I used to often struggle with the proper relationship between peace and justice. More specifically, I wrestled with whether or not it is ethical to ask folks who are living in deplorable, violently oppressive conditions to vie for peace when there is such a glaring absence of justice in their daily lives. In many ways, the answer to this question continues to shape my understanding of the question of peace in the modern world.

Studying English in college, one of the things I loved most about literature of all kinds was how it connected me so deeply to the humanity of people living in other centuries and other countries. Now I love reading old publications down in the American Friends Service Committee's (AFSC) archives for the same reasons—to marvel at how language has changed while our core beliefs have remained the same.

“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity; it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.” Nelson Mandela

In March 2013, Israel Social TV aired this segment on conscription of Druze, which features an interview with Omar.

Lessons on peace can be challenging to teach amid a media environment focused on war and violence. This podcast explores how Quaker schools can live out the peace testimony in and outside of the classroom.

Today people are traveling across the United States to make their way to the homes of loved ones to share food and celebrate Thanksgiving. Sometimes these encounters will be joyful, and sometimes they will be strained.

Peace is not just the absence of war. To these 19 young delegates to the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, peace means a sense of shared security, access to jobs, health care, and education. 

Pennsylvania is beautiful in October. Like many places on the East Coast, fall turns the expansive deciduous landscape into a blanket of fire, transforms light into magic and the mind to the past. Time slows down this time of year. The future is no longer yours to be explored, but is yours to be remembered as life takes its rightful place within the cycle of death and rebirth.