Quakers Walk from New York City to Washington, D.C., to Share Flushing Remonstrance with Congress

From May 4 through May 22, Friends are walking more than 276 miles from New York City to Washington, D.C., to deliver a copy of the original Flushing Remonstrance to members of the U.S. Congress. Freeholders in what is now New York State wrote the document in 1657. The Remonstrance opposed a directive by then Governor Peter Stuyvesant who said residents should not welcome Quakers in the Dutch colony.

The petition argued that God is the ultimate judge of human actions and that people are morally bound to do good to others. It noted that some people feel jealous and suspicious of Quakers because they do not submit to earthly authorities. The writers of the proclamation expressed their desire to follow the Golden Rule, telling Stuyvesant that they desired to “doe unto all men as we desire all men should doe unto us.”

Participants in the pilgrimage demand that members of Congress acknowledge and safeguard freedom of speech, due process, and the constitutional rights of everyone in the United States, according to the walk’s website.

Organizer Jess Hobbs Pifer believes Quakers have a responsibility to be stewards of democracy.

“Stewardship is such a core part of Quakerism,” said Hobbs Pifer. She is a member of Germantown Meeting in Philadelphia, Pa., and an attender of Brooklyn (N.Y.) Meeting.

Seventy-four participants had registered for the walk by May 1, according to organizers. They said they expect that number to grow as the walk progresses.

In addition to delivering a copy of the original Flushing Remonstrance, participants will use group discernment to draft a document that seeks to highlight the voices of people directly targeted by the Trump administration. Organizers will ask for input from members of Friends meetings along the walking route, according to Max Goodman, an organizer of the walk. Goodman is a member of Sandy Spring (Md.) Meeting who is sojourning at Brooklyn Meeting.

The idea of religious tolerance articulated in the Flushing Remonstrance became a norm by the time of the U.S. Constitution 132 years later, according to Goodman.

The Constitution was drafted in 1787, ratified in 1788, and went into effect in 1789. The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were drafted in 1789 and ratified in 1791.

The Remonstrance “anticipated First Amendment guarantees of religious freedom,” said Thomas Hamm, emeritus professor of history and Quaker scholar in residence at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. One of Hamm’s ancestors, Henry Townsend, was a signer of the Remonstrance.

The walk is initiated by Quakers, but organizers hope people with similar values join the journey.

The walk is symbolic and full of implicit meaning, according to organizer Ross Brubeck. The walkers will cross several state borders without any legal impediments, which contrasts with the experience of many immigrants who enter the United States without documentation. Brubeck attends Brooklyn Meeting and considers Sandy Spring Meeting their home meeting.

Goodman would like the walk to highlight values such as hospitality and relief of suffering. He considers it a Christian calling to offer food, shelter, and legal aid to immigrants and others targeted by the Trump administration.

“I really hope we can walk our talk more,” said Goodman.

Quaker meetings along the walking route are letting walkers sleep in their meetinghouses and are hosting potluck dinners for participants. Arranging for accommodations for the walk has required organizers to make many phone calls and send numerous emails.

“The bulk of the organizing has been around connecting people with Quaker communities,” Hobbs Pifer said.

Goodman arranged for participants to use canoes from Baltimore Yearly Meeting for a five-mile segment of the pilgrimage that involves crossing the Susquehanna River from Pennsylvania to Maryland.

On the Sundays of the walk, participants will have the opportunity to worship with meetings in Philadelphia, Pa., and Baltimore, Md.

Stephen Kelly, a lawyer who worships with Brooklyn Meeting, introduced the idea of walking the Flushing Remonstrance from New York to Washington, D.C., at a February meeting for business, according to Brubeck.