by Diane Bowden | Jul 22, 2025 | Ministry and Worship, Testimonies
A recent court decision now allows religious bodies to endorse political candidates and take part in partisan politics without the threat of losing their tax-exempt status.
This ruling does not change meeting's long-standing practice of eschewing partisan politics within meetings for worship, during announcements at rise of meeting, or through our committees. Our tax-exempt status has never been a primary motive.
Rather, our political advocacy arises from a deep concern for the general welfare and our hope for a world where everyone enjoys security and opportunities for joy.
Partisan politics requires taking sides. Our advocacy is based on our testimonies and advices. Love one another is our foundation.
by Diane Bowden | Feb 11, 2017 | Peace and Social Concerns, Testimonies
Randee Humphrey, Clerk of Richmond Friends Meeting, joined a number of religious and organizational leaders at a Standing Together press conference, held at Temple Best-El on December 1, 2016, to demonstrate support for those who were increasingly targeted over the previous month and to stand together against divisive and bigoted rhetoric and actions. Along with others, Randee delivered prepared remarks.
The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities posted short videos of all eight speakers on their Facebook page, here. The videos were posted on December 2. The video of Randee is part 4.
A PDF copy of Randee Humphrey’s remarks: Randee Humphrey remarks.
A PDF copy of the Standing Together program and pledge: Standing Together program.
by Diane Bowden | Jan 12, 2017 | Adult Spiritual Education, Testimonies
This coming Sunday, January 15, 2017 at 9:30 am in the Community Roomplease join us for this important session on Earthcare Witness. This is the session that was cancelled last week due to the snowstorm.
Barb Adams is our Meeting’s representative to Quaker Earthcare Witness, and in this session she will help us explore our intimate relationship with the earth. Through interactive experiences, personal discussion, and sharing, we will examine our emotional connection to our planet and the larger cosmos. Barb will guide us in using our own experiences of nature to understand the vital importance of living within the earth’s carrying capacity. Barb will bring some essence of Joanna Macy’s teachings from her presentations at this year’s Friends Conference on Religion and Psychology.
by Diane Bowden | Jun 22, 2016 | Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Testimonies
(From the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Working Group on Racism)
“For far too long, society has treated minority groups from a deficit analysis, focusing on what they lack rather than what they add. Institutions have reacted to racial tensions instead of proactively creating inclusive spaces. We have taught people how to adjust to an unacceptable status quo instead of sharing the legitimate means to challenge injustice. By not taking the time to listen to people, we have let efficiency trump listening and allowed limited diversity to supplant real equity at the table, at the lectern, and in the boardroom….
“We all have good will, but we must move beyond good will. Universities can help improve a sense of belonging by setting clear goals, fostering inclusive environments, and challenging negative stereotypes about certain groups. We have to create structures that ensure participation of minority groups in decisions. We need to model and teach the competencies of deep listening and respectful dialogue across differences. We must also determine how to work cooperatively to transform deeply embedded practices that have created barriers to belonging.”
Excerpts from an article by Julio Frenk, “Why We Need a ‘Scholarship of Belonging’,” published in the May 20, 2016, Chronicle of Higher Education. Julio Frank is president of the University of Miami and former dean of Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
This column is prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaisons at each Monthly and Preparative Meeting for publication in their newsletter or other means of dissemination. The WGR meets most months on the third Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Locations vary to allow access to more Friends. If you would like to attend, on a regular or a drop-in basis, contact clerk David Etheridge, david.etheridge@verizon.net.
by Diane Bowden | Apr 20, 2013 | Testimonies
“Testimony” is used by Friends to describe actions and attitudes based on the realization that there is “that of God in everyone,” that all human beings are equal, and that all life is interconnected. It is affirmative but may lead to action that runs counter to practices common in society at large. Shunning conventional dogma, Quakers look to the testimonies to reflect our beliefs, wherever individual Friends may be on their personal spiritual journeys. Many use the acronym “SPICE” as a reminder of our testimonies.
Simplicity
This testimony means seeking to focus our attention on what is essential and eternal, without distraction by the transitory or the trivial. Plain and honest speech is an expression of simplicity. Respect for God’s creation and, therefore, concern for the environment and the right use of the world’s resources is another obvious expression of this testimony. Extravagance, wastefulness and artificially stimulated wants is seen to be a fundamental violation of the testimony of simplicity.
Peace
This leads Quakers to avoid war and violence, while also encouraging efforts to ease suffering of victims of war on all sides. It means efforts to be or to seek a reconciling force between peoples and nations in conflict. It means a constant search for nonviolent means of conflict resolution. It means a continuing search for peace and social justice through personal and group nonviolent techniques for mediation and social change.
Integrity
Integrity (truth) is a complex concept in Quakerism, involving honest, reliable truthfulness, honor, uprightness. Sometimes the word is used more generally for the conviction and way of life and arise from worship. One example: The concern for truthfulness led early Friends to refuse to take oaths, which they considered a sign that there were different levels of truthfulness. They believed that truth was constant and that we should tell the truth all the time.
Community
Since there is “that of God in everyone, all human beings are brothers and sisters, one human family, no matter how great our differences of experience, of culture, of age, of understanding. Friends have found that the Light may illuminate a gathered group as well as an individual heart and bind the group together in a community of faith, conscience and experience.
Equality
If God is within and directly accessible to all persons, then all persons are to be equally valued. This has been manifest in many ways, from opposition to slavery and the death penalty to our early incorporation of same-sex marriage within meeting.
Some Friends also include other testimonies, such as Unity, Compassion, Justice, Truth, and Stewardship, all consistent with our shared understanding and experience in silent worship.
by Diane Bowden | Dec 18, 2008 | History - Quaker, Peace and Social Concerns, Testimonies, Writings - RFM
Friends affirm a Biblical basis for the peace testimony. A Prince of Peace was prophesied who would bring in a Peaceable Kingdom. “Thou shalt not kill” is one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus taught and lived peacemaking and love of enemy. George Fox similarly counseled his followers “to live in the life and power which does away with the occasion for war.”
The material below was prepared earlier by Mary Fran Hughes-McIntyre and is excerpted from her History of Richmond Friends Meeting, 1795-1962, available in the Meeting Library. (or here:THE HISTORY OF RICHMOND FRIENDS MEETING 1795-1962)
Living Out the Peace Testimony
Friends affirm a Biblical basis for the peace testimony. A Prince of Peace was prophesied who would bring in a Peaceable Kingdom. “Thou shalt not kill” is one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus taught and lived peacemaking and love of enemy. George Fox similarly counseled his followers “to live in the life and power which does away with the occasion for war.”
Early Richmond Friends were firm pacifists, disowning from membership those who bore arms. Doubtless knowing Friends from Cedar Creek Meeting who had firmly refused to fight during the Revolutionary War, Friends in Richmond affirmed a pacifist stand in the War of 1812. Friends suffered payment of muster fines rather than fight. As part of Virginia Yearly Meeting, they concurred with the following statement:
While we view with sorrow the awful progress of war spreading desolation and Misery in the human family, let us endeavor to guard our Minds from mixing in the politics of the times, which will insensibly leven into the spirit, and will lead if not to the practice at least to the promotion of that destructive evil.
During the War between the States, some Richmond Friends chose to fight, and some were conscientious objectors. Cedar Creek Monthly Meeting (of which Richmond Friends became a part in 1841) accepted the resignation of three persons who chose to fight, but “earnestly hopes that the day is not distant when those with many others aroused by the awful juncture of war now presented to our view may be enabled to renounce principles which lead to such results and enlist under the banner of the Prince of Peace.”
In the period from 1914-1920 the Peace Committee of Richmond Friends meeting was particularly active workingfor peace and reconciliation in the period of the Great War. Peace literature was distributed in the schools, and prizes were offered in 1916 for the best essays on “Why We Do Not Need a Large Increase in our Army and Navy”: $15 first prize to a boys’ school, $10 first prize to a girls’ school. (Editor: Friends have not been free from societal sexism and racism.) Money was donated for Belgian relief in 1914, for English and Armenian relief in 1916, for French orphans in 1917, and for feeding the German children in 1920. Letters were sent to Senators and Representatives in 1916 urging opposition to the so-called “preparedness” for war. The Friends Peace Committee ran two advertisements in the newspapers, including the following:
PEACE OR WAR?
To our fellow-citizens:
In this time of crisis when our country’s highest good is the common aim of all, we voice this deep conviction of patriotic duty.
The causes for which men fight—liberty, justice, and peace—are noble and Christian causes. But war itself violates law, justice, liberty and peace, the very ends for which alone its tragic costs might be justified…
In World War II, Friends were again active in peace-making. Member Hoge Ricks met at homes in 1940 with young Friends to think through their stands on the peace testimony in anticipation of their being faced with conscription. After the war opposition to conscription continued, with visits to Congressional Representative, and a firm stand against the Selective Service Act of 1948.
A change in Friends’ custom of disowning those who bear arms in evident in 1943. A member wrote saying that he had joined the Armed Forces as a result of personal conviction, and that he doubted the Meeting wanted his membership. The Meeting decided to stay in touch with him, since “to encourage him would do more that to ostracize him.”
(Richmond) Friends were proud of having several members, who were conscientious objectors, serving in Civilian Public Service Camps. Their peace testimony was affirmed.
Thus, Richmond Friends stood consistently against war, and dealt in increasingly lenient ways with Friends who chose to fight.
* * * *
(Editor: During World War II, some 12,000 men who were conscientious objectors to war, served in non-military occupations across the U.S. Under the leadership of Mennonite, Quaker and Church of the Brethren agencies, they were engaged in mental health care and medical experiments, in forestry and diary farming, and in other important civic projects.)
by Diane Bowden | Dec 19, 2006 | Archive, Queries, Testimonies, Writings - RFM
by Diane Bowden | Oct 16, 2005 | Archive, Queries, Testimonies, Writings - RFM
After the reading of the Minute from York Friends, Roanoke Friends composed and sent the following and attached letter about hurricane Katrina to their legislators and other leaders. Roanoke Friends encourage other Meetings to consider a similar response.
What a timely coincidence that on the day that disaster struck New Orleans, the annual census report was released revealing that for the fourth consecutive year the number of persons living in poverty increased in America. The vivid images from the desolation of New Orleans made that poverty viscerally real to Americans in a way far more than dry-worded government reports ever could. We saw intimately the anguish and misery of thousands of our fellow citizens who were abandoned to despair.
It is perhaps understandable that fingers are pointing in all directions seeking whom to accuse and blame for the bungled response to this disaster. While finger-pointing may be a very human response, it is not a particularly productive one unless we are able to move forward with lessons learned. So we call upon you, our leaders, to examine not only what went wrong in the response but also to look to ways to correct the inequities that exist.
We ask that an independent commission be formed to investigate why the disaster response was inadequate. It is paramount to the integrity of such an investigation that this is an independent commission, not a congressional one nor should it be under the aegis of the executive branch. Partisan politics would only impugn the legitimacy of its findings and recommendations.
We ask also that appropriate controls be in place as FEMA begins to award contracts for reconstruction. Will an inspector general be named to oversee the payment of large amounts of money that FEMA will be dispersing to contractors? What policies will be put in place ensuring that competition for contracts will be fair and equal?
Certainly there are many other issues impacted by this disaster that cry for unblinking scrutiny, environmental as well as social and political, but none more pressing than poverty itself. This catastrophe has brought the realities of poverty into light and national awareness.
We strongly urge a renewed effort on the behalf of this nation’s leaders to address the issue of poverty. The response to Hurricane Katrina was disgrace enough to a powerful nation. Not acting to remedy the inequities that exist would be an even greater disgrace.
As members of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), we believe that all are equally precious in the sight of God. We are reminded of the words of Isaac Pennington, who stated, ”Our life is love and peace, and tenderness; and bearing one with another, and forgiving one another, and not laying accusations one against another; but praying for one another, and helping one another up with a tender hand.” Now is the time to extend that tender hand, as we witness an unprecedented outpouring of compassion and relief efforts.
It is our hope and request that you, our leaders, will offer a tender and uplifting hand as well with the powers invested in you: by thoroughly investigating our disaster response and implementing policies and legislation that will guarantee the well-being of everyone living in this great country.
Roanoke Friends Meeting
Roanoke, Virginia
by Diane Bowden | Sep 4, 2005 | Archive, Queries, Testimonies, Writings - RFM
Below is a minute from York (PA) Meeting. They wish to disseminate it to Friends everywhere.
At Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business on 9th month 4th day 2005, the following minute was approved be sent to Friends everywhere:
Friends (Quakers) have included in their testimonies, “speaking truth to power” and “we are all equal in the eyes of God.” We at York Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends are appalled and angry at the present administration and Congress for allowing this horrible tragedy to occur from Hurricane Katrina.
There is no reason why thousands had to die and more will die. The scope of this disaster could have been lessened had the administration not disregarded the many published scientific studies forewarning such an event. It is inexcusable that President Bush designated a political appointee, Michael Brown, who has no qualifications or experience for the position, as director of FEMA. There is no justification for criticizing the Louisiana National Guard for not doing enough when one-third of the guard was in Iraq, fighting in a war perpetrated with untruths. Some of the billions being spent on that war could have been used to prevent this hurricane holocaust from happening.
We criticized the Russians for inept government personnel in dealing with the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor disaster. President Bush, you, your appointees and the Leaders in Congress have mimicked the Soviets in the way this horrible occurrence has been dealt with. Who is being inept now?
The various departments of the Government are equally responsible for ignoring the warnings that this disaster would happen. Our legislators awarded money to their pet projects and looked after the welfare of a select few instead of doing what was really needed for the welfare of all the people of our great nation to prevent this horror from happening. We are only beginning to experience the economic, public health, and social ramifications of this event.
The world can not comprehend how we would let so many African Americans die when those who are affluent had transportation to safety As the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, there is no reason why we cannot take care of our own citizens.
Our constitution promises…”Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Are these values not valid to those who were not helped by our complacent leaders? We pray that those survivors who have lost loved ones and those whose livelihoods have been destroyed will somehow be helped to regain that happiness. But one of the first goals of this Congressional session is the repeal of the estate tax, another example of looking after the welfare of a select few while ignoring the welfare of all. We the people who have opened our hearts and pocketbooks to fill the void left by the government cannot let such a vote go unnoticed and unprotested!
York Friends (Quaker) Monthly Meeting.
York, PA
Leada Dietz, Clerk
by Diane Bowden | Dec 18, 1967 | History - RFM, Peace and Social Concerns, Testimonies
One of the most divisive events in 20th century U.S. history was the war in Vietnam. The antiwar movement gained national prominence in 1965, peaked in 1968, and remained powerful throughout the duration of the conflict. In June 1967, in keeping with our position against war, the Richmond Friends Meeting hosted in our Kensington Avenue building the office for the Vietnam Summer Project, a statewide program opposing U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
In June 1967, in keeping with our position against war, the Richmond Friends Meeting hosted in our Kensington Avenue building the office for the Vietnam Summer Project, a statewide program opposing U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Phyllis Conklin and Marii Hasegawa, representing the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, led the statewide Vietnam Summer Project. (The Richmond WILPF chapter, newly organized by Phyllis and Marie, had about ten active members.) Some Richmond Friends Meeting members were also active in the Vietnam Summer Project along with other community individuals, who opposed the war.
Ben Ragsdale, a young student, was hired to help coordinate the program, which had groups in Norfolk, Hampton, Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, Lexington, Roanoke and Farmville. Ben recalls doing a lot of moving around the state. He indicates that the college campuses were not as active as they were later because it was the summer and students were not in attendance. He also recalls receiving a small paycheck every two weeks.
The Vietnam Summer Project attempted to host a peaceful antiwar rally at the Richmond War Memorial but was denied a permit. The ACLU filed an injunction against the ruling, which found them before the newly installed Judge Mehrige in federal court. Judge Mehrige told them that it was a constitutional issue and refused an injunction until the case could be heard in federal court. When Phyllis and Marii protested that this was a one summer’s protest project and the convocation was to be the end of it, Judge Mehrige told them that he was certain there were enough concerned people to keep the group alive until the case could receive a proper hearing. Bob Conklin recalls that while the Judge was in favor of granting the permit, he delayed the opinion in part because of his newness on the bench and the public controversy over the war itself. The 1967 peace rally was held instead at Union Seminary. The court eventually ruled in favor of the Vietnam Summer Project and the peace rally at the War Memorial finally happened a year later with several hundred in attendance.
Minutes of the Richmond Friends Meeting show that the City of Richmond intervened in the Vietnam Summer Project by sending a letter to Meeting, arguing that we did not have a permit for allowing our building to be used for such a purpose. Since the Meeting had for years allowed numerous groups supporting a wide variety of social issues to use RFM for meetings and office space, we can conjecture that this time the city objected because the war was so divisive in the public mind. The Business Meeting though simply agreed to pay for the permit. Ben Ragsdale and Marii Hasegawa do not recall ever knowing about the permit issue so it may well be that the Meeting quietly went ahead and did their part to help the project without concerning others.
RFM member Peg Spangenthal recalls that her husband Art, who served in Italy in World War II, offered counseling to young men concerned about the draft. She remembers hosting groups at their home, where materials were distributed and young men role-played the offered advice. We believe that Jules Arginteanu from the Meeting also offered draft counseling.
Other project activists spoke to church and college groups and responded to media inquiries about why the war in Vietnam was wrong. Bob Conklin recalls attending a meeting at the Unitarian church, where right-wingers blocked the entrance and the hallways, pushing their cameras to within inches of antiwar activist faces before blinding them with flashes. The right-wingers were anxious to rough it up and antiwar activists expected worse. During the meeting, Bob recalls that the debate centered on who eventually should govern Vietnam. A woman, sensing that Phyllis Conklin would favor the Communists, asked, ” Who is there but the Communists to give it to?” Phyllis’s response was “Why, to the people, of course.” As a result, antiwar activists were not hassled on the way out.
Later the police planted an “informer” in the project. “Ed,” as he was known, was apparently a little too enthusiastic about his new mission. He was very anxious to help with mailings, because he wanted to obtain the WILPF mailing list. Organizers were able to put him off and give him inconsequential jobs. Later that year at a City Hall demonstration, members of the group recognized “Ed”—this time dressed in his police uniform. They had a good laugh as one after another they called out, “Hi, Ed!” Ben Ragsdale recalls another plainclothesman, who appeared at project events. His name was Ricky Duling and he eventually became “Sergeant Santa” at Christmas to area children.
This was also the beginning of the Friday peace vigils at the post office. For four years, Phyllis Conklin and other sturdy souls leafleted in opposition to the Vietnam War. In doing this, they were called many names. Phyllis loved to tell that hostility changed to curiosity and even some interest and support as the national challenges to the war increased. She told about a man who stopped her toward the end of the four years and said that he had been watching them all this time. In the beginning he thought they were crazy, but gradually over the years his attitude had changed and now he really admired their perseverance.
Marii Hasegawa recalls that Richmond Friends Meeting played an important role by providing office space and volunteer support. She also recalls that the key to the side door was often very hard to turn and hopes that we have repaired it.
Thanks to Marii Hasegawa, Bob Conklin, Wendy Northup, Ben Ragsdale, Peg Spangenthal, Ann Lane and others who offered information for the above story. Phyllis Conklin died in 1987. Marii Hasagawa, now age 84, resides in a retirement community in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She continues to be active in social justice issues and sends greetings to all her Richmond friends. Ben Ragsdale is presently the director of the Virginia Civil Rights Video Initiative. Betsy Brinson is responsible for the research and writing of this short article. Readers who have additional information to share about the Vietnam Summer Project are invited to contact her at brinson422@comcast.net