Newtown Quaker Meeting will meet on Sunday, March 8 at 9:45 a.m. to determine what priorities to recommend to their national lobbying group, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), to work on during this legislative year. Quaker Meeting for Worship will follow at 11:00 a.m. as Friends gather in expectant silence. All are welcome.
Quakers all over the country are having similar meetings to discuss national legislative priorities. FCNL will then review and consolidate all recommendations from Friends around the country and determine the top FCNL 5-6 priorities for the coming legislative session.
FCNL says it ”acts in faith to create a world free from war, a society with equity and justice for all, a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled, and an earth restored.” Among current FCNL legislative priorities are “the worsening climate crisis, U.S. complicity in war and humanitarian suffering throughout the world, and threats to the foundation of democracy.”
FCNL is a nonpartisan organization founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and is the first and oldest faith-based lobbying group in Washington DC. It is now one of over 200 such groups and frequently joins with others in advocating for legislation. “Based on spiritual and ethical considerations, it seeks to build relationships with members of Congress and the media in order to influence federal policy.”
Historically, the FCNL has played a pivotal role in the creation of the Peace Corps, the creation of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, and spearheaded efforts opposing the war launched by the US in Iraq in 2003.
Newtown Quaker Meeting was co-founded in 1815 by Quaker artist Edward Hicks who painted over sixty versions of his well-known “Peaceable Kingdom.” Sunday School with classes for all are held during the academic year at 9:45 a.m. with worship following at 11:00 a.m. All are welcome.
Written by Norval Reece, Patch Community Contributor