The internet is a mystifying thing: emails can go round and round, and some end up in my inbox that have been many other places on their electronic journey. One such came yesterday, and it is germane to the current issues roiling SAYMA (Southern Appalachian yearly Meeting & Association). It is no less than the … Continue reading Exclusive: The SAYMA Enemies List; and Two More Minutes
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?
A Brief Editorial: Mr. Bob Unanue, president of Goya Foods, doesn’t quite get it. He’s catching hell since visiting the White House and fawning over the president, talking about how we are “blessed” that his mainly Latino customers have a president who built his political rise on denigrating them in so many ways: building walls, … Continue reading Goya is Hearing from its customers. But is it getting the message?
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 . . .