Aftermath — Part 2 Amelia Boynton was my landlady in Selma, Alabama. She was also a prominent local civil fights activist, one of the handful of Black Selmians who had managed to badger her way onto the voting rolls despite segregation. When she was knocked out cold on Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge during the “Bloody … Continue reading Aftermath — Part 2: A Constant Struggle
In case any liberal U. S. Friends haven’t yet noticed, FGC (aka Friends General Conference) is flailing. Its crowning event, the annual Gathering, is on life support; the prognosis is grave. As at Balmoral Castle a week or so ago, key “family” members are gathered: some keeping vigil at the bedside, as others huddle over … Continue reading FGC: Can This Quaker Gathering Be Saved?
An Excerpt From, “What Church Splits Can Teach Us About a Dividing America,” Russell Moore, in Christianity Today: “I asked a pastor of a large Methodist congregation what took the churches in the denomination so long to figure out that they must go in different directions. He responded, “You are looking at this wrong, and … Continue reading Russell Moore on Current U. S. Church splits, and their wider implications
In 1848 Quaker farmer Jonathan Roberts moved his family south from New Jersey to a new farm in northern VA in 1848. He arrived with high hopes and even higher ideals. The new spread adjoined George Washington’s Mt. Vernon plantation, already a historic site for the still-young nation. Yet with its distinguished lineage, the property … Continue reading The “Quaker Scout”: Highlighting A Very Relevant Piece of Quaker History
AFSC & Restructuring, Cont.: A quick recap: In early January 2022, we posted a report on an attempted uprising at AFSC, led by former staffer Lucy Duncan, intended to torpedo a proposed 2021 restructuring. The restructure was meant to carry out a strategic plan adopted in October 2020, and a draft had been debated and … Continue reading AFSC Restructure Update: Hurry Up — And Wait