In yesterday’s post, we revisited a letter from the late Friend Alan Robinson on making some sense of the controversy over SAYMA paying Sharon Smith for her “ministry” on racism among Quakers. He proposed applying the test in Jesus’ parable (in Luke 6:43-45) about judging trees by their fruits. One of the “trees” targeted by … Continue reading SAYMA and Smith: “Judging the Fruits” by Their Own Words
Over the past decade, I’ve witnessed and reported on the breakup of five U.S. Yearly Meetings. This “assignment” was at best unpleasant, and often disheartening. After the fifth schism, I had hoped the ugly epidemic was over. But now there’s a possible Number Six. A showdown for it is coming on July 20. The previous … Continue reading SAYMA Showdown: Another Yearly Meeting Split?
So– the City of Charleston South Carolina wasted no time. After the City Council voted unanimously on June 23, 2020 to take down its landmark monument to John C. Calhoun, a crew swung into action, starting at near midnight. It was no small task to pluck the figure from its 100-foot pedestal. It took the … Continue reading Quaker Statues Have to Go? That’s What George Fox Said . . .
Just read a very striking piece by E. J. Dickson in Rolling Stone. It says the “Cancel Cops Crusade,” in order to root out systemic police racism, killings & impunity, also has to take down the media images of the police. Even — especially– those of the “good cop.” Why? because the problem isn’t “bad … Continue reading Cancel Cops, Cancel ALL Cop Shows, NO Exceptions. And Cancel Quakers Too?
It didn’t look or feel like lighting the fuse to a load of dynamite. But that’s what West Richmond Friends Meeting in Indiana did in June 2008 when they added a minute to their website. They placed the post without fanfare. But the fuse, once lit, sputtered and flashed for several years, and the … Continue reading Indiana Trainwreck: Trauma in Midwestern Quakerdom