“Part of understanding Justice is to recognize the disproportions among which we live..." it takes an awful lot of living with the powerless to begin to understand what it is like to be powerless, to have your voice, thoughts, ideas and concerns count for very little....
We facilitated an AVP workshop in Ramecchap Nepal for 18 Evangelical Friends. These Friends are not used to workshops on peace, social issues or self-esteem. The church has no running water nor chairs. But these Quakers were very savvy about social justice. They...
Today about 100 of us AVPers from around the world were invited into Wheatfield Prison meet with 12 inmate facilitators. It was my first bright sun-flecked day in Ireland and the inmate testimonies were even more amazing. We heard from the jail administration who were...
What land that recently fought the Brits for 3 decades calls the violence and degradation: the troubles? Ireland has fought off many invaders before the British such as the Celts and the Romans. Isn't this a remarkable place for the International Alternatives to...
The workshop of AVP glided into the lives of Magdalena, Marco and Eunice like a stream of clear water in the dessert. I want to share here with you the thrill of an AVP (Alternatives to Violence) workshop, held at a Quaker school, with 16 Guatemalans and one Bostonian...
A Quaker wedding is beautiful. Usually I cry; mostly I smile. Have you been to one? I sense God crouches a bit closer to us miscreants during a wedding. Thankfully, Quakers allow space and time to hear the Lifegiver’s whispers and sometimes we glean wisdom of how to...
I spent 30 days in Kenya, mostly working with Friends groups, scrutinizing and worshiping, and singing. Part of the trip was investigating whether to do future peace work in East Africa. 20 of us Friends from New England also joined in the World Conference of Friends...
When I first read about the 6th World conference of Friends in Nakuru Kenya in April 2012, I was mostly excited. My heart palpitated. Then as I heard the theme a cloud descended: Being Salt and Light. Being Salt? What does that mean? Salt wrinkles the skin and all...
Hello sisters and brothers in the Journey, I’m writing as I dream. I run within a dream. My work is misty. To stop hate, my eyes turned inward. I’m as somnolent as a street walker. Hurricane Irene urges us to think about what needs doing. I reach out every day and...
Once a month Cambridge Friends hold an hour worship close to the entrance of Textron Inc. in Wilmington MA. Textron is known for its unmanned aircraft systems, armored trucks, battlefield and surveillance systems, precision smart weapons, and advanced cluster...