and CEO positions within corporations and diversity at the board level.

Philanthropic outreach was prolific in 2025. Charitable gift annuities and pooled life income, donor advised, and endowment funds held by FFC distributed $1.6 million to Quaker nonprofit beneficiaries. An additional $178,500 was donated through its online giving program, benefiting 24 Quaker organizations.

Retreat, Conference, and Study Centers

Friends Center

friendscentercorp.org

Friends Center, founded in 1972, is the Quaker hub for peace and justice in Philadelphia, Pa. The Friends Center campus houses an active Quaker meeting; local, regional, and international Quaker organizations; and like-minded groups working for peace and justice.

Following a national search this past fall, Friends Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Erick Emerick as its new executive director. Emerick has served the center for more than 20 years in a wide range of roles, most recently as assistant director of operations and vendor management. He brings deep institutional knowledge of the Friends Center campus and its operations, and is already leading efforts to enhance and upgrade the facilities.

Emerick replaces Christopher Mohr, who served in the role for nearly 11 years. Mohr announced his departure in October 2025, leaving to become the next general secretary of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.

Pendle Hill

pendlehill.org

Pendle Hill is a Quaker study and retreat center located outside Philadelphia, Pa., on 24 acres in unceded Lenni-Lenape territory.

Between September 2025 and February 2026, Pendle Hill welcomed approximately 247 sojourners, 76 conference groups, 2,239 online and in-person program registrants, and 15,961 visits to hybrid meeting for worship.

In September, Max Carter delivered the 2025 Stephen G. Cary Memorial Lecture, “Earthquake, Wind, and Fire,” on how Quakers can learn from the resilience of Friends who have lived through war. In late October, the four-part “Journey Toward Wholeness” retreat series returned. Pendle Hill also welcomed Artists and Friends in Residence and resident scholars to campus, many of whom will support this spring’s Resident Student Program.

Pendle Hill’s annual report was published, featuring stories, accomplishments, and financial milestones surrounding the center’s 95th anniversary. Since first opening its doors in 1930, Pendle Hill continues to be a sanctuary for those seeking personal and community transformation.

The 300+-year-old champion beech tree, known as “Mama Beech” and a cultural landmark on campus, received new landscaping around her base. A soil refresh and native understory plantings, plus a rerouting of the walking trail away from her roots, has revitalized this ancient beauty.

Pendle Hill published four new pamphlets, with original writing from Pamela Haines, coauthors Lauren Brownlee and Zenaida Peterson, Max Carter, and Pendle Hill’s own Lloyd Guindon.

Service and Peace Work

American Friends Service Committee

afsc.org

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) works with communities worldwide to challenge injustice and build conditions for lasting peace.

In 2024, AFSC launched its No Hunger Summer campaign aimed at convincing 11 state governors to adopt the SUN Bucks program, a new federal program designed to help low-income families access food assistance when school is out. After two years of advocacy from AFSC staff and Quaker partners, Iowa’s governor has agreed to fund the program in 2026.

In December, AFSC held the first in a series of “Love as Action” vigils intended to support Quaker resistance to rising authoritarianism and oppression across the United States. In the months that followed, dozens of Quaker communities joined AFSC in silent public witness across the country as a visible commitment to peace and justice.

Karen Francis was appointed AFSC’s global director of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Francis’s hiring reflects AFSC’s commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace that values and supports its diverse staff. 

In early 2026, AFSC began convening a network of Quaker communities working for migration justice. The Quaker Action for Just Migration Network (QAJMN) meets monthly to discern and implement collective action.

From April 9–11, AFSC will host the annual meeting of the AFSC Corporation in Philadelphia, Pa., with the theme “Spirit-Let Activism for Our Suffering World.”

Canadian Friends Service Committee

quakerservice.ca

Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) is the national peace and social justice agency of Friends in Canada.

CFSC recently launched a groundbreaking first-of-its-kind report examining which companies profit from Canada’s federal prisons. The report has drawn significant interest from many working in this area. While there has been unity since a minute passed by Canadian Yearly Meeting in 1981 to call for the abolishment of prisons as being “as destructive to the cagers as to the caged”—the system disrespects the Inner Light of the people caught up in it—it is also clear that the system is an expensive, ineffective waste of taxpayer dollars.

The report has been paired with a new video series called “Unshackled,” featuring one- to five-minute clips of Lisa, a formerly incarcerated woman, sharing her experience of prison life, the transformation she went through in understanding herself as a woman of Indigenous descent, and the impacts that transformative justice and time in an Indigenous Healing Lodge have had for her.

For context, five percent of the population of Canada is Indigenous but almost 50 percent of federally incarcerated women are Indigenous. Many are kept in maximum security, not due to being a security risk to others but, as Lisa explains, simply due to having special needs or the guards claiming they have concerns about the individual’s mental health.

Friends House Moscow

friendshousemoscow.org

Friends House Moscow (FHM) works to promote peace and witness to a just and fair society in Russia and neighboring countries. The group also shares about Quakers and Quakerism with Russian-speaking people.

During the four years of the war in Ukraine, FHM has been careful to follow the rule to do no harm. FHM does not publish names of individuals and organizations working in Russia. Russians are forbidden to protest against the war and can be endangered by speaking openly about it. Those who do so receive long prison sentences.

Despite the many ongoing challenges facing this work, FHM continues to support a refugee center, bolster its Russian language publishing work (online at www.quakers.ru), maintain its support for a language club, and fund art projects for youth.

FHM helps support the young people living in two large psychiatric hospitals. It has been working with neurodivergent young people over the past 22 years, some of whom are wrongly institutionalized. Since the work is conducted within state institutions, it requires great discretion as well as sensitivity.

FHM’s publishing efforts remain central to its work. FHM translates titles into Russian and has so far printed 22 books in Moscow. Popular titles include Plague, Pestilence, and Famine by Muriel Payne; and The Fruits of Solitude by William Penn.

Friends Peace Teams

friendspeaceteams.org

Friends Peace Teams (FPT) is a Spirit-led organization that creates spaces for truth-telling, dialogue, healing, and nonviolent action for justice in 21 countries. In regional teams on five continents, volunteers of many different faiths, ethnicities, and cultures work together to create enduring cultures of peace. Every region engages in Quaker practice, Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), and Power of Goodness.

The Europe and Middle East Team offers psycho-social support to people affected by war. The team also builds skills among schoolchildren, students, and justice and peace workers in Ukraine, North Caucasus, Iraq, and Palestine.

Peacebuilding en las Américas supports children, teenagers, families, detainees, people with disabilities, war survivors, and Indigenous people across El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, and Peru.

The African Great Lakes Team facilitates healing ethnic divisions and trauma among refugees from wars in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The team offers economic empowerment, women’s health, and education for English literacy and agriculture.

In the Asia–West Pacific region, volunteers continue to support displaced persons from Myanmar-Burma and Papua; build eco-justice projects in the Philippines and Korea; and support justice and peace workers in Nepal and Indonesia.

The North America Team offers AVP; Power of Goodness; and consultations on economic justice, peace libraries, conscientious objection to war, and addressing harms caused by the Quaker Indian boarding schools.

Quaker House of Fayetteville

quakerhouse.org

Based in Fayetteville, N.C., home of Fort Bragg, Quaker House provides counseling and support to service members who are questioning their role in the military; educates them, their families, and the public about military issues; and advocates for a more peaceful world.

The GI Rights Hotline, now in its twenty-fifth year, experienced a surge in contacts following the National Guard federalization by the Trump administration. While the high volume fell after a few weeks, the hotline continues to see increased contacts.

Quaker House and allies recognized the coming issue of illegal orders. Together these groups compiled a set of FAQs on illegal orders. Throughout 2026, Quaker House Director Wayne Finegar will be presenting information on the subject to multiple gatherings.

The counseling service continues working on issues related to domestic violence, substance abuse, moral injury, and other damage caused by military involvement. This service also offers advice and insight to communities outside of North Carolina who are interested in forming their own counseling service.

Quaker House is expanding its outreach as the need for its services grows. A new Substack channel called “Reconnaissance” features articles looking at the state of the military. Curt Torell has completed an update to Quaker House’s book Conscientious Objection: Is This for You? and an associated PowerPoint. This spring Quaker House plans to sponsor a podcast with Thee Quaker Project.

Ujima Friends Peace Center

ujimafriends.org

Ujima Friends Peace Center (UFPC), based in Philadelphia, Pa., is a Pan-African Quaker community dedicated to reducing violence and providing a safe haven with educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities for youth and their families, locally and globally.

This year UFPC has moved into its new home in the historic Unity Meetinghouse in the Frankford community. Over the past year, a new intergenerational sewing project has brought elders and youth together weekly to make menstrual pads for girls in Africa. Participants also collect oral histories through conversations with the elders.

As a cultural community center, UFPC recently sponsored an Arts and Spirit evening featuring the artwork of three local Black Quakers. It also sponsored a community Kwanzaa celebration. Twice monthly, UFPC hosts breath and sound healing sessions through Heal Your Love ministries. One session is exclusively for Black men. Every first and third Saturday, the center provides groceries for approximately 100 families through its food pantry program. UFPC also facilitates restorative justice and conflict transformation training for youth who desire to serve as peer mediators.

The center’s Freedom School program, which annually serves approximately 50 youth, builds literacy skills, promotes wellness, and addresses social and environmental justice concerns, while examining Quaker testimonies and African-centered value systems. Last summer’s focus was “Defend not De-fund Black History.” Students did advocacy and raised awareness around book banning and history erasure.

Youth Service Opportunities Project

ysop.org

Youth Service Opportunities Project (YSOP), a nonprofit with Quaker roots founded in 1983, engages youth, college students, and adults in service experiences through a program that combines an orientation to the issues, hands-on volunteer work, and reflection.

Earlier this year, YSOP partnered with Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., for a day of intergenerational service and reflection in Westchester County. This collaboration marked YSOP’s first in-person program with Oakwood since 2020.

Oakwood ninth graders traveled from Poughkeepsie to participate in two service programs organized by YSOP. One group spent the day at the Doles Community Center in Mount Vernon, engaging in intergenerational activities to connect with local seniors. Together they made no-sew blankets, which were later donated to local clothing banks and families in need, and sang karaoke. Another group worked alongside staff at Feeding Westchester in Elmsford, learning about food insecurity while packing 275 produce bags for distribution to families across the county.

Throughout the day, YSOP facilitators guided students through orientation and reflection sessions designed to connect hands-on community work with broader social and structural issues. These reflective spaces encouraged students to listen deeply, ask questions, and consider their role in building more just and compassionate communities.