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On Accommodating Neurodivergent Friends

I came to Quakerism long before I realized my neurodiversity, and in looking back, the attraction makes a lot of sense. I was drawn to the stillness first, enjoying the seated silence of worship. The church I grew up in required a stringent cycle of sit–stand–sing, and I resented it deeply. In Quakerism, I love the emphasis on equality, and especially the nonhierarchical nature of our meetings. I craved connection; in fact, Shakers and their tight communities have always been a special interest of mine, so being with Quakers felt exciting.

My meeting does not yet have an embodied understanding of what neurodiversity is, although I’m working to change that. Several years ago, I began a healing journey, unaware at the time I was doing so, and much of it involved participating in retreats run by Quakers. I had known for decades about my attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—I’m typing this 90 minutes before the magazine deadline—and had just come to realize and identify as autistic. As I discarded the shame and inferiority I felt in being different, I began to disclose my neurodiversity to those in my Quaker community. Others around me were following suit. 

Photo by Marcos Paulo on Unsplash

I accommodate myself: I shift positions, since part of my ADHD means a lack of core strength and ability to sit up straight for very long; I journal; I bring knitting. I do whatever I can to keep myself in the room and occupied without distracting others. 

At the same time, I started getting more involved in my yearly meeting and in youth programming for my family. It became clear to me that more than half of the children and adults in my meeting and my yearly meeting were neurodiverse, although most don’t know it. I believe the neurodivergent adults around me are also drawn to the ways in which Quakerism accommodates them, with its emphasis on social justice, celebration of intelligence, and tolerance of social awkwardness.

As in many parts of my life, I now find myself in the role of translator. I walk with a foot in each world, the neurotypical and neurodivergent, explaining the attitudes and behaviors of each to the other. 

The meetings I have attended all over New England have children who are not only fidgety because they are kids but also because they are neurodivergent: they can’t not move. They have meltdowns, which are beyond their control and are not tantrums. They get bored and find this almost painful. 

Not only don’t the neurodivergent kids know their own neurotype: often their parents don’t either. Many of the parents don’t realize that they themselves are neurodivergent. I am a psychotherapist who specializes in working with late-diagnosed and “high functioning” autistics. As I often tell my clients, I’ve never met a neurodivergent person without at least one biological neurodivergent parent. It comes from somewhere. Even when parents do know about their children’s neurotype, they often don’t know what that really means. Understanding the subtleties and profound differences in neurodivergent ways of being is rapidly evolving, replacing a misinformed medical model. People wildly underestimate how crippling ADHD can be and misunderstand the ways that autism presents, based on the stereotypical and outdated ways they are portrayed on TV. 

I’ve come to be an advocate for both children and adults when it comes to accommodations. Some of these are not forcing or coercing kids to sit in a circle (many have a fear of being perceived but can remain in the room or participate in other ways); understanding stimming (self-stimulation for emotional regulation); and realizing that when a neurodivergent child appears to be controlling others, it often stems from a “pervasive desire for autonomy,” which is rooted in anxiety.

Photo by Alexander

We neurodivergent folks work so hard to fit in, consciously or unconsciously wearing a mask in order to be accepted. Ultimately, even if the neurodivergence isn’t recognized, it still benefits everyone in a meeting to have the vocabulary for discussing needs and accommodations.

As I have come to realize what work for me, I also can now make sense of what hasn’t worked for my type of neurodivergence (underscoring here that neurodivergence is many faceted, not a linear gradient). What doesn’t work for me is the lack of accommodation for stimming and movement: such as knitting or rustling. Although I am not what most people would consider hyperactive, I am very restless. My mind and body are restless; I even have restless legs syndrome. I try to center my mind, but I get caught up in endless cycles of worry unless I actively meditate, and I don’t often want to do that. So I accommodate myself: I shift positions, since part of my ADHD means a lack of core strength and ability to sit up straight for very long; I journal; I bring knitting. I do whatever I can to keep myself in the room and occupied without distracting others. And it works for me, because otherwise I would not be able to be in the physical room where the messages are being shared.

I also don’t love the small talk after worship. I can do it, but it drains me. When I first came to meeting, I never went to the downstairs area for fellowship, or “coffee hour,” and for years I would just dart out the front door to avoid having to talk to anyone. What people don’t understand about me is that I’m a deeply social introvert. I’ll reiterate that I love getting to know people and spend time with them, but I dislike superficialities. I thrive in community, even if it’s just a weekend crafting retreat. One of my all-time favorite experiences in our meeting was an antiracism retreat where we interacted with tough and meaningful questions and spoke with each other about very intense and almost-taboo topics. After that, I felt exceptionally close to a few members of meeting whom I had known for decades but didn’t really know on such an intimate level. Relating to others and having structured ways of doing so is much easier and relaxing for me.

I want our meetings to get better at seeing and understanding neurodiversity, because those among the neurodiverse are an oppressed group, and we as Quakers have committed to advocating for other oppressed populations. Neurodiverse characteristics are not accepted socially or when they interfere with capitalism. I’ve met with many autistic professionals (including doctors, lawyers, and professors) who have been fired from their jobs and struggle with employment due to differences in communication style or unaccommodated sensory issues. We neurodivergent folks work so hard to fit in, consciously or unconsciously wearing a mask in order to be accepted. Ultimately, even if the neurodivergence isn’t recognized, it still benefits everyone in a meeting to have the vocabulary for discussing needs and accommodations. 

The post Finding What Works for Us appeared first on Friends Journal.

An Invitation to Neurotypicals

I am lucky that my world currently overlaps with that of many thoughtful, inclusive Quakers. On a Saturday in December, I was invited to the annual Christmas gathering for the ladies at the meeting: a night to craft, snack, and chat. My new neighbors were planning to go and offered to take me along. They are also the ones who now regularly take me to meeting. I have spatial distance and processing issues that prevent me from driving, and transportation has been a major barrier to participating as much as I would like. Still, people have tried to include me as much as possible, and I’m not just referring to the rides.

Quakers seem more open-minded, believing they can make a difference in this world. This seems to attract a lot of neurodiverse individuals: people who long for a fairer world. However, even in meeting, the predominant mindset is still neurotypical. 

Let’s get back to that Saturday, and I’ll show you what I mean. The person hosting the event called and talked to me ahead of time about how they could help make the event more accessible for me. Having a clear picture of what to expect usually helps alleviate anxiety. Why? Delayed processing makes it difficult to adapt quickly to unknowns, which can lead to frustration and meltdowns. Although meltdowns are a physiological response controlled by the autonomic nervous system, like our heartbeat or digestive system, having them in public is still embarrassing. If I am going somewhere new, where I don’t know people, and can’t predict what will happen or how people will react, it can make me not want to leave home. Having a point person to answer my questions and help me plan around potential problems ahead of time allows me to participate more fully. 

After arriving at the house on Saturday, we were ushered to the back door—one of the accommodations arranged beforehand. The main entrance, where everyone else was headed, had a lot of stairs that I couldn’t climb. I had recently aggravated my ankle, which I had injured earlier in the year, and was wearing a medical boot. Spatial and body awareness issues make me clumsy; I get injured more often than the “average” person. Without planning ahead, I would have tried to go through the main entrance with everyone else, gotten frustrated, had a hard time switching to an alternate plan, and might not have been able to enjoy the rest of the night. But by planning ahead, I ended up having a great time. 

When I entered the house, I could smell the delicious chocolate chip cookies and other snacks. Most places, I can’t eat what everyone else does because I have a gluten-free diet. They had plenty of snacks here that I could actually eat. They also had food for people who were dairy-free, vegan, or who couldn’t have nuts. It can be tricky catering to so many different dietary needs, but they did an amazing job.  

I started talking with the host and other people I know, proudly announcing that I had just started my own business: Nettleton Writing&Editing. Because of insistent productivity and not being able to do things in the same way as others, I cannot even get what people think of as an “easy” job, like bagging groceries or working in a sheltered workshop—not for long, anyway. However, I am highly skilled and hold two degrees. I’ve figured out that though I can’t get a job, I can create one, with the right support. Some of this support comes simply from knowing that people at meeting are cheering me on. Other times, it means more practical support, like one of the ladies I talked with that evening who offered to come over for an hour to help me learn more about using social media. 

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

I haven’t had as much opportunity as others to interact with the world and its current technology because I haven’t had access. Some neurodivergent people struggle and blend into the world despite the cost. Others, like me, can’t—no matter how hard they try. And those who can’t are often segregated from society: shuffled into hospitals, day programs, and group homes. At least, the “lucky ones” are. Others end up homeless, in jail, or dead. Resources and opportunities are scarce. 

That’s just how the world is. I have heard this phrase uttered often, usually after an injustice of some kind has occurred. It makes me want to bring the speaker along to a Quaker space, like this Saturday get-together. Maybe the people who quote that phrase find their world to be the way it is because it’s too small, too big, maybe too quiet, or too painfully loud. There must be a reason behind such black-and-white thinking, right? Most neurotypicals seem to get defensive and spew trite phrases when someone questions them about norms. They have extremely rigid social expectations and are terrified of change. They are very sensitive, poor things. They also have a way of turning simple problems into complex ones. They do not seem to recognize that in the social world, it’s people who create “how the world is.”

Quakers seem more open-minded, believing they can make a difference in this world. This seems to attract a lot of neurodiverse individuals: people who long for a fairer world. However, even in meeting, the predominant mindset is still neurotypical. Cultural misunderstandings and conflicts can and do occur, usually with one or both sides being unaware of what the problem is. They can’t see things from the other’s perspective. I’ve been told that not being able to see things from another’s perspective is an autism trait. However, almost any trait can be flipped on its head; they are all human traits.

So, looking up at a wider horizon, my Easter hope is this article will have been read and utilized: opening perspectives about neurodiversity that will help changes in our Quaker communities hop along a little faster. 

After I sat down and started nibbling on my gluten-free goodies, I struck up a conversation with someone I didn’t know, a young lady going into a mental health field. I stated that I do not believe our current mental health system is good for either patients or providers. After going around and around about our differing opinions, we came to the conclusion that we agreed that the system has issues, but we were at odds on how to go about solving the problem. I proposed large system changes—a complete paradigm shift. To me, shuffling things about in hopes of creating change is like moving furniture around and redecorating a house instead of addressing the crumbling foundation. Neurotypicals seem to avoid major system changes as if they would be the end of the world. 

Sitting in the car and waiting to go home, it struck me as to why neurotypicals seem to have such difficulty conceptualizing major social changes, whereas I have trouble with changes in daily routine. As someone who is autistic, I’m a detail-oriented person. I see an up-close picture of life; that’s my world. Neurotypicals tend to see things on a broader scale. They have phrases like “that’s just a detail,” because altering one thing doesn’t change the whole picture for them. Change something as big as a system though, and that picture alters. The world they know disappears. 

What does this insight have to do with Quaker meeting? Whether neurodiverse or neurotypical, we need to understand that people will react poorly when someone says or does something that threatens or invalidates their worldview. It can make one feel frustrated and alone. We need to seek out the angles where our neurological-based worldviews can be seen in the same frame—so we can shift that frame together. What’s in a world is determined by the connection people have with one another. Over time, we can learn different ways to change our internal lens and create new relationships. Yet, if we are so scared that we can’t let go of our own perspective, connections get confused, even severed. However, like the spring, there is always hope. No matter how confused or frustrated we get with someone who doesn’t share our worldview, as long as we don’t give up we will never fail one another. 

I wrapped my scarf around me a little tighter in the chilly car as a myriad of thoughts and emotions from the evening swirled around me. No, I thought, the swirl was too big to have accumulated so quickly. I just hadn’t seen it amassing. It had taken seven years of attending meeting and building relationships with those present to make tonight a possibility. 

After arriving home, taking off my shoes, and setting down my sunglasses, headphones, and weighted backpack, I remembered the email with upcoming writing opportunities for Friends Journal. I was tired and wanted to ignore this nagging reminder, but I couldn’t. I needed to write about that night for the neurodiversity issue. Christmas hadn’t yet passed, but my mind was leaping ahead to March and to Easter in April. While many Quakers aren’t big on holidays, they are a necessary part of keeping track of my life. Holidays are growth markers. They give me a sense of time, another important type of relationship: a perspective that can get lost when someone is buried too deep in the details of day-to-day living. So, looking up at a wider horizon, my Easter hope is this article will have been read and utilized: opening perspectives about neurodiversity that will help changes in our Quaker communities hop along a little faster.

The post Shifting System Paradigms Together appeared first on Friends Journal.

Everything rumored about March is true.
You brute month, you howling monster month. 

          Iron-willed March, intractable March,
          you will bend a knee. You will give way.

April could only be the cruelest if there were no March.
We’re worn down from climate change’s ferocity: 

          the heaping snowy mounds that came this year
          and its bitter cold.

We’ve done our duty like good soldiers.
We’ve weathered the unthinkable. 

          We ring hands in anticipation, rub them together
          as if there’s a fire near to warm them, 

and know no matter how brutal March comes in,
there’s sure to be May and June—

          and roses blooming near the doorstep. Then March
          will be nothing more than a memory fading.

The post Early March appeared first on Friends Journal.

From a conversation with her ten-year-old autistic grandson.

Imagine what you would feel like
if you did not exist.

What would you feel like if you were dead?
Would you still feel like you were there?
But how could you feel if you did not exist?
It’s hard to explain.

If you and Grandpa had not married,
would I have been born to strangers?
Or, if you and Grandpa had not married,
would I have been born at all?
Would I exist?

If you’re dead, you’re gone.
What would you feel like if you were gone?
Would you think or have feelings?
It’s so hard to explain.
I don’t think you understand
what I’m trying to say, Grandma.

If there was nothing when God didn’t yet create the world,
how would you be there?
If you weren’t born yet,
how would you be there?
Imagine not being there
and not being able to think.
It’s not possible ’cause nothing can change that.
You would still be able to think and stuff.
It’s just weird.

No one knows what if feels like to be dead
because when you’re dead you can’t come back and tell people.

I started to think about this since kindergarten.
When I think really really big,
my brain hurts.

I’ve got a huge suggestion for the Bible:
They should make it easier to understand.

The smallest word with the most complex meaning
is God.

The post Peter Wonders about Death and Other Stuff appeared first on Friends Journal.

(1)
I am often left
empty of words,
language is of little use.
Why does Crow
speak better
of such matters?
Prayer comes easy to him
(perhaps it’s the black feathers?),
I wear a gray woolen coat,
yet, I remain silent,
saying nothing.

(2)
I’ve been asking
un-answerable questions,
where did it all go,
all that was once beautiful
gone leaving no trace?

(3)
Crow flies off,
I follow with my eyes,
Coming to rest
on a high bare branch.
Crow looks to the west,
I turn my head
& see the gray clouds
building as snow
begins to fall.

(4)
Crow is behind
a white vail,
not even his silhouette remains.
Turning, I walk home
following tracks
left by Fox
& finding at my door
yellow Spring flowers,
in full glorious bloom
cradled by newly
fallen snow.

The post Praying with Crow appeared first on Friends Journal.

Discovering nature again

“The Delight of Being Alive” is one of the most beautiful and insightful reflections I’ve read in a very long time (by Gail Melix/Greenwater, FJ Feb.). Thank you for sharing your wisdom and that of your ancestors. It resonated with me.

Kim Moore
Cape May, N.J.

This article spoke to my heart. Years ago I heard a minister talk about a God of society and a God of Nature. The idea of a “God of Nature” resonated with me. The minister spoke of the Native Americans having a God of Nature. This helps define the “Light” for me as a Quaker. Thanks for the article, Gail.

Barry Simon
Middleborough, Mass.

Thank you. I read this as ministry, coming when I needed to receive it.

Harvey Gillman
Rye, UK

I enjoyed this story of discovering nature again and the overturning of injustice from the Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. I have special feelings for Indigenous members of tribes.

I am also a Quaker from Durango (Colo.) Meeting. I found peace of mind in nature and my love for animals. I’m not an Indigenous person, but as a young child, the outdoors was where I was the happiest. I learned over the years, in talking with the elders and working with members of various tribes, their honor of the land and nature has been embraced in my thoughts. Your writing about “what we love we protect” is so on target, but unfortunately, many are going too fast to realize what they missed.

I worked for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs in Native American Programs for 20 years in Phoenix, Ariz. I was the Southwest coordinator for resident initiatives, region 9. Before that, I was the executive director of housing at Ute Mountain Ute Housing in Towaoc, Colo.

ET Dahl
Ocala, Fla.

Thank you so much for this beautiful reflection. It resonates deeply with me, especially now in this difficult time.

Pat Johnson
Candler, N.C.

Thank you so much for this article. It spoke to my condition.

Lauri Perman
Saint Paul, Minn.

Thank you for this beautiful account and invitation to follow your example to connect more intimately with nature.

Marcelle Martin
Chester, Pa.

The other side of the chasm

Is it right to regard anything as outside our sphere of action (“On the Use of Despair” by Amanda Franklin, FJ Feb.)? Prayer connects us with an omnipotent God, and Christ said, “You do not receive, only because you do not ask.” There is a time for waiting in stillness, but also, when moved by the Spirit, a place for vocal prayer, which has been a part of Quaker ministry from the beginning.

Clive Gordon
Sutton Coldfield, UK

I am also a psychotherapist. In the last month, a day has not gone by that I don’t hear from clients who are scared, angry, and despairing. LGBT folks, people reliant on Medicare or Medicaid, women who fear we are taking a major step backward, and the list goes on. I catch myself trying to alleviate their pain, but this article helps me see that sometimes I just have to be in that darkness with them. It is surely not an easy thing to do, but Franklin makes the point well, that it is the faithful thing to do. It is compelling for me that sometimes my clients google me and discover that I’m Quaker and have theological training. Now more than ever, they come with questions about faith in the midst of their despair, and this article has helped me formulate a way to approach those questions and those people. I am thankful for Amanda Franklin’s words.

Geoffrey Knowlton
Hyannis, Mass.

Listening to understand other views prevents unpleasant surprises, moves us beyond divisive and exclusionary politics, and refocuses us on core ideals of God’s infinite equal love and forgiveness for all, so we build our lives on solid bedrock.

We changed our Constitution many times before to include more people in our governments, and we can do it again, so women, minorities, disabled, dependent, Indigenous, etc., can all be better represented after every election at the executive decision table with a seat, voice, and vote. The Swiss have already proved this executive power model is viable. Are we willing to share power with our neighbors?

George Gore
Chicago area, Ill.

Building relationships across politics

Thank you for “Rhapsody in Purple” by Kat Griffith (FJ Feb.). Her experience chimes with some of mine, as I canvassed here in the United Kingdom as part of Greenpeace’s Climate Vote initiative. We were (carefully) not promoting a particular party or candidate. Once people realised this and that we weren’t asking for money, almost all who had time were keen to talk. Many had clearly not been listened to on the subject before, and most didn’t think they could do anything about it. But we explained that if they could vote, they could look at the party manifestos and their candidates and see which of their policies might address their concerns. Greenpeace could send them a briefing about this when the manifestos came out.

It was really heartwarming to see people make connections between their own actions, politics, and things (places, people, creatures) that they were really concerned about. Even the Seventh-day Adventist who was looking forward to the end of the world was grateful for the conversation!

Not only is this kind of activity helping build community but it also helps give people confidence in their own judgment, which is being rapidly undermined by social media, accelerated by AI.

Linda Murgatroyd
London, UK

Wow, Kat, you are truly an inspiration and a peacemaker!

Joe Mayer
Burnsville, Minn.

Online: Kat Griffith discusses her article in a video interview at Friendsjournal.org/kat-griffith.

Meetings using money

Yet another use for our money came to me as I was reading your insightful stories on how meetings use money in the January issue of Friends Journal. In a word: outreach. We want to spread Quaker principles and practices to more people.

Here are some ways that come immediately to mind: post directional signs on the major streets nearby; adopt a street in your community, which usually entitles you to a sign posted on that street saying something like this to passing motorists; make sure the sign in front of your meetinghouse is conspicuous; design and print bookmarks, which you can distribute through your public library; host public events that draw others to your meetinghouse.

Tom Louderback
Louisville, Ky. 

Starting conversations

David Brooks’s advice is very similar to the way great salespeople I have known build relationships with customers (Review of How to Know a Person by David Brooks, reviewed by Kathleen Jenkins, FJ Jan.). It takes real effort and commitment. I suspect that’s why most of us don’t start conversations with strangers. The other reason is fear that the stranger will turn the conversation around to us. Here is a simple technique we use every day to keep the conversation about the stranger. It’s called the reverse: answer the question with a question of your own. Ever have this conversation with the checkout clerk at the grocery store? They ask, “How are you today?” And you answer, “Fine, thank you. How about you?” See, I bet you have done that many times in your life.

Don Crawford
Monteverde, Costa Rica

Breaking out of old roles

In the 1980s I worked in Philadelphia at a small agency whose role was to intervene in large-scale interracial and cultural disputes (“Lessons from My Quaker Ancestors and the People They Enslaved” by Os Cresson, FJ Feb.). I was sent one day to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Although I was a White person born and raised in diverse places, I had never experienced anything like rural Maryland. It appeared that either you lived in a wood shanty or an enormous new luxury home, depending on your racial identity. As part of my work, I met people in their houses of worship and schools. The disparities were shocking, and the sense of never being able to escape social conditions and old patterns was still so strong. The people I met while working there were mostly very hospitable, even inviting me to their Wednesday evening AME church with them (I went). When I went home after a few days, I had the sense that we all had just played old, old roles once more.

Anonymous
Philadelphia area, Pa.

Thanks for this beautiful and eye opening testimony to native awareness of that natural wellness of spirituality within us all!

Eve
Delaware County, Pa.

Forum letters should be sent with the writer’s name and address to forum@friendsjournal.org. Each letter is limited to 300 words and may be edited for length and clarity. Because of space constraints, we cannot publish every letter. Letters can also be left as comments on individual articles on Friendsjournal.org.

The post Forum, March 2025 appeared first on Friends Journal.

How Trump’s Win Convinced Me I’m Quaker

There is something afoot in these times of great political turbulence that is inviting us to connect with greater Spirit.

I’ve been knee-deep in resistance to the Trump administration well before he took office on January 20. In 2020 I cofounded Choose Democracy to train thousands of people in how to stop a coup after Trump said he might reject unfavorable election results—which he did. Following Trump’s 2024 win and now his and Musk’s coup, I’ve been encouraging diverse responses: from tax resistance to developing community groups to observing ICE to defending civic institutions to long-term visioning. It’s going to take a big, wide net of strategies and tactics to resist their authoritarian takeover, but even more than that, I’m sensing many of us are going through an inner transformation as well.

In the days right after Trump’s election last November, my article “10 Ways to Be Prepared and Grounded Now that Trump Has Won” for Waging Nonviolence went viral. It quickly reached over a million views, and I got inundated with interview and coaching requests.

Most of the reporters I talked with were personally shaken. They weren’t just asking, What should we do? They were asking for themselves, How am I going to make it through?

I recall one interview in particular where I was asked a loaded question: given the breakdown coming, how do you hope Trump supporters get their comeuppance? It was a casually laid out question with minefields everywhere. I paused abruptly and reminded myself not to rush in. I took a step back to think about what I most wanted to convey.

I felt myself stepping back too far. Yes, I had some specific interventions to offer and approaches to share about how we need different strategies. But at a much deeper level we were entering into a time when many of our already frail systems were going to fall into greater collapse. This made me think of a quote by Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci, often translated as, “The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.” Or as Slavoj Žižek later interpreted: “Now is the time of monsters.”

What do I have to say to that?

I got nervous that I was taking too long to answer. So I gave up figuring it out and just spoke from the heart, faster than my brain could process. Just say what’s true. And here’s the first thing I said: “Look . . . I’m Quaker.”

This came as a huge shock. I have never identified as a Quaker despite my many associations: graduating from a Quaker college; studying Quakerism in graduate school; working with many Quakers and Quaker institutions; attending dozens of Quaker meetings, often before leading those gathered in a social justice workshop; and training Quaker direct action groups.

I’ve always felt proud to be among Quakers doing their thing, but no. I’ve joked about not being Quaker for a long time. I’m a lowercase friend. A friend of Friends.

I continued: “That means I believe there is that of God within every person.”

And here is where I stopped reeling and regained my footing. This statement felt deeply settled in my soul. There wasn’t mucky uncertainty; there was solid ground beneath me. I felt confident that truth would flow from it. I continued without hesitation: “So in this time ahead I want everyone—everyone—to find greater access to their inner voice and connection to the Divine. This will be a way forward for all of us.” This part felt fully aligned.

After the interview, I told my wife about how I called myself a Quaker and we laughed it off as a blip, blaming exhaustion and the deeply ungrounded moment we are in. Still somewhere inside of me I was churning. I could sense that the ground has shifted for all of us.

I didn’t realize I was so in sync with many. One week after Trump took office, an African American elder confided in me on a phone call: “Daniel, I think I’m going to need God now.” Two weeks into the presidency, a White activist with decades of successful secular campaigning told me, “I’ve never been so ungrounded. I need to find a spiritual home.” A Colombian American messaged me and said, “I need someone to regularly meditate with. I can’t make it through this with what I have.” And a wise Quaker I know admitted, “These moments are testing my faith. I need to retreat deeper into it to survive.” I knew exactly what they meant.

We are witnessing great horror, tragedy, and cruelty, as systems are forced to bend to coups and break on whims and be utterly destroyed by dictatorial fiats. This is so much greater than Trump. We’re going through not only a political crisis but a spiritual one. It’s what the Romans must have gone through as their Empire crumbled. What the Mayans felt as their people could no longer keep up their temples. Each of us may view it in our own way, but we’re all experiencing a lifting of veils and great internal upheaval.

The day after my accidental Quaker “blip,” I did another interview and was again asked a similarly tricky question. My mind felt ready this time. I won’t say I’m Quaker. I’ve already seen this question before so I’ll find a better answer. But in the moment I knew I needed to say what was true. I took a deep breath and just let my words fall away. I didn’t go chasing them. I needed to find a deeper grounding and so let myself the briefest of communion with the Spirit-that-moves-through-all-things.

“Look,” I said, “I’m Quaker. That means I believe there is that of God within every person. That means in the time ahead I want each of us to find greater access to that of the Divine inside of us. We need great wisdom for what’s ahead.”

Under the pressure of these times, a spiritual doorway opened for me. And I believe there will be many more spiritual doorways for all of us in the days ahead. I urge you to connect with your inner voice, speak your truth, and walk through.

The post These Times Are Spiritual Doorways appeared first on Friends Journal.

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Opposing immigration enforcement in houses of worship, Friends General Conference (FGC) joined an interfaith lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and two of its enforcement agencies, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Update, February 11, 2025, 2:30pm ET:

The First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, on which the suit relies, are well-established law, according to Kelsi Corkran, Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection’s Supreme Court director and lead counsel for plaintiffs.

“It’s a statement about what has always been true,” Corkran said of the lawsuit.

Other plaintiffs noted that faith-based ministries such as English as a second language classes, food distribution programs, and legal clinics have seen a drop in clients since the revocation of sensitive location protections.

Iris de León-Hartshorn, of Mennonite Church USA, pointed out that Christians believe Jesus calls them to community service. People avoiding church-based social services because they fear immigration enforcement undermines a core activity of the faith, she noted.

“It’s not just going to worship, but it’s the actual act of ministering to others,” de León-Hartshorn said.

Original story, morning of February 11, 2025:

Barry Crossno, the general secretary of FGC, said, “The suit asserts that subjecting places of worship to ICE enforcement actions without a judicial warrant substantially burdens our religious exercise in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. These enforcement actions at our places of worship interfere with our religious activities and our ability to fulfill our religious mandate to welcome and serve immigrants.”

There are 26 other Christian and Jewish denominations and community organizing associations among the plaintiffs, including Baptist, Brethren, Mennonite, Methodist, and Unitarian Universalist, based in 12 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, with some being national bodies. The suit was filed Tuesday, February 11, by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Since 2011, ICE agents have been restricted from arresting, interrogating, searching, or surveilling people in such places as meetinghouses, churches, mosques, synagogues, schools, and hospitals.

Protections for individuals without legal status at sensitive locations included exceptions for cases involving national security hazards, terrorism, and imminent threats of death or violence, according to DHS.

The Trump administration rescinded the previous protections on January 20.

FGC learned of ICAP’s suit from Christie Duncan-Tessmer, general secretary of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, which is a plaintiff in a separate suit also against DHS filed on January 27, shortly before a previously scheduled meeting of the FGC Executive Committee. Executive Committee members discussed the litigation’s basis, the previously filed suit, how FGC member meetings were affected by DHS rescinding the guidance, as well as concerns for meetings working with immigrants and asylum seekers, Crossno explained. The discernment process led the group to clarity about joining the suit.

“FGC is very fortunate there were meetings who mobilized, discerned, and committed within a handful of days,” Crossno said.

FGC staff contacted leaders of member yearly meetings to find monthly meetings and churches that would formally state the risks immigration enforcement posed to their congregations, Crossno explained. The statements had to come from congregations who were not plaintiffs in the previous lawsuit. The attestations by Friends in Pacific Yearly Meeting, Intermountain Yearly Meeting, Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association, and South Central Yearly Meeting supported the lawsuit, according to Crossno.

DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to a Tuesday request for comment on the current litigation.

This is a developing story, originally published February 11, 2025. Please check frequently for updates.

The post Friends General Conference Joins over Two Dozen Religious Groups in New Immigration Lawsuit appeared first on Friends Journal.

Read in English

Oponiéndose a la aplicación de las leyes migratorias en los lugares de culto, la Conferencia General de Amigos (FGC) se unió a una demanda interreligiosa contra el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de los EE. UU.  (DHS por sus siglas en inglés) y dos de sus  agencias de aplicación, la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (CBP por sus siglas en inglés) y el Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en inglés).

Actualización, por la tarde del 11 de febrero de 2025

La Primera Enmienda y la Ley de Restauración de la Libertad Religiosa, en las que se basa la demanda, son leyes bien establecidas, según Kelsi Corkran, directora del programa ante la Corte Suprema del ICAP y abogada principal de los demandantes.

“Es una declaración de lo que siempre ha sido cierto”, dijo Corkran sobre la demanda.

Otros demandantes señalaron que los ministerios religiosos, como las clases de inglés como segundo idioma, los programas de distribución de alimentos y las clínicas legales, han visto una disminución en el número de clientes desde la revocación de las protecciones de ubicaciones sensibles.

La Rev. Iris de León-Hartshorn, de la Iglesia Menonita de EE. UU., indicó que los cristianos creen que Jesús los llama al servicio comunitario. Las personas quienes evitan los servicios sociales de las iglesias porque temen que la aplicación de las leyes de inmigración socave una actividad central de la fe, señaló.

“No se trata simplemente de la adoración, sino que es el acto real de ministrar a los demás”, dijo León-Hartshorn.

Historia original 11/02/2025:

Barry  Crossno, secretario general de la FGC, dijo: “La demanda afirma que someter los lugares de culto a las acciones de control del ICE sin una orden judicial supone una carga sustancial para nuestro ejercicio religioso, en violación de la Primera Enmienda y la Ley de Restauración de la Libertad Religiosa. Estas acciones de control en nuestros lugares de culto interfieren con nuestras actividades religiosas y nuestra capacidad de cumplir con nuestro mandato religioso de dar la bienvenida y servir a los inmigrantes”.

Entre los demandantes hay otras 26 denominaciones cristianas y judías y asociaciones de organización comunitaria, entre ellas bautistas, hermanos, menonitas, metodistas y unitarias universalistas, que representan a 12 estados de los EE. UU. y al Distrito de Columbia (D.C.), y algunos organismos nacionales. La demanda fue presentada el martes 11 de febrero por el Instituto para la Defensa y Protección Constitucional (ICAP por sus siglas en inglés) de la Universidad de Georgetown en Washington, D.C.

Desde 2011, a los agentes del ICE se les ha prohibido arrestar, interrogar, registrar o vigilar a personas en lugares como templos, iglesias, mezquitas, sinagogas, escuelas y hospitales.

Las protecciones para personas sin estatus legal en lugares sensibles incluían excepciones para casos que involucraban peligros para la seguridad nacional, terrorismo y amenazas inminentes de muerte o violencia, según el DHS.

La administración Trump rescindió las protecciones anteriores el 20 de enero .

La FGC se enteró de la demanda de ICAP a través de Christie Duncan-Tessmer, secretaria general de la Junta Anual de Filadelfia, que es demandante en una demanda aparte también contra el DHS presentada el 27 de enero, poco antes de una reunión previamente programada del Comité Ejecutivo de la FGC. Los miembros del Comité Ejecutivo discutieron la base del litigio, la demanda presentada anteriormente, cómo las juntas en la membresía de la FGC se vieron afectadas por la rescisión de la guía por parte del DHS, así como las preocupaciones por las reuniones que se realizan con inmigrantes y solicitantes de asilo, explicó Crossno. El proceso de discernimiento llevó al grupo a tener claridad sobre unirse a la demanda.

“FGC tiene mucha suerte de que haya habido juntas que se movilizaron, discernieron y se comprometieron en cuestión de unos pocos días”, dijo Crossno.

El personal de la FGC se puso en contacto con los líderes de las juntas anuales de sus miembros para encontrar juntas mensuales e iglesias que declararan formalmente los riesgos que la aplicación de la ley de inmigración representaba para sus congregaciones, explicó Crossno. Las declaraciones tenían que provenir de congregaciones que no eran demandantes en la demanda anterior. Las declaraciones de los Amigos en la Junta Anual del Pacífico, la Junta Anual de Entremontañas, la Junta Anual y Asociación de Apalachia del Sur y la Junta Anual de Sur Central respaldaban la demanda, según Crossno.

DHS e ICE no respondieron de inmediato a una solicitud de comentarios el martes sobre el litigio actual.

Esta es una historia en desarrollo, publicada originalmente el 11 de febrero de 2025. Revísela con frecuencia para ver las actualizaciones.

The post La Conferencia General de Amigos (FGC por sus siglas en inglés) se une a más de dos docenas de grupos religiosos en una nueva demanda de inmigración appeared first on Friends Journal.

After nearly a month of blazes, firefighters contained the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles County, Calif., as of Friday, January 31, The New York Times reported. At least 29 people died in the infernos, which charred about 58 square miles of land according to USA Today. The Eaton Fire consumed more than 9,000 structures, according to USA Today. The Palisades Fire destroyed more than 6,000 structures, The New York Times reported. Most of the structures lost were homes. Both fires began burning on January 7 and are under investigation, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Several Quakers in the area lost their homes and possessions. Other Friends did not suffer material losses but found themselves emotionally shaken by the wildfires. Quakers have offered each other practical and spiritual support in the wake of the fires.

Dan Strickland, a member of Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena, Calif., stayed with his wife in the library of the meetinghouse after their home burned down. A parent of a student at Friends Western School (FWS), an elementary school in Pasadena, offered to let the couple rent a furnished apartment attached to the parent’s house for as long as needed.

“This was a real life-saver for us,” Strickland said of the offer of housing.

FWS staff and others organized a clothing distribution to benefit people who had lost homes and belongings in the fire, according to Strickland. Friends from the meeting tended the clothing racks.

Mayan dancers who were friends and relatives of a staff member at FWS performed at the clothing distribution to increase the event’s public visibility, according to Strickland. Many people in the fire zone as well as neighbors of the meetinghouse are from traditional Mayan areas.

Mayan dancers perform at a clothing distribution event for wildfire survivors that was a collaborative effort between staff of Friends Western School and Orange Grove Meeting, both in Pasadena, Calif. Photo by Dan Strickland.

To determine whether meeting members and attenders were safe, Orange Grove Meeting’s Pastoral Care Committee clerk Gary Bagwell used email, text, and Facebook to contact Friends who got in touch with others from the meeting. Bagwell also received a reassuring call from meeting Friends in Bombay, India, where they were traveling. One person whose house was in the center of the fire zone, and who does not use a cell phone, was initially unaccounted for.

“I actually went down to a refugee center looking for her,” Bagwell said.

A new attender of the meeting found a Facebook post by the woman’s children and Bagwell learned that she was 47 miles away from the fire area staying with relatives.

One of the people whose house burned down came to the meetinghouse kitchen after the fire and asked to reclaim mugs they had donated. The person explained that the mugs were a link to the past after losing all their possessions, according to Bagwell.

Friends from outside the meeting offered to convene meetings for healing but members and attenders were not prepared to participate in such meetings for at least the first week after the calamity, according to Bagwell. The meeting established a fund to share money with Friends directly impacted by the fire.

One member and one attender from Santa Monica (Calif.) Meeting also lost homes in the fire, according to Kate Watkins, clerk of the meeting’s Pastoral Care Committee. Some homes remained undamaged even though the dwellings all around them were burned down. One person who lost their home stayed with meeting members before renting an apartment. Everyone in the meeting has experienced trauma whether or not they have also lost homes or possessions.

“We are all fire survivors,” Watkins said.

Santa Monica Meeting’s Pastoral Care Committee and Worship and Ministry Committee met to review opportunities for Friends to donate and volunteer to assist people impacted by the wildfires. In the weeks since the fires, members and attenders have reached out to the meeting to request practical help.

The Pastoral Care Committee has primarily focused on addressing members’ and attenders’ spiritual needs, Watkins explained. People are frightened and shaken. The first Sunday after the fire, the meeting canceled meeting for worship with attention to business so Friends could meet for a longer period of worship. The meeting for worship lasted about an hour and a half. During the long period for sharing joys and sorrows, Friends spoke about fire-related trauma. The gathered worshipers sang the spiritual “There Is a Balm in Gilead.” Friends also convened indoors that day for a shared meal with the tables placed close together.

The first meeting for worship at Orange Grove Meeting in Pasadena after the fire was filled with Friends’ stories of the trauma of living through a natural disaster, Bagwell noted. One person was trapped in their house as it burned and they had to escape on foot.

“The pain of loss is huge,” Bagwell said.

Watkins searched for advices on responding to natural disasters but found none. She did find some advices on community to which she referred. Friends would benefit from Quaker-led workshops on responding to mass trauma as well as from advices about promoting spiritual support among survivors of calamity, Watkins noted.

Pastoral care involves ongoing mutual support, according to Watkins. Lack of such support can dramatically magnify suffering.

“God works through us so if ‘us’ isn’t there, I think it can be terrible,” Watkins said. “We are the Divine’s hands.”

Bagwell consistently relies on his belief in the oneness of God to sustain him and continued this reliance when responding to fire survivors. Natural disasters do not impact Bagwell’s relationship to the Divine. Such occurrences as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions stem from magma moving under the earth’s crust and do not have a supernatural cause, Bagwell noted. Bagwell does not believe in a vengeful God.

“I don’t have a sense of the divine personality,” Bagwell said.

Natural disasters are an exception to Friends Journal’s typical ethical restrictions on soliciting donations for sources. Here are some options to support those impacted by the fires:

• To donate to help Orange Grove Meeting Friends impacted by the fires, send a check to: Orange Grove Meeting, Jane Krause, Treasurer, 520 E Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91104; or send money via Zelle to treasurer@ogmm.org.
• To donate to help Santa Monica Meeting Friends impacted by the fires, send a check to: Treasurer, Santa Monica Meeting, 1440 Harvard St, Santa Monica, CA 90404. In the description line, please put “Fire relief.”
• Friends Western School has created an Amazon Wishlist for replacing items damaged in the Eaton fires and purchasing other supplies. Another way to support the school and some of the extra costs is to donate to the annual fund through their website.

The post ‘We Are All Fire Survivors’: Southern California Friends Support Each Other Through Loss, Trauma appeared first on Friends Journal.

Read in English

Sharlee Di Menichi

Los cuáqueros están demandando al Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos (DHS por sus siglas en inglés) para evitar las posibles redadas de inmigración en lugares de culto. Los demandantes incluyen la Junta Anual de Filadelfia, la Junta Anual de Nueva Inglaterra, la Junta Anual de Baltimore, la Junta Mensual de Adelphi (Md.) y la Junta Mensual de Richmond (Va.). La demanda sostiene que la libertad religiosa de los demandantes es violada por la rescisión del 20 de enero [sólo en inglés] por la administración Trump de protecciones para personas sin estatus legal en «lugares sensibles», como lugares de culto. 

Actualización, por la tarde del 24 de febrero de 2025: Medida Cautelar Preliminar

El 24 de febrero, el juez del distrito federal de EE.UU. Theodore Chuang concedió una medida cautelar preliminar  [solo en inglés] para los demandantes en el caso, pero no llegó a prohibir la aplicación de la ley de inmigración en todos los lugares de culto en todo el país. El juez señaló que los cuáqueros en la demanda expresaron su preocupación de que tener agentes armados del DHS cerca de los templos violaría las convicciones pacifistas de los Amigos. El juez también señaló que el testimonio de igualdad y de ver lo de Dios en todos, independientemente de su estatus migratorio, son fundamentales para las creencias cuáqueras. El juez señaló que el DHS estaba obligado a explicar cómo la nueva política promueve un “interés estatal imperioso” que no podría promoverse a través de medios menos restrictivos, pero que el gobierno no ofreció tal explicación. La orden judicial impide la aplicación de la ley de inmigración en los lugares de culto de los demandantes mientras continúa la demanda.

Actualizado el 10/02/25. Los cuáqueros de Nueva Inglaterra explican su participación:

El secretario de la Junta Anual de Nueva Inglaterra (NEYM por sus siglas en inglés), Noah Merrill, señaló que al tomar la decisión urgente de unirse a la demanda, él y otros al nivel de la junta anual discernieron basándose en las pautas de un minuto del 2015 [sólo en inglés] para responder a asuntos urgentes.

NEYM ha recibido el apoyo de otros cristianos, así como de comunidades de sikhs, musulmanes y judíos, según Merrill. En todo el país, juntas mensuales, juntas anuales y otras entidades cuáqueras han respaldado la demanda adoptando actas, ofreciéndose a convertirse en demandantes y expresando su voluntad de presentar escritos amicus curiae, señaló Merrill.

Un escrito amicus curiae lo presentan entidades que no están directamente involucradas en una demanda pero que tienen un interés convincente en el resultado.

La demanda representa la respuesta discernida de los cuáqueros a una situación política difícil.

“Seguimos viendo los frutos del Espíritu que surgen de esta acción y oramos para que este pequeño paso pueda ser un estímulo (para los Amigos y muchos más) en estos tiempos difíciles que nos han tocado. Estamos agradecidos por los Amigos que nos mantendrán en oración en los próximos días, semanas y meses mientras la demanda y el caos que surge en respuesta continúan desarrollándose”, dijo Merrill.

Historia original 27/01/2025:

Desde 2011, los agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE por sus siglas en ingles) han sido restringidos de arrestar, interrogar, registrar o vigilar a personas en lugares como iglesias, mezquitas, sinagogas, escuelas y hospitales. 

La demanda afirma que la aplicación de la ley de inmigración dentro y alrededor de los lugares de culto viola el derecho de los fieles a la libertad de religión consagrado en la Primera Enmienda.

«El núcleo de la demanda sostiene que si las protecciones del ejercicio religioso significan algo según la ley, debe incluir el derecho de las personas a reunirse para el culto. Si el gobierno va a impedir ese derecho, debe tener una muy buena razón para hacerlo. El gobierno no ha aplicado la ley de inmigración en los lugares de culto durante al menos los últimos 31 años, por lo que es difícil ver cómo un cambio radical en esa política podría satisfacer un nivel significativo de revisión», según una declaración en el sitio web de la Junta Anual de Filadelfia (PYM).

Los consejos de la junta anual se reunieron y fácilmente llegaron a un acuerdo para convertirse en demandantes de la demanda, según la secretaria general del PYM, Christie Duncan-Tessmer. Inmediatamente antes de que se presentara la demanda, los secretarios presidentes de las juntas mensuales y trimestrales se reunieron para escuchar la noticia y también se mostraron entusiasmados y solidarios.

«Todo se movió a la velocidad de la luz. Para los estándares cuáqueros, fue impresionante», dijo Duncan-Tessmer.

Representantes de las Juntas Anuales de Filadelfia, Baltimore, y Nueva Inglaterra trabajaron con abogados de Democracy Forward, el grupo legal sin fines de lucro que presentó la demanda, a mediados de la semana pasada, según Duncan-Tessmer. La demanda fue presentada ante el Tribunal de Distrito de los Estados Unidos para el Distrito de Maryland el 27 de enero.

La experiencia histórica de persecución religiosa de los Amigos motivó a los cuáqueros modernos a unirse a la demanda, según Duncan-Tessmer. William Penn protegió la libertad de religión en la Carta de Privilegios. Ella explicó que los redactores de la Constitución de EEUU se basaron en esta tradición para consagrar la libertad religiosa en la Primera Enmienda. La Primera Enmienda fue ratificada en 1791. La Constitución fue ratificada entre 1787 y 1789.

«Es por eso que tenemos libertad de religión en este país gracias a los cuáqueros», dijo Duncan-Tessmer.

Las protecciones para personas sin estatus legal en lugares sensibles incluyeron excepciones para casos que involucran peligros para la seguridad nacional, terrorismo y amenazas inminentes de muerte o violencia, según el DHS.

«El Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas no hace comentarios sobre litigios en curso», dijo un portavoz de ICE.

Esta es una historia en desarrollo. Por favor busque con frecuencia las actualizaciones.

The post Los Cuáqueros demandan al DHS a causa de la aplicación de la ley de Inmigración y la Libertad Religiosa appeared first on Friends Journal.

Leer en español

Quakers are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over potential immigration raids at houses of worship. Plaintiffs include Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, New England Yearly Meeting, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Adelphi (Md.) Meeting, and Richmond (Va.) Meeting. The suit argues that plaintiffs’ religious liberty is violated by the Trump administration’s January 20 rescindment of protections for people without legal status in “sensitive locations” such as places of worship.

Update, afternoon of February 24, 2025: Preliminary injunction

On February 24, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang granted a preliminary injunction for plaintiffs in the case but stopped short of enjoining immigration enforcement at all houses of worship nationwide. The judge noted that the Quakers in the lawsuit expressed concern that having armed DHS agents near meetinghouses would violate Friends’ pacifist convictions. The judge also pointed out that embracing the equality testimony and seeing that of God in everyone, regardless of immigration status, are central to Quaker beliefs. The judge noted that DHS was obligated to explain how the new policy advances a “compelling state interest” that could not be furthered through less restrictive means but that the government did not offer such an explanation. The injunction prevents immigration enforcement at plaintiffs houses of worship while the lawsuit continues.

Update February 10, 2025: New England Quakers explain their participation

New England Yearly Meeting (NEYM) Secretary Noah Merrill noted that when making the time-sensitive decision to join the lawsuit he and others at the yearly meeting level discerned based on guidelines in a 2015 minute on responding to urgent matters.

NEYM has received support from other Christians, as well as communities of Sikhs, Muslims, and Jews, according to Merrill. Across the country, monthly meetings, yearly meetings, and other Quaker entities, have endorsed the lawsuit by adopting minutes, offering to become plaintiffs, and expressing their willingness to file amicus briefs, Merrill noted.

An amicus brief is filed by entities that are not directly involved in a lawsuit but who have a compelling interest in the outcome.

The lawsuit represents Quakers’ discerned response to a difficult political situation.

“We continue to see the fruits of the Spirit arising from this action, and pray that this small step may be an encouragement—to Friends and many beyond—in these troubled times we have been given. We are grateful for Friends holding us in prayer in the coming days, weeks, and months as the lawsuit and the chaos in response to which arises continue to unfold,” Merrill said.

Original story, January 27, 2025

Since 2011, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been restricted from arresting, interrogating, searching, or surveilling people in such places as meetinghouses, churches, mosques, synagogues, schools, and hospitals. 

The suit states that immigration enforcement in and around houses of worship violates worshipers’ First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

“The core of the lawsuit argues that if the protections of religious exercise mean anything under the law, it must include the right of people to gather together for worship. If the government is going to impede that right, it must have a very good reason for doing so. The government has not enforced immigration law at houses of worship for at least the last 31 years, so it is difficult to see how an about-face on that policy could satisfy any meaningful level of review,” according to a statement on Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s (PYM) website.

The councils of the yearly meeting met and easily came to unity about becoming plaintiffs of the suit, according to PYM general secretary Christie Duncan-Tessmer. Immediately prior to the suit being filed the clerks of monthly and quarterly meetings gathered to hear the news and were also supportive and excited.

“Everything just moved lightning fast. By Quaker standards, it was breathtaking,” said Duncan-Tessmer.

Representatives from PYM, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, and New England Yearly Meeting worked with lawyers from Democracy Forward, the nonprofit legal group that filed the suit, in the middle of last week, according to Duncan-Tessmer. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on January 27. 

Friends’ historic experience of religious persecution motivated modern Quakers to join the lawsuit, according to Duncan-Tessmer. William Penn protected freedom of religion in the Charter of Privileges. The framers of the Constitution drew on this tradition to enshrine religious liberty in the First Amendment, she explained. The First Amendment was ratified in 1791. The Constitution was ratified between 1787 and 1789.

“That’s why we have freedom of religion in this country because of Quakers,” Duncan-Tessmer said.

Protections for individuals without legal status at sensitive locations included exceptions for cases involving national security hazards, terrorism, and imminent threats of death or violence, according to DHS.

“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not comment on ongoing litigation,” said an ICE spokesperson.

Correction: The process of PYM’s decision making and work with other yearly meetings and Democracy Forward has been clarified. We have also added a response from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

This is a developing story, originally published January 27, 2025. Please check frequently for updates.

The post Quakers Sue DHS over Immigration Enforcement and Religious Freedom [Updated] appeared first on Friends Journal.

A Quaker author chat. Kat Griffith’s article, “Rhapsody in Purple,” appears in the Feburary 2025 issue of Friends Journal.

Kat Griffith shares her passion for connecting with people through door-to-door interactions, emphasizing the rewarding nature of these conversations, even with those who hold opposing views. She recounts memorable encounters, including discussions with a man displaying a provocative political banner and a homeless veteran, highlighting the importance of human connection and understanding in bridging political divides.

Griffith stresses the significance of curiosity over outrage when approaching others, advocating for open conversations to foster empathy and reduce loneliness. She believes that these interactions can lead to meaningful relationships, regardless of political differences.

The video concludes with Griffith encouraging viewers to engage with individuals from various backgrounds, emphasizing that shared values, such as caring for family and community, can unite people despite differing beliefs.

Links:

• One Quaker’s Excellent Adventure in Politics
• Kat Griffith archive in FJ

Kat Griffith lives in Ripon, Wis., the birthplace of the Republican Party, and serves on the Fond du Lac County Board. She is a past co-clerk of Northern Yearly Meeting and worships with the small-but-mighty Winnebago Worship Group. A previous article, “One Quaker’s Excellent Adventure in Politics” (FJ June-July 2023), describes in more detail her first run for office.

The post Kat Griffith: Building Relationships Across Politics appeared first on Friends Journal.

Jharna Jahnavi, a medical student at the University of Vermont Larner School of Medicine, and the first in her family to pursue medicine as a career, credits much of her success to receiving a lot of mentoring throughout her journey. “I would not be where I am today without the support of the countless mentors and advisors in my journey. I want to give back and mentor the next generation and make sure they get the same support I did.”

When she moved from Philadelphia, a city where a majority of the population are people of color, to Burlington, Vermont, where more than 80% of the population is white, Jharna felt the change in environment acutely. Jharna found an opportunity to engage with the community and support medical education mentorship through her medical school’s Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) program and was an AHEC Scholar for the summer of 2022. Through AHEC, she was able to join their efforts of building a mentor network and providing opportunity to local high school students interested in healthcare and become deeply involved in the Health Education Resource Opportunities (HERO) program, which is designed to prepare high school students for careers in medicine.  

First, Jharna served as a HERO mentor, a fulfilling learning experience. “Being a mentor let me provide students with the kind of support I have been so lucky to receive. It also gave me more opportunity to connect with and work with young people, which is what I hope to do in my career, potentially as a pediatric physician.”

After participating in the Emerging Leaders for Liberation program, Jharna stepped up to take over one of the leadership roles from the previous students. She recruited for, coordinated, and implemented the HERO program on her medical school’s campus. Her biggest area of emphasis and drive for the program has been ensuring the program helps to empower students who might face accessibility barriers to the medical field. This includes students of color, first-generation students, students from low-income backgrounds and rural communities, and students who have immigrated or are part of immigrant families. Of primary focus in her various educational modules are social justice and social inequities in medicine. 

As Jharna prepares for the clinical component of her program, she knows that, short-term, she’ll have less time to be involved. But she’s focused on leaving it in good shape for the next student leaders, including developing age-appropriate curriculum for critical topics such as social determinants of health and social inequities in medicine, which she hopes will be in use for years to come.

 Jharna sees what she has learned as part of a lifelong commitment to mentorship, and to social justice in medicine. “I hope that I can be involved in HERO again in my career but regardless, this type of mentorship work is something I want to be working on throughout my career.” 

For Madeyson Dyce, a student at Guilford College and a participant in the Emerging Leaders for Liberation program, art creates a sense of possibility and solidarity. “When people are creating together, they’re learning about each other and connecting. When we use art to express our vision for a better world, we’re taking the first step to making that world real, and we often realize just how much we have in common.”

Madeyson has had an interest in the power of art since she was selected as a Futurist Fellow, a program that supports emerging leaders to make change through an Afrofuturist lens. When she joined the ELL program, Madeyson saw an opportunity to build on what she had learned in the fellowship and to develop opportunities for community art-making.

She also saw possibilities for social action, a way to foster solidarity among different social identities, a means of empowering marginalized people, and a way for a group to learn together about connection and intersection in social justice.

Madeyson’s first project – organizing a group of 12 students to draw a racial justice-themed work on campus on October 20 – was a major learning opportunity. “Planning was stressful. There were so many details to worry about, but seeing people working in community and growing together, it was really worth the stress. And, now we have this powerful creative work that reminds us of the work we have to do.”

As the drawing emerged, Dyce witnessed powerful learning, with the participants sharing and reflecting on what their identities, and what racial justice, meant to them. “I think this gave students a chance to seek control of their own lives and stand up against injustice.”

Dyce was particularly grateful for the support that AFSC gave her throughout the process. ELL Program Director Mariana Martinez helped Madeyson think through the project from the start, and overcome the obstacles she faced in bringing it to life.

The piece stands on the Guilford campus as an affirmation of Quaker values, like struggling for equality and working in community. And Dyce sees it as just the beginning of her work. She’s looking for new ways to embed liberatory creativity into the Guilford campus. “We have a regular paint and sip event, and I want students to think of that as an opportunity to express themselves on deeper issues. Painting flowers and clouds is nice, but what if we were expressing our identities, or painting our just and equitable future instead?” 

If Swarthmore College student Lucas Meyer-Lee has learned one thing from his Emerging Leaders for Liberation project, it’s just how dehumanizing a prison sentence can be. 

To help people understand what life is like for people living behind bars, Lucas wanted to deepen the work of Prison Radio at the nearby SCI Chester prison facility, creating connections between students and people incarcerated there. If successful, the work would give a platform to incarcerated voices, deepening relationships between those on the inside and the outside. Having previously met people like Kenjuan Congo, Jr., who is incarcerated at SCI Chester, Lucas understood that people at the facility would have plenty of stories, poetry, and political commentary to share, if he could help to get it out.

The concept was simple: the students would record the stories and perspectives of incarcerated people, then share them through existing platforms, building on Prison Radio’s existing model. However, Lucas knew that, for it to work, he needed to develop trusting and respectful relationships with people locked up at SCI Chester. 

He has faced administrative barriers every step of the way. The phone systems break. Individuals are transferred between facilities or moved between cell blocks, disrupting schedules and conversations already underway between people in SCI and Lucas. Even with incredible effort by his partner on the inside, Kenjuan, the project has been slow-going.

“Growing up a Quaker, I’ve always been opposed to U.S. mass incarceration,” said Lucas. “But now, seeing the prison-industrial complex up close, I realize all the ways it isolates people and makes them jump through hoops. I think about how frustrated I feel, struggling to maintain contact. Then I think about their families and loved ones, and how hard they must be working to stay in touch. It’s heartbreaking.”

Still, Lucas is undeterred. Inspired by some of the powerful conversations he’s already had, and with Kenjuan’s tireless work, Lucas is searching for new ways to help these individuals get their stories out. In some instances, he has used email to gather written statements; in others, he records conversations piecemeal and has individuals respond to each other’s thoughts serially. The complications have even spurred a bit of innovation: to broaden the conversation, and to show interviewees that people are paying attention and value their perspectives, he now plans to have listeners email questions. 

Strong allies have facilitated Lucas’s progress and helped him navigate the system. Prison Radio and War News Radio help people behind bars share their stories with the world; they’ve lent Lucas audio equipment, counseled him on the project, and put out audio on it. Knowing that these organizations, AFSC, and Kenjuan are standing with him has helped Lucas stay committed to the project, even in the face of all the roadblocks.

As the project grows, Lucas is excited to grow and evolve beyond Swarthmore. “Students have been integral to so many movements for change throughout history, but we have to move beyond campus to engage the broader community.” Lucas knows that it won’t be easy, but he’s ready to put in the work. 

Molly Dorgan’s relationship with her hometown of Waynesville is complicated. Growing up in the town of 10,000 people, nestled between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains in Western North Carolina, she loved the community. But, she knew she would have to leave Waynesville to chase her dreams. She worried, for herself and for her friends, that the local schools didn’t have the resources to prepare them for the journeys ahead.

Through the Emerging Leaders for Liberation program, Molly is creating educational pathways for the next generation of young people from the region. With support from AFSC, and in partnership with schools across Western North Carolina, Molly organized the Field Summit this fall to help local students overcome the financial barriers, inadequate educational structures, and cultural differences that might keep them from college.

Molly understood growing up that she had an advantage. Her parents sent her to science and math summer camps where she not only sharpened her skills but also learned how to pick a college and then apply to it and reduce the cost through scholarship and support. As she headed off to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill supported by a Morehead-Cain Scholarship, her peers in Waynesville were never far from her mind.

Molly spent her first two years at UNC putting Quaker values into action, making the campus more welcoming as an UNC DEI Fellow and diving into public service as a Buckley Public Service Scholar and a member of Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women. She also studied the factors that keep students in places like Waynesville from getting to and succeeding in the best colleges.

When she learned about the ELL program, she saw it as an opportunity to make an impact on these issues by sharing her experiences with the young people back home and helping them chase their own dreams. The event, hosted on October 22, was attended by 25 young people, and included conversations and workshops that prepared them to get to, and thrive in, college. Students gained practical knowledge and skills on building their resumes, interviewing, volunteering and mentorship, and telling their stories in college essays.

Planning the event was a learning experience for Molly, too. She was surprised by the number of professionals throughout the community who were eager to pitch in when asked. And she gained a newfound appreciation of and understanding of their career paths.

She sees the event as the spark of something that can grow in the years to come. Starting with the curriculum that she developed and the relationships she built for the event, she’s considering how to build out a local mentoring initiative and virtual library of college access and success resources for students in underfunded rural schools.  Molly says, “I want every young person in the area to know that people want them to succeed and can help them succeed. Together we can build a network that supports them.”