Turning Our Treasures into the Channel of Universal Love

A Reflection for ICUJP by Anthony Manousos

 

How we spend our money is an indicator of our moral and spiritual values. That’s why Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, that’s where your heart will be” (Mathew 6:28). 

Abrahamic faiths require us to set aside a portion of our wealth to help the poor. Christians call it a “tithe.” Muslim call is “zakat.” The Jewish term is Tzedakah. I found a great explanation of Tzedakah on Jewish website.

“Tsedakah is a central tenet of Judaism and a pillar upon which the world stands. The word tzedakah actually means “justice” or “righteousness.” There is an important nuance here. In Jewish thought, giving to people in need is not something extra; it’s just the correct, honest thing to do. Our money is not ours. It belongs to G‑d, who has graciously entrusted it to us. It is only right for us to distribute it as He wishes, sharing it with His needy children.

This understanding that giving is a moral imperative is shared by all the Abrahamic faiths.

Early Christians took very seriously the idea that everything belongs to God and we should do all we can to end poverty. When Christians first gathered to worship in Jerusalem, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and the first thing they did was sell their homes and possessions and create a fund to aid the poor and eliminate poverty.

This Christian ideal inspired the 18^th century Quaker abolitionist John Woolman. Seeing that a lot of his fellow Quakers had become wealthy and successful in business, Woolman said, “To turn all our treasures into the channel of Universal Love is the business of our lives.”

This moral imperative to help the poor applies not only to individuals but also to society. How our tax dollars are allocated testify to our nation’s moral values. Dr. King famously said,  

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift, is approaching spiritual death. I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. So I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor.”

During the Vietnam war period, a powerful video was made about how our tax dollars are being misspent on war rather than on human needs:

Check out this video:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1491223775864163

Today the situation is worse than ever, as you know. Donald Trump began his reign of error by slashing foreign aid, potentially causing millions of deaths. Then he started cutting aid for Americans in need. He is now asking Congress to boost defense spending to $1.5 trillion, a 50% increase. He is also asking Congress to cut non-military spending by 10%. Trump explained: “We’re fighting wars…. It’s not possible for us to take care of day care, Medicaid, Medicare — all these individual things. They can do it on a state basis. You can’t do it on a federal.”

 

This is the opposite of what Jesus stood for. Jesus came to proclaim “good news to the poor.” Trump, the anti-Christ, is proclaiming good news to the plutocrats and militarists.

 

I’d like to close with the famous speech about the arms race that President Eisenhower gave in 1953 that is still relevant today:

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities.  It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people.

…. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron. These plain and cruel truths define the peril and point the hope that come with this spring of 1953.

 

Eisenhower’s words ring truer today than ever before. As Dr. King said, we need a revolution of values and that revolution starts with us. Tomorrow (May 9th) is my birthday, and I’d like to encourage you to give as generously as you can to your favorite charity or cause: ICUJP, Making Housing and Community Happen, or whatever you feel led to support. Give as much as you can and then urge your elected officials to use your tax dollars for peace not war. Let’s turn our treasures into the channel of Universal Love

The First Palm Sunday Peace Parade: A Sermon Delivered at the First United Methodist Church of Pasadena

 

The First Palm Sunday Peace Parade

A Sermon by Anthony Manousos
Delivered at First United Methodist Church of Pasadena

Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026

(To watch the recorded livestream please click here and go to minute 37)

 

I am so grateful that Pastor Amy invited me to speak about Palm Sunday. This is not only a very special time for the church—the beginning of Holy Week—it’s also a very special holiday for Jill and me since we met at the Palm Sunday Peace Parade here in Pasadena 15 years ago. This parade was organized by our dear friend Bert Newton, a Mennonite pastor. Three weeks after Jill and I met at this parade, I proposed marriage, Jill accepted and the rest (as they say) is history. Our wedding vows affirmed that "the Prince of Peace brought us together for a purpose beyond what we can imagine."

I believe that the Prince of Peace brought all of us here together today for a purpose beyond what we can imagine. I believe that the Prince of Peace calls all of us to be peacemakers! Can I hear an AMEN?

First, let me tell you briefly about the Palm Sunday Peace Parade. It was started in 2004 here in Pasadena to protest the Iraq war and to honor Jesus as the Prince of Peace. The parade recognized Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the fulfillment of Zachariah's prophecy that a king would enter the city on a donkey to "bring peace to all nations" (Zachariah 9:9-10).

Between 120-150 people from dozens of different congregations showed up each year for our parade. We marched from the Lutheran Church on Orange Grove Blvd down to the Paseo on Colorado Boulevard. We held palm branches in one hand and peace signs in the other. We practiced what is called sacred resistance.

The day which Christians celebrate as Palm Sunday is the first day of the Jewish festival of Passover. In his book The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Final Days in Jerusalem, Marcus Borg points out that two processions entered Jerusalem on that day. One was Jesus’ riding on a donkey with his motley crew of disciples cheering him on, welcomed by a throng of Jews hoping he would save them from Roman oppression. The second was a well-armed procession of Roman legionnaires who marched into Jerusalem under the command of Pontius Pilate to show Roman power and to quell any unrest. One parade was about the power of empire, the other about the power of love.

 

Only during important Jewish festivals, like Passover, did Pilate reluctantly leave his plush governor’s mansion in Caesarea, a lovely coastal city built by the Romans 70 miles from Jerusalem. He always took a contingent of well-armed soldiers to march to Jerusalem for security reasons. During high holy days, Jews were especially hostile to the Roman empire. Most Jews were angry with Roman occupation of their country and riots sometimes occurred. Pilate’s army came to ensure stability and to let the Jews know who was in charge.

The Jewish common people had good reason to be hostile to the Roman Empire. Both the Romans, and their wealthy Jewish collaborators, taxed the common people almost to death. To pay these exorbitant taxes, many poor people had to sell their lands and become day laborers. That’s why Jesus told parables about workers without land. The workers in Judea/Palestine lived as precariously as day laborers, homeless folk, and migrant workers do today.

These landless workers resented their Roman overlords. They were like the insurgents in today’s Middle East. Groups of angry Jews, called the Zealots, formed “cells” and engaged in acts of terrorism against the occupying imperial army.

Pilate did not see himself as an oppressor, but as a bringer of peace. Peace was the official policy of the Roman empire. They called it Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. Whether people wanted it or not, the Pax Romana brought the advantages of civilization—beautiful buildings, roads, trade, and prosperity. Of course, these perks were only for those who were smart or powerful enough to seize advantage of the opportunities Rome provided. Pilate, like most Romans, felt that he represented a superior civilization, just as many Americans do today. Pilate looked down on religious Jews as ignorant and superstitious. Why couldn’t they be just like other nations and accept imperial rule?

Because Pilate was concerned about security and peace, he would not have been pleased with Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. Pilate had no doubt heard about this upstart prophet/troublemaker from Galilee. His spies would have told him that everywhere Jesus went, crowds of poor people hailed them as a great prophet. Some even called him the Messiah, the King of the Jews. Jesus was a dangerous man who needed to be kept under surveillance. He might even be a terrorist, or someone giving material support to terrorism. Pilate’s parade was to show that resistance was futile.

Now, what about Jesus? What kind of parade was he sponsoring?

We know from the Gospels that Jesus planned his arrival in Jerusalem very carefully. As Marcus Borg notes, what Jesus did had the earmarks of a planned political demonstration.

Take, for instance, the fact that he rode into the city on a donkey. This was political symbolism which every Jew in Jerusalem would immediately have understood.

For a Jewish religious leader to ride a donkey into Jerusalem was the fulfillment a well-known prophesy of Zechariah (9:9-11). Those who shouted “hosannah” to Jesus expected him to act like King David and drive out the Roman Goliaths and restore Jewish independence.

No one knew how Jesus would do this. But Jesus had a reputation as a miracle worker. So many people were willing to believe that somehow he might be able to bring about the social transformation they yearned for.

During the rest of this Passover week, Jesus’ dramatic actions suggested that he was, in fact, about to bring about a powerful transformation of society. He challenged the religious authorities at the Temple. He challenged Roman tax collection policy. When he said, “Give to Caesar what he Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s” this could be interpreted to mean, “Give God everything, and give Caesar nothing.” After all, the book of Job tells us that the whole world and its riches belong to God (Job 41;11) . Jesus’ radical words made him very popular with the common people but very unpopular with the ruling authorities.

By the end of the week, Jesus was arrested, tried, tortured, and sentenced to be executed in a humiliating way. From a worldly point of view, Jesus’ plan failed. He didn’t have sufficient power or clout to be a worldly king of the Jews. From a worldly standpoint, what Jesus did was very foolish.

That’s why the common people and many of his followers turned on him. Clearly this Jesus guy was no miracle worker. He was just another foolish would-be Messiah.

Jesus’ death should have been the end of the story. Many charismatic leaders had come to Jerusalem just as Jesus did, and they were killed by the Roman authorities and then forgotten. But Jesus’ death was different. What made it different is the resurrection. The resurrection transformed his followers and the world. The resurrection showed that love triumphs over hate, that God’s grace trumps imperial violence. As Paul said in his letter to the Romans: “I am convinced that neither life nor death, nor powers nor principalities, nor things present or things to come, nor heights nor depths nor any created thing, can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.”

 

This, to me, is the message of Holy Week. Nothing, not even death, can separate us from God’s love.

 

I’d like to conclude by talking about what Palm Sunday means to us today.

I gained new insight into Palm Sunday in March 1992 when I went to the test site in Nevada to protest nuclear weapons. I went during Holy Week and the theme for that year was taken from the Gospel of Luke. In that Gospel, the religious authorities complain about how the crowds are cheering Jesus when he enters Jerusalem. And Jesus answered them, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." (Luke 19:37-40, ESV).

Those of us who went to this protest refused to be silent about the dangers of nuclear weapons. We felt we had to cry out.

By the world’s standards, we were being very foolish. But we were in good company. Many religious people, of every faith tradition, were arrested at this test site, including many Methodists, and our then bishop, Mary Ann Swenson. We haven’t yet persuaded our nation to end its addiction to violence, but as Christians we would be foolish not to try.

The rulers of our country believe that they are wise, and those of us who oppose them are foolish and naive. They spend billions on the military, and mere peanuts on what is called “soft power”—the power of diplomacy and negotiation. Their violent approach has been costly and ineffective, yet they call us foolish and naïve for pointing that war is not the answer.

 

Looking back, we see parallels with what happened to the Roman Empire. As Rome grew increasingly rich and powerful, it grew more and more corrupt. When the empire was teetering on the brink of disaster, the Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity as a lifeline. Sad to say, he missed the whole point of Jesus’ message – the power of compassion. Instead, Constantine put crosses on the banners of the Roman army and sent them out to conquer the world in the name of Christ. This was a sick perversion of Jesus’ message. Today, many people still believe that you can fight wars for Christ. What’s worse, many believe that the US is engaged in a holy war to bring Christ to the Middle East. That’s the view of our current secretary of war, a self-avowed Christian nationalist who has written a book called The American Crusade and prays for violence against those who “deserve no mercy,” namely, Muslims.  

What is Jesus’ real message? It’s so simple that every child knows it and can recite it. Love God. Love your enemy. Treat others the way you’d like to be treated.

“Loving your enemy” means talking with them, listening to them, trying to figure out why they are angry with you, and trying to find ways to make peace. As a nation, loving your enemy does not mean letting them walk all over you. It means diplomacy. It means giving food to the poor instead of selling arms that are used to kill the poor. It means supporting international law, democratic values, and treating every nation with respect.

Imagine how things would improve if we applied these Christian principles to our foreign policy!

Foolish as it may seem to those who are fans of Caesar and the empire, Jesus’ wisdom of compassion can actually work in the real world. We know from the example of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. These men were able to transform India and the US without resorting to violence.

But to make compassion work, you need to be willing to take risks, to put your life on the line, if necessary, for what you believe. Sixty years ago Martin Luther King stood in the pulpit at Riverside Church in New York City and announced that he opposed the Vietnam War. Among other things, King called for a revolution of values. He said, and I quote:

 

A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, "This way of settling differences is not just."…. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.

 

In the face of this spiritual death and destruction, King challenged the religious community to speak out. He said, “Silence is betrayal. We can’t be silent any longer about the evils of war and economic exploitation.”

These prophetic words aroused the anger of many in power who had supported King’s Civil Rights work. A year after King gave this message at Riverside Church, on April 4, 1968, he was shot down in a motel in Memphis, TN. United Methodist pastor Rev Jim Lawson and others saw King’s death not only as a political assassination, but also as a kind of crucifixion.

Like King, Jesus also did not mince words when he went to Jerusalem and confronted the worldly powers. When he went to the Temple and overturned the tables of the money changers, he said: “My house was supposed to be house of prayer for the nations. You’ve turned it into a den of thieves.”

These prophetic words infuriated the religious authorities who profited from their collaboration with the Romans. That’s why they went to Pontius Pilate and told him that this troublemaker had to be stopped.

The Romans killed Jesus’ body, but they could not kill his spirit. His unquenchable spirit of love and truth lives today among those of us who boldly say, “Religious communities must not bless war and violence.” He lives in those of us who say, “Let’s give peace a chance.”

Peace is possible, but we need to work to make it happen. Like Martin Luther King and Gandhi, Jesus knew that peacemaking comes with a price, and he was willing to pay that price to show us the power of love.

The question facing all of us today is: Whose parade will you join, Caesar’s or Christ’s?

I hope that as we lift up our palm branches today and celebrate the Prince of Peace, we will say “No” to the power of empire and “Yes” to the power of God. [Raise your palm and say: Hosanah!]

"Let us see what love can do": prophetic activism and quietism among Quakers

 

I have come to realize that that there are at least two very different approaches to Quakerism: prophetic activism and quietism. By prophetic activism, I mean activism and social engagement that is rooted in contemplative worship and guided by the Inward Light of Christ, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit. By quietism, I mean the view that one should focus on the inner life and avoid social engagement. Quietists sometimes describe themselves as mystics—a term that George Fox would not have understood or accepted as a valid description of Quakerism. Rufus Jones was the first to describe Quakers as mystics, but he also recognized that Quakerism is a prophetic religion—hence, the term “activist mystics.” Jones was one of the founders of the American Friends Service Committee, a prophetic organization committed to ending war.

Quakerism began as a prophetic movement committed to transforming society as well as individuals. Early Quakers met with Oliver Cromwell and King Charles, petition Parliament, challenged judges, and engaged in various forms of civil disobedience.  They were considered dangerous radicals and over 15,000 Quakers were jailed for challenging the status quo.

Despite this history, some Friends today say that Quakers shouldn’t be involved in politics. They should only be concerned with “spiritual matters.” This is a view that William Penn rejected when he said, “True godliness [we would probably say, “spirituality”] does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it.”

Quakers were led to form a colony of Pennsylvania where Quakers tried to put their faith into practice free from persecution. Over time, Quakers in Pennsylvania prospered, and some prominent Quakers became wealthy merchants and enslavers. In the 18^th century American Quakers gradually withdrew from political life and became quietists. Quakers like Benjamin Lay and John Woolman kept alive the radical prophetic spirit of early Friends and faced resistance from the Quaker establishment. Nonetheless, they were successful in convincing Philadelphia Yearly Meeting to declare that you couldn’t be a Quaker and hold slaves.

In the 19^th century many Quakers, such as Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Frye, and John Greenleaf Whittier, became involved in social causes, including abolitionism and women’s rights. They all faced resistance from quietist Quakers and formed Quaker-inspired organizations to advance what they felt was their calling to pursue peace and justice.

In the 20^th century, the Society of Friends realized that it wasn’t enough just to avoid becoming involved in war, they needed to do something to prevent it. The American Friends Service Committee (of which Rufus Jones was a founder) was formed during WW I and the Friends Committee on National Legislation was formed during WW II to put Quaker faith into practice in the political arena. The mission of FCNL is one that I resonate with:

·       We seek a world free of war and the threat of war.

·       We seek a society with equity and justice for all.

·       We seek a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled.

·       We seek an earth restored.

This big, bold vision is what drew me to Quakerism and what keeps me a Quaker today: the belief that we are called to practice our prophetic faith collectively and transform the world.

I have spent most of my years as a Quaker serving on peace committees.  I have served on the peace committee of Orange Grove Meeting for 14 years. I served as clerk of the Peace Committee of Claremont Meeting for 6 years and of the Peace Committee in Santa Monica Meeting for 9 years. I also clerked the Peace and Social Order Committee of Pacific Yearly Meeting for 6 years and served on that committee for at least a dozen years. I have made many mistakes and learned a lot about peacemaking and conflict resolution during my years of clerking. I am extremely grateful I don’t have to clerk any more since Nina is clerking Orange Grove’s Peace and Social Concerns Committee and is doing an excellent job. 

I served on the General Board of FCNL for many years and attended many meetings of this important Quaker lobby on Capitol Hill. For me, this has been a profoundly spiritual experience. I recommend a pamphlet called “A Quaker Perspective on Quaker Lobbying” written by my friend Marge Abbott (who served as clerk of FCNL). Marge Abbot shows that lobbying has been an essential part of Quakerism since the days of George Fox and is deeply biblical. Lobbying is part of the prophetic tradition since prophets were called to speak truth to those in power, whether they be kings or religious leaders.

For this reason, I was disappointed when Pacific Yearly Meeting decided to stop considering minutes of social concern when Trump was first elected nine years ago. There was a lot of controversy and conflict about minutes of social concern when I was serving as clerk so my committee worked with Steve Smith, then clerk of Yearly Meeting, and came up with procedures and a statement explaining why minutes of social concern were important. But Ministry and Oversight didn’t agree with our recommendations. They felt that minutes of social concern stirred up too much conflict, were a waste of time (mere words, not meaningful action), and didn’t represent all Friends. I disagreed strongly but my term as clerk was ending and the new clerk agreed with Ministry & Oversight. She was essentially a quietist.

For the next eight years Pacific Yearly Meeting did not approve any public statements on social justice. Even when George Floyd was murdered by police and people from around the nation and the world rose up in protest. Pacific Yearly Meeting decided not to approve a request by Friends Committee on Legislation of California to support “Black Lives Matters.” Carl Magruder, a birthright African American Quaker with a profoundly prophetic heart, spoke words I’ll never forget. He said, “My motorcycle magazine supports Black Lives Matter, but my Yearly Meeting doesn’t.” Those words should go down in the annals of Quaker history!

(Sadly, Carl later suffered a serious brain injury due to a motorcycle accident and went through a long and painful recovery. While his mental abilities have not fully recovered, he fortunately still has his prophetic edge,)

For many years I was practically a lone voice calling for Yearly Meeting to regain its prophetic voice. This was a very painful time for me, and I felt frustrated, alienated and sometimes so sad I was moved to tears. My persistence made some Friends uncomfortable, and some very angry. At one point, a Friend became so enraged with me I feared for my physical safety. Nonetheless, I felt led to speak my truth no matter whom it offended.

I feel I must commend Diego Navarro, who was clerk of PacYM during much of this time. He was always willing to meet and dialogue with me, even when we disagreed. That, to me, is the sign of a good clerk.

I never gave up on Yearly Meeting despite my feelings of alienation. When Israelis attacked Gaza, killing tens of thousands of people, half of them women and children, I issued an invitation to Yearly Meeting Friends concerned about the genocide in Gaza to meet for lunch at Whittier College where our gathering was taking place. Around twenty Friends showed up, including Vickie Carrol and Lawrence Alderson (clerks of Peace and Social Order), and it was clear  that Spirit was leading us to take action. We met in the evening to draft a minute of social concern like the one approved by Orange Grove Meeting. It called for:

 

1. A permanent ceasefire.

2. End[ing] complicity in human rights violations and war crimes by the United States and other countries, and impos[ing] a universal arms embargo.

3. Release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian political prisoners.

4. Expedited humanitarian aid and protection of aid workers, including American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) staff.

5. A lasting peace that guarantees safety and justice for Israelis and Palestinians.

 

When this minute was presented to the Yearly Meeting, there was a lot of passionate discussion, as one would expect. We were moved by the personal testimony of Joyce Adjouny, a Palestinian Quaker who is currently the General Secretary of the AFSC and suffered under Israeli occupation. She helped us to understand the conflict from her perspective and from the AFSC’s perspective. After much prayerful deliberation, the minute was approved. For me, this was a cause for rejoicing. We were faithful to our prophetic calling.

Today our nation and the world are facing an existential crisis. The United States has a mentally deranged President who has no respect for the Constitution or international law. He aspires to be a monarch and has ensnared us in endless violence both at home and abroad. 

During this perilous time, Quakers are faced with a choice: we can be quietists or we can be prophetic activists. If we are silent, we are acquiescing in what the Trump regime is doing and history (and the God of history) will judge us accordingly. If we speak out and take action, we will be joining the millions of others who are standing up for democracy and justice. Let us by guided by the Spirit that inspired Jesus and early Friends and see what love can do. 

Why Quaker "Minutes of Social Concern" Are Important

 I was thrilled that Pacific Yearly Meeting adopted a strong statement explaining the importance of "minutes of social concern," statements about peace and social judgment issues. Here’s what it says about minutes of social concern on the Pacific Yearly Meeting website:

Minutes of Social Concern

Social Concern Minutes are one way our voice of conscience can be made public. They are also a way in which we can express our ideals, witness and narrate the struggles of our time, and can hold ourselves more accountable. Providing hope and moral vision is never to be underestimated.

A Minute of Social Concern expresses the unity of a Meeting around an issue of social justice, usually with a call to action. Meetings are encouraged to share their Minutes of Social Concern so that others may also consider them.

Nonetheless, some Friends do not feel that we should consider minutes of social concern. Here is my response to their objections. My hope is that Friends will speak out and act boldly and collectively to defend democracy and support those who are working for peace and justice. 

1.     “Minutes of social concern are controversial and divisive.” This implies that Friends should refrain from discussing anything when there might be disagreement or conflict. Such an attitude suggests a profound lack of trust in Quaker process and in the commitment that Friends have for one another. Even the most loving couples have conflicts, and their bonds of love grow stronger when they figure out how to resolve their conflicts lovingly and honestly. The same is true of groups. There will always be conflicts in a group. In fact, when Pacific Yearly Meeting decided not to consider minutes of social concern, a dispute arose about the name of Worship and Oversight Committee. Some Friends were uncomfortable with the word “oversight” since it sounded like overseers from the slavery period. The discussion over the name of this committee became heated and lasted at least as long as any discussion regarding minutes of social concern. Budget items and even nominations can be controversial, yet we don’t refrain from considering these matters during meeting for worship on the occasion of business.

2.     “Minutes of social concern are a waste of time, mere words, not action.” As the Pacific Yearly Meeting statement on minutes of social concern makes clear (see below), authentic minutes require accountability and action. Evidence shows that public statements on peace and justice issues can have an impact, especially when many different groups join together in a common cause. Alex Hopkins observes:  “Civil society is a key deterrent to an authoritarian power grab. Civil society is made up of universities, non-profits, and churches. These are the institutions that we hoped would stand up to Trump. Instead, some of them caved with alacrity. Even if they didn't give something to Trump, many are silent. We need to be among the institutions that stand up.”

3.     Minutes of concern aren’t “spiritual” and don’t matter. As an activist, I can testify that when I have the support of my Meeting or of Quaker institutions like FCNL and AFSC, it matters. I can feel it in my heart. It can be lonely to stand on the front line of the peace and justice movement. Because minutes of social concern are approved during a meeting for worship on the occasion of business, they have a spiritual and moral power that should not be underestimated, as PYM statement makes clear.

Here's what PacYM’s Faith and Practice says about the process of approving Minutes of Social Concern. Note that when we gather for meeting for worship on the occasion of business, we are engaging in a corporate, not an individual, search for moral clarity and truth:

The Meeting’s work of discernment is a corporate search. The Clerk does not direct the communication toward certain predetermined goals, but keeps dialogue open, promoting free and full exploration of the matter under consideration, while fostering a sense of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Clerk is responsible for discerning and stating the sense of the Meeting and presenting a minute when unity has been reached. Members of the Meeting may sometimes assist the Clerk in this. If a member believes that the Clerk has incorrectly discerned the sense of the Meeting, it is appropriate to speak up. Similarly, someone may propose that unity actually has been reached and suggest that a minute should be recorded.

When the wording appears satisfactory, the Clerk asks Friends if they approve the minute. If Friends approve the minute without objection, it is recorded as an action of the Meeting. If, after careful consideration, minor editorial changes appear to be needed, the Clerk should have authority to make them. Those changes should be noted at the next Business Meeting, when the minutes of the previous session are read.

If the business before the Meeting is difficult, anyone may request a pause for silent worship. This can often lead to finding a way forward. Sometimes a member with doubts about a minute favored by most of those present will voice his or her reservations but release the Meeting to move forward.† This will be recorded in the minutes as “one Friend standing aside.” In rare cases a member may ask to be recorded as standing aside; however this practice is best limited to occasions when that member’s professional or legal status might be jeopardized by implied consent to a minute.

Another way of avoiding a deadlock is for the Clerk or another member to suggest that a matter be held over for consideration at a later time. It may be helpful for the Clerk to ask a small committee, including Friends of diverse leadings, to revise the proposal in the light of the concerns and objections, and report to the next Meeting. If the matter is urgent, the committee may retire from a given session to return to it with a revised proposal

 

 

 

Join Us to Discuss and Strategize Naming N. Fair Oaks Area "Black Main Street"

 

Click here to register for Discussion of Naming N. Fair Oaks

"Historic Black Main Street"

 

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/AtPUdtn6QvWwK3izTBccTg  

"A Light Shining in the Darkness": Our 2025 Holiday Letter

Dear friends and family,

We want to wish you joy and peace during this Christmas and New Year. With so much chaos in our nation and the world, it is good to pause and reflect on how God never forsakes us and has been with us this past year even at the worst of times—a “Light that shines in the darkness and cannot be extinguished” (John 1:4).

 1)   In January we were downwind of the Eaton Canyon Fire which destroyed 9,418 structures (including homes, businesses, and churches) in Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre. This wildfire destroyed nearly half of Altadena's Black -owned homes with 19 deaths. With the fires only a few blocks from our home,  we were mandated to evacuate for a couple of days. Our home suffered smoke damage so we moved out for two weeks so it could be remediated. We also removed all the soil from our raised beds and put in fresh organic soil, mushroom substrate other additives to rid the beds of toxins. Now our garden is thriving!

B      But  tragically, many of our friends and neighbors in Altadena lost their homes, while insurance companies and Edison have compounded injustices delaying many to rebuild. But the faith community has shown an outpouring of love and support for these survivors. We were approached by the Pasadena Community Foundation that an anonymous donor gave $30,000 so that a displaced family could have a virtually free RV and return to their burned site while rebuilding their home. We formed a team to plan how to best help families obtain permits and locate a suitable candidate for first this RV.  See video of Louis St. Juste. We have applied for grants to provide more RVs to other families.

2) 2) In March our city was invaded by masked ICE agents who abducted some of our undocumented neighbors on their way to work, including construction workers helping to rebuild homes.  Later we stood (and danced) with 4,000 people (including pastors) in solidarity with the National Day Laborers’ Organizing Network (NDLON) and mobile band Los Jorneleros del Norte). Pastors prayed and local leaders gave speeches. We called for the masked ICE agents to get out of our city.

 I   3) In  May we went to NJ for a Shelter force Magazine housing justice conference and visited our brilliant niece Finch in NYC who just graduated from Sarah Lawrence. We took her to see “Wicked” on Broadway and had a blast hanging out with her. We also enjoyed a visit with Anthony’s sister and family where we had the world's best pizza at Conte's. 

 

 4) In August we had a dream vacation in Costa Rica- La pura vida!  An amazing country that disbanded their military and instead invests in education, housing and more. Thanks to our friends Grace and Bill Dyrness, we toured the impressive international University for Peace. We visited Monteverde Friends Quaker Meeting where we were invited to speak about affordable housing. We zip-lined above the cloud rain forest—a joyful victory for Anthony’s acrophobia! We witnessed the sacred act of a green sea turtle lay 120 eggs, and so much more. Jill read Church of the Wild during this time-connecting her faith more deeply to the astounding biodiversity we were witnessing.

5) Anthony continues to take part in weekly vigils calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza and Pasadena’s divestment from companies profiting from this genocide.

6) In September Anthony also went to the 90^th anniversary celebration of Pendle Hill, the Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation near Swarthmore, PA, where he was a student in 1989 and served for many years on their board. He again enjoyed a visit with his sister Liz in their hometown of Princeton, NJ.

5)     7) In August we had a blast attending the wedding and book launch of Jill’s niece Sarah and her husband Andrew Singer. We highly recommend their books: She Journeys: A Memoir of Heartbreak and Homecoming and Now is the Time: A Van Life Road Trip.

      8) On November 1 Jill celebrated her 72^nd birthday and had a blast, only to find out that the severe pain experienced a few days later was the return of the lymphoma she had five year ago reappearing in a very aggressive form. She was admitted to Huntington Hospital on Nov. 3^rd where she was given steroids and a biopsy to determine what kind of cancer and its severity. The steroids exacerbated her insomnia and she stayed up all night reading the excellent book, The Body Keeps Score and by morning had a new book outline and title: Healing our Souls and the Souls of our Cities.

 A few days before Thanksgiving the strong pain returned, and she was admitted to City of Hope and given a preliminary IV infusion before the treatment plan was fully prescribed and the results surprised even Dr. Budde, the foremost scientist and researcher on blood cancers. She called Jill immediately after the PET scan to share that the large masses of 4-1 and 4-2 inches shrank by 60-70%!  She had never seen such dramatic results. Jill shared with her that countless folks were praying.  To rid of the rest of the cancer, Jill will undergo an immunotherapy CAR T Cell treatment that will make her very sick for about a month. We get cancer because our immune system cannot recognize it, but immunotherapy teaches our immune system to see and fight it. They will remove some of her T-Cells which will be manufactured into extremely aggressive fighter cells and put back in her body. The good news is that 50% of those with this treatment live 5 years or longer. Please hold us in the Light, as Quakers say.

7)      9) Despite her health issues, Jill went to northern California in mid-November to preach at two churches (the Adventist Church in Antioch, CA, and the Redeemer Covenant Church in Orangevale, CA). She also presented our recently published “Unjust Housing Game” (with Game Crafters), at a Seventh Day Adventist Conference on “Ending Homelessness.” Pastors and leaders felt the highlight of the conference was this game as they reflected on the racial disparity in housing.

We are deeply grateful for the love and support we have received from our Beloved Communities—the Quakers, Methodists, the Clergy Community Coalition, and many others who are committed to healing, justice and peace. What a blessing!

 Love and peace,

Anthony and Jill