John and Gail Fletcher are members of Norman, Oklahoma Monthly Meeting. John is also a member of the AFSC Corporation. They work with their meeting to combat mass incarceration in their state and within South Central Yearly Meeting. Here they are pictured with other members of their meeting with the mass incarceration booth they take around to public events in the area in an effort to educate the community about the issue.
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression before—organizing Quakers is like “herding cats,” an impossibly frustrating task, often leading to an overabundance of structures created to quell the insecurities of so many strong-minded individuals. But that doesn’t stop us from trying to work together, motivated by a deep, Spiritually grounded commitment to justice. This spring, I witnessed one Yearly Meeting employ a variety of methods—both spiritual and intellectual—to bring together one Quaker body for deep, impactful social change work grounded in Love.
Shirien works in AFSC's Chicago office as a Middle East Program Associate and is on the steering committee of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation and National Students for Justice in Palestine.
In February of this year (2014), torrential rainfall in the East African country of Burundi led to devastating floods and the death of over 60 people, destroying properties and leaving 12,000 people homeless. The Burundi government came to the aid of the victims by calling together various relief organizations to provide support, including the American Friends Service Committee, Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) and other Quaker organizations in Burundi. Together, these organizations developed an Action Plan to respond to the needs of the thousands of homeless and in
- Read more about Quakers in Burundi: Offering relief after the flood
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“How good it is, how pleasant for God’s people to live in unity.” – Psalm 133:1
The first time I experienced a gathered meeting was at Mid-Year Meeting of Iowa Yearly Meeting Conservative. We were in an old meeting house up on a hill that overlooked the prairie. It was a windy day. As we sat in meeting for worship, the wind whipped around us. The silence was deep and rich. As the wind swirled, stirring up dust and bringing a breeze into the meeting house, I could sense the Spirit also moving in the room. I felt as though we were one body, coming together.