"Never Again!"

This was a good day. I am pictured here walking through Little Tokyo with my new friend Dr. Simon Simonian, who just recently started attending Santa Monica Friends Meeting. We are carrying umbrellas to ward off nuclear fallout and bombs (about which I will say more later).

Simon discovered Quakerism in 1943 when his family moved from Armenia to Lebanon. Survivors of the genocide, Simon's family enrolled him in a Quaker school in Beirut and he became a lifelong Friend. Along with pursuing a distinguished career as a physician/epidemiologist, Simon has also been a committed peace activist for nearly fifty years. In the late 50's he took part in demonstrations in England calling for an end to above-ground nuclear testing. This resulted in the first nuclear test ban treaty

On Sunday, Simon and I commemorated the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by taking part in a vigil at the Higashi Hongangi Buddhist Temple in downtown LA. Around 120 people showed up at this beautiful, ornate Buddhist shrine where the Rev. Nobuko Myoshi greeted us and shared a Buddhist perspective on war.

"In war there is not bad and good, right or wrong," she explained. "There is only right. Everyone thinks they are right and the other side is wrong. That is the problem.

She went on to call for forgiveness and compassion as an antidote to war.

We also heard reflections from two other Japanese Americans: Chuiji Yamada, a young student from St Andrews University, and Dr. Jimmy Hara, who represented Physicians for Social Responsibility and serves as the program director for the LA Schweitzer Fellows Program. Dr Hara was born in an internment camp.

After this time of reflection, we walked quietly through Little Tokyo to City Hall, passing out leaflets to passersby. Pictured here is Philip Freeman, Ann, and Allen White (a Quaker from Orange County) holding a banner for the World March for Peace.

At City Hall, we heard speeches by Steve Rhode (president of Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace), Rabbi Freehling (LA County Human Relations Committee), Marcy Winograd (Activist and Congressional candidate), Dr. Reza Aslan (Muslim author and scholar), and Arin Ghost (UNA Pacific Chapter Youth Chair and Outreach Coordinator for Citizens for Global Solutions).

The speeches were excellent and the audience receptive. Some were the usual suspects who showed up faithfully at these events. Some were students and first timers. It occur ed to me that even if we didn't have huge crowds, we didn't need them as much as we did in the 1980s when we had a president in office (namely Reagan) who was a hawk. Our current president wants a nuclear free world as much as we do; we need to pressure him to do what he has promised.

Our speakers reminded us that organized groups like ours have more power over politicians than we may think. The Nuclear Freeze movement of the 1980s pushed Reagan and Gorbachev into signing a treaty that reduced the world's nuclear weapons by one half.

But half-way measure are not enough. Nuclear technology has become so accessible, Reza Aslan reminded us, that any Ph. D. student in physics could build a bomb. The nuclear non-proliferation treaty needs to be scrapped in favor of a total nuclear disarmament treaty, he claimed. "It's either no nation has a nuclear weapon, or all nations will have them."

All the speakers urged us to put pressure on our elected officials. "We have a president in the White House who says that he wants a nuclear free world," said Rohde, "but it is we who must hold him accountable to keep his promise. We must speak truth to power no matter who is in the White House." Rohde also reminded us that we need to make sure that those who authorized torture such as water boarding should also be held accountable for their criminal actions.

When Dr. Hara of Physicians for Social Responsibility spoke, I was reminded that I went with this group to the nuclear test site in Kazahkstan in the early 1990s. We were involved in an international effort calling for an end to nuclear weapons.

Marcy Winograd told us that when she was a high school teacher, she created a display showing the effects of the bomb on children and young people. "Many high school students were apathetic about the atomic bomb and even thought it was a good idea," she said, "until they saw these photos."

The final speaker was Arin Ghosh, a freshman at UC Riverside, who is an amazingly dedicated peace activist. This summer he went to Taiwan to take part in a conference sponsored by Citizens for Global Solutions. He spent the past week in New York City where he took part in a UN panel focusing on interfaith concerns. A member of the Vedanta Society, Arin represented the Hindu faith.

A devoted follower of Gandhi, Arin spoke with eloquence and passion about the need to abolish nuclear weapons.

He compared nuclear weapons to an addiction, like cigarette smoking. "It isn't enough just to have a patch and chewing gum," he said. "You have to address the causes of addiction and change attitudes."

Everyone was very impressed with Arin's speech and I am glad we had such a powerful spokesperson for the up and coming generation. We left this vigil hopeful for the future, knowing that we can pass the torch into such capable hands.

Arin is pictured below with Marcy Winograd and is pictured above with Dr. Hara (holding a poster that Arin brought from the UN).

Arin was one of the youth speakers at our Pre-Parliament of the World's Religions event in April. After this vigil, I had a chance to hand out flyers about our upcoming Gandhi event at USC, sponsored by the Southern California Committee for a Parliament of the World's Religions (sccpwr.org). The young people I met were very interested and one exclaimed: "I'm going to Australia!"

I ended my day by going as Simon's guest to a performance of the Jewish symphony at the Ford Theater. There we heard a wonderful selection of Eastern European Jewish music called "L'Haim."

Thank you for this day, O Lord, this healing day! And thank you for all the marvelous peace people that I encountered today!


Text of talk by Arin Ghosh:

It was 64 years ago on those two perilous days in August of 1945 that within an instant, the dreams and aspirations of generations of people would vaporize at the sight of a bright flash. In a blink, over 100,000 would perish from the map. Their houses devastated and burning, they had lost everything, everything but the fact that their faces, names and souls would live on forever. Everything but the fact that their identities would be immortalized in that instant and etched into the minds of those in the world who lived past those two fateful days of August. Everything would change from that moment forth.

A world that was so often tainted by wars in its history would now have to live for the next half century onwards in a near state of annihilation. A constant fear existed during the days of Mutually Assured Destruction.

Those days have not ended. Today the fear quotient that was once occupied with language like ICBMs and Nuclear Submarines has been seconded to language like terrorism. If terrorism is the forefront issue even then the nuclear equitation does not lag behind. Can we imagine the damage a rouge nuclear weapon could do to a nation? The Equation right now is a simple one: Terrorism + Nuclear Weapons = Disaster, just like 1 + 1 = 2. But what happens when we erase one of the parts of the equation, what if we take away the nuclear weapons aspect, what if we take one of the variables out. The answer is clear; the prospective potency of these terrorists becomes drastically reduced. Terrorism is a scourge but we have the chance to disarm the terrorist’s most potent threat and weapon if we disarm nuclear weapons that can fall into their evil hands. In disarming we can take care of at least one part of humanity’s oldest foe, fear itself.

We must be wise about how it is that we go about disarming nuclear arsenals worldwide. In order to disarm one key tenant must be realized: Nuclear Weapons are an addiction like cigarettes. Nuclear Weapons powers seek to employ as many nuclear weapons as they can much like a chain smoker will seek more and more cigarettes. Now we must apply the same principles that end cigarette addiction to Nuclear Disarmament.

But principles are just words their implementation is key. For smoking, in principle if chewing some gum and only that could cure smoking, smoking would be much reduced today. Similarly, in principle for the nuclear issue treaties seek to reduce the number, potency, mobility, and range of Nuclear Weapons, if words would solve our problems well then life would be a lot easier.
What takes us from principles to practicality is a vested interest and a will coupled with actions. The United States has made a concerted effort and this administration thus far must be lauded for their efforts to create, in the long run and in ideal, a nuclear free world. President Obama’s continual will to “strengthen” the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty while also seeking to “aggressively” pursue the Senate to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty are signs of commitment, but now we have to start seeing the results, we need to see those laws passed and we need to see in the end the bottom line, to see those nuclear weapons being disarmed and out of the hands of our prospective enemies and terrorists.

Now, I’m going tell you right now, I may talk a lot about cigarettes, but I don’t smoke and I don’t like them. So now let me allude to a scenario, of course with cigarettes, to illustrate an obstacle with Nuclear Disarmament. Picture yourself trying to get your friend to stop smoking, you can give them the gum, the patches and what not, the instructions, motivation, and they can say they’re taking the gum to you. But in the end only verification, proof of you seeing that they’re not buying that pack of cigarettes that they normally would have or you not having to hear that smoke alarm go off any more, you hearing and seeing proof that they have in fact given up smoking, only then can you say their final cigarette has been burnt and stomped out. The same is with nuclear weapons. We can make the treaties and work with each country to put them on the railroad tracks to disarmament but we can only be sure the job is done when we see those ICBM’s being scrapped, when we see a nuclear countries nuclear defense budget shrink, when we hear of nuclear bomber bases closures; we must see, hear, and live around the changing conditions of nuclear weapons from active, to scrapped, and we as civil society, as the people, the real grassroots must not be made 2nd tier proponents but must be the most powerful voice because in the end government is meant to serve us, the people, and the people are making it more and more clear and are saying “ No to Nuclear Weapons !”

That’s why I’m proud to represent a group that has tens and tens of thousands of grassroots supporters nationwide promoting a nuclear free world. Citizens for Global Solutions is playing its role, as small as it may seem, in the capital to expedite a world in which the 24 X 7 Nuclear Alert that is today’s fear can be escaped from once and for all. Just this month thousands of our members are part taking in a Virtual Vigil called to commemorate Hiroshima and Nagasaki by submitting photos of themselves with a lit candle in observance of the loss of physical life of those in these two cities. There is more then meets the eye to this Virtual Vigil. While the candle may remember those lost, perhaps there is another side to the flame we do not see. Perhaps it is the candles that, each time lit, not only honor and remember but also illuminate the soul and life of someone lost on those two days in early August 1945. To attach a face to that neighbor of humanity we lost that day, or to attach a face to that best friend we never met and that we lost in an instant.

It was President Kennedy that once said “The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. The danger of a nuclear holocaust is an ever looming and growing threat, more recently North Korea amongst other states indicate an ever emergent danger should it continue nuclear deployment, but there is an opportunity in all of this.

My fellow Americans, my fellow citizens of the world, we have the opportunity
between the confines of our very two hands to begin our quest a new to rid our world of these weapons of armageddon. When Oppenheimer first saw the mushroom cloud explosion of the nuclear bomb at Los Alamos he exclaimed a phrase from the Bhagvad Gita, “Now I am become death, destroyer of both worlds”; the world cannot afford to hear this quote again for that bright flash that took the souls away from Nagasaki and Hiroshima still looms around us, like a ghost stalking us in the wind. But this time, let us say no together to this Ghost, Let us be united in our fight against nuclear weapons, knowing as President Kennedy said, that “here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.”

A Brand New Day!

Yesterday I went to a meeting of the Peace Ministry of the Agape Spiritual Center in Culver City. This center for "New Thought/Ancient Wisdom" has grown enormously in the past few years, thanks in large part to the spiritual/organizational genius of Michael Beckwith, who recently appeared on "Larry King Live." This remarkably dynamic spiritual community has over 9,000 members and up to a million followers world-wide.

Agape offers a variety of programs--prayer, homeless feeding, Sufi dancing--and trains its own ministers. It also empowers its members to become "practitioners."

When I arrived, there were only a few women in the room but I could feel their energy. As we introduced ourselves, I asked who was in charge.

"Spirit is in charge," responded one of the women whose name was, I believe, either Dee or Justine Lindforth.

"That's the right answer!" I said and we all laughed.

I knew I had come to the right place.

I had come to this meeting in order to share information about the Los Angeles Area Nuclear Disarmament Committee (LAANDC) and the Parliament of World's Religions. Michael Beckwith will be speaking in Melbourne, so the work of the Parliament is already quite well known to Agape practitioners. A large number of them plan to go to Melbourne. I'm hoping to get them involved in our local chapter so they can share their experiences with the interfaith community here in LA.

There was an excellent turnout for this meeting--around 20 people--with many in the middle age range, quite a bit younger than in most mainline churches. The youngest was 14 years old!

The "visioning" process felt very Quakerly. There was time for meditation and reflection. The main difference is that the ministers in Agape are far more eloquent than most Quakers in affirming the Spirit verbally. Many Friends feel uncomfortable with "God talk." As a result, we often move from silence to intellectualizion. We miss the opportunity to connect with Spirit through the rich and powerful language of poetry and prayer.

The main focus of this meeting was on the upcoming Sept 21 "Day of Peace" sponsored by the United Nations. Our visioning session centered on how we might respond to this opportunity to promote a more peaceful world as well as inner peace.

After a time of silent reflection, people were asked to share images and ideas. Here again Quakers could learn from Agape's practice of encouraging people to use their right brain and to share images that come from the Unconscious/Divine. Some of these images led to fruitful ideas for action.

Overall, I was very impressed by Agape and hope to return for their next meeting.

In the afternoon, I biked down to Venice beach with my boogie board and caught some waves. I was grateful my back had recovered sufficiently to allow me to do so; I felt almost like a kid as I biked past the jammed traffic full of grumpy looking adults.

The beach was beautiful, with over a hundred sailboats gliding across the horizon, and the waves were ideal for boogie boarding.

The beach was overrun with people, however, and I was afraid I might crash into one of them, so after a while I biked over to the Venice canals and enjoyed the tranquility and beauty of this unique scene.

I was so grateful that I couldn't get out of my head a tune that Kathleen used to sing often in Kids' Club:

When I get up, I'm thankful for a brand new day.
When I go out, I'm thankful I can run and play.
When I sit down to eat, I'm thankful for my food.
But most of all I'm thankful for God who is so good.

That about sums up my brand new day. Thank you, beloved Friend. My cup overflows with gratitude.

This morning I shared this song with my Quaker meeting, so I am including the video showing my dear wife Kathleen of blessed memory singing it with hand gestures. Enjoy!

A Day Out of the Ordinary

Yesterday I got up at the crack of dawn to attend ICUJP and took part in a stimulating discussion about the fate/state of Israel/Palestine, led by progressive Jews: Rabbi Haim Beliak, Dick Platkin, and Steve Rohde. Another participant was Carol Frances Lichen, a woman who went to Gaza with the "Free Gaza" group last month. This group was not allowed to enter Gaza with humanitarian aid by boat, but was finally allowed to enter via Egypt as long as they stayed for only 24 hours.

"If we had stayed 24 hours and ten minutes, the gates would have been shut on us," explained Carol Frances. "We could have been stuck in Gaza for months."

Does this sound like a prison or what?

Much of the discussion focused on whether a two-state solution is possible, given the "facts on the ground." The plan of Israelis seems to be to use the model of South African Bantus tans or American Indian reservations and keep the Arab population sequestered in tiny, non-viable enclaves where their activities can be monitored and controlled. Such a "solution" will of course not be acceptable in the Arab world and will mean endless violence and war.

Speaking of which, I learned the US has geared up for a 40-year occupation of Afghanistan. According to Time magazine, are building massive new bases, complete with fast food restaurants like Burger King. We are becoming the empire of Fast Food!

After our meeting, I met with Steve and Grace to discuss fundraising/outreach and the future of ICUJP. It is my hope that we can stay focused on a few core issues--like torture, nuclear disarmament, and ending our occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan. I also hope we can find ways to build stronger ties with our constituent base.

When I got home, I got a back twinge, probably caused by gardening and too much activity and stress. I decided this was a message from my body: it's time to rest, so I watched "Benjamin Button," a wistful, beautiful, but ultimately disappointing film. (It's also the first movie I've watched since Kathleen passed away: I don't like to watch movies alone.)

I discussed this film over dinner with my landlady/friend Cathleen who thought the movie was "puerile" (yes, she uses words like this, bless her!) I agreed, more or less. Like much of Fitzgerald's work, it's about the passing of time and mortality--how we get only a brief time of happiness during the bloom of our youth, and then must resign ourselves to a life of boredom and ordinariness. This is the stuff of Keats and the Romantics, as well as of the 60's. With any luck, if we survive our 30's, we outgrow this outlook on life and learn to appreciate the blessings of wisdom that come with experience. Or we become like our friend Ruth, a 70 year-old Romantic who loves to sing in the choir and rhapsodizes about the full moon!

In the evening we had a time of worship (or "opportunity") at the home of our friend D., a former lawyer turned psychologist who has been in several serious car accidents and suffers from acute pain that prevents her from sitting or walking very far. D. spends most of her time apartment-bound, lying down or standing. Despite her infirmity, she counsels clients in her home and lives as full a life as she can. She seeks help from various healing modalities--chi gong, reiki, etc.--which help alleviate some of pain caused by stress. We had a precious time of worship with her, which made us all feel better.

Afterwards, we talked and Cathleen recommend that D. try using a treadmill to build up her body strength. D. thought this was a good idea and was very appreciative of our visit. She invited us back for another "opportunity."

Lessons from a Cancer Journey

Today has been a day for relaxing and writing. I spent the morning working on a flyer and doing other stuff for the Parliament. I wrote article for "The Western Friend." Then I made lunch for a friend who came for a visit. Finally, I planted some impatiens outside my door. This involved swinging a pick axe and yanking up some spider plants. I made sure I apologize to the plants I was whacking.

Tonight I am going to a free concert at Marina del Rey with Cathleen and Ruth, members of my Meeting. I am looking forward to hearing some Vaugh Williams, Debussy, and Rach's 3rd.

Here's what I wrote in my article, called "Live Your Life as if Everything that Happens is Something you Prayed For: Some Lessons from a Cancer Journey"

I have learned many lessons from [my cancer journey], but I want to share just a few here.

To married couples who have expressed admiration for how Kathleen and I behaved during our cancer journey, I say: Everyone who marries, and is faithful, will probably undergo something similar to what we experienced. When you marry, you make a vow to love someone “in sickness and health, till death do us part.” Sooner or later, you will have to decide whether or not to keep that vow. Not everyone does. Some decide to divorce their spouse, or have an affair, or act in other ways that seem to me deplorable. But if you decide to be faithful, you will have an opportunity to deepen your love in ways beyond imagining. I enjoyed twenty wonderful years of marriage, and in many ways the last year was the best. When my wife had beautiful long hair, it was easy to love her. When she became bald and had a tube sticking out of her chest, it was still easy to love her. As Shakespeare says, “Love does not alter when it alteration finds.” Despite, or perhaps because of our adversities, our love grew stronger. We drew closer to each other, as well as to our family and friends and to God.

I also learned that that our Quaker testimony on community takes on new meaning and importance during a life-threatening illness. It takes a whole community to bring healing and hope to those facing a health crisis or the loss of a loved one. I can’t imagine how anyone could endure such experiences alone, or without some kind of religious faith.
Community can be especially important to those who are unmarried. Our spiritual community can become our spiritual family.

From the very beginning, my meeting set up a care committee to meet with Kathleen and me. Over the course of our cancer journey, this committee visited us at home as well as in the hospital. These visits included times of worship as well as sharing and were enormously helpful.

We also received phone calls, cards, and emails that cheered us up and reminded us that we were not alone. Our caringbrige blog became a way to stay connected with our friends and family on a daily basis.

We took part in a cancer support group at the Wellness Community and become part of the wider cancer community by going to conferences and other events geared towards cancer patients.

I came to know in a new way people who had survived cancer and had life-changing experiences. One of them was Rolene Walker, who survived breast cancer and is now walking from San Diego to Santiago, Chile, spreading a message of environmentalism. Rolene and I have been friends for twenty years. When she heard about Kathleen’s situation, she called us from Mexico City to give us support and encouragement. I was deeply touched.

During this past year, my heart has opened up in new ways to people who are struggling with health issues. I started taking elderly people to the hospital, and listening with more care and attention when people told me of their bouts with sickness.

Little by little I came to understand what “pastoral care” means. Quakers do not have paid pastors, but we nonetheless need to provide pastoral care for each other as we go through life’s challenges. It is helpful to be trained for this role—and many Friends who give pastoral care have been trained as psychologists or social workers. But sometimes experience is the best teacher.

For most of my life as a Friend, I have seen myself primarily as a peace activist. But during the past year, and especially now that my wife has passed on, I also see myself also as a kind of pastor. A pastor is someone who listens compassionately, who cares deeply, and is present for those going through difficult times. This is what I now feel called to do. It is something that I feel many Friends [and others] could also do, if we helped them to discern this gift and to develop it.

You don't need to be a professional to be pastoral: you just need to listen with your whole heart!

Networking for Peace...

Like most nonprofits, the American Friends Service Committee is suffering from a shortage of funds. Fortunately, it is not suffering from a shortage of enthusiasm. During my visit to the office this morning, I was impressed by the commitment and energy of the staff, who are pictured here: Maricela Gusman (a veteran for peace who does counter-recuitment work), Eisha Mason (associate regional director and veteran nonviolence practitioner/educator), and Anthony Marsh, who has worked for a variety of peace organizations ranging from FOR to Interfaith Inventions. I talked with them about the Parliament's upcoming Gandhi event at USC and they agreed to put together a workshop that I'm sure will inspire students to become peace activists.


During our conversation, I handed out my new calling card, of which I am quite proud (if Quakers can be allowed to feel pride). It reads "Quaker peace activist" and lists some of the organizations that I am involved with. Anthony noted that I failed to mention the AFSC, and I was glad to be "eldered" by this young non-Friend. It seems ironic (and yet appropriate somehow) that Anthony, a non-Quaker, would have to remind Anthony, the Quaker, to claim as his own an organization that he has served (and been nurtured by) for over twenty years!


Is it possible that we Quakers take the AFSC for granted? I suspect that many of us do, even we old-timers, and I hope that Friends will be led to rally around the AFSC during a time when every Friendly hand (and dollar) is needed.



Another topic we discussed was the upcoming World March for Peace. On Sunday I attended a meeting of this group, which was led by Phillip Freeman and Mayra Gomez and included such peace notables as Blase and Teresa Bonpane, who started the Office of the Americas to advocate on behalf of the peoples of Latin America. The leaders of many Latin American countries are supporting the World March for Peace, which should make it even more appealing here in LA, with its large Hispanic population. I was pleased to learn that the AFSC staff are very supportive of this March and are exploring ways in which to become actively involved. (For more info, click
http://theworldmarch.org/).


Last night I went to the Church in Ocean Park, a hotbed and refuge for progressives on the West Side, and had a spaghetti dinner with two stalwart peace people, Jerry Rubin and Bill McCarthy, the founder and president of the Unity Foundation. Jerry is a tireless activist and unabashed tree hugger who organizes a monthly activist support group at Santa Monica Meeting (to which I have been invited to speak). When we had coffee at Starbucks, Jerry showed a button that said "Make coffee, not war" and asked for a peace sign to be written on his coffee cup. He got into a friendly conversation about peace matters with the employees that made them smile, and think. Jerry never misses an opportunity to promote peace!

Bill produces a TV program called "Positive Spin." Through an organization called "Roots and Shoots" Bill is helping to organize a UN Day of Peace event in the Santa Monica pier on September 20. (See http://www.cultureofpeace.org/ and the information below. )

I was very impressed when Bill told me about the Day of Peace event since I watched a memorable documentary about how this event got started by an inspired rock musician named Jeremy Gilley (see http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/welcome).

I was also intrigued to hear that Jane Goodall will be involved since two years ago Christian, a 13-year-old member of my wife's church who had cancer, went to the "Roots and Shoots" event in Griffith Park expressly to see Jane Goodall whom he admired and aspired to be like. When Goodall heard about Christian, she went over to see him and boosted his spirits by encouraging him to follow his dream of becoming a marine biologist. Christian bought me a peace t-shirt from this event, which I love to wear since it reminds me of him and of his encounter with this amazing woman. (Christian died of cancer a week before my wife, and I am sure the two of them are rejoicing together among the heavenly creatures.)

Click here to see the event in Griffith Park on YouTube.

Roots & Shoots California Celebrates United Nations International Day of Peace

Dr. Jane's Day of Peace Invitation

When: Sunday, September 20, 2009 11 am - 4 pm.
Where: Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, California.
Who: All ages, groups and community members are welcome to attend and celebrate the Roots & Shoots International Day of Peace on September 20.
Enjoy arts, crafts, games, Eco-friendly exhibitors and non-profits and much more. Local celebrity appearances and entertainment will add to the celebration. Click here for more information on the history of the Day of Peace.

Tis a gift to be diverse....

I am pleased that Pacific Yearly Meeting Friends are open to diversity and pluralism. One sign of this was the warm reception that Friends gave to Imam Ali Siddiqui, a world-renowned Islamic scholar/activist. (See http://www.onenationforall.org/Find-an-Expert/Find-by-Expertise/Education/Imam-Ali-Siddiqui.html)

He was invited to speak by David Hoffman, a Northern California Friend who has a deep commitment to interfaith work. David is pictured here with Imam Siddiqui and yours truly.

Around thirty or so Friends gathered to hear Siddiqui speak and answer questions on a wide range of topics, from women's issues to the economy. He spoke with wisdom and grace and was well received. He was accompanied by a Sufi named Rashid Patch, founder of the Alalusi Foundation. Friends found Rashid so fascinating that some of them engaged him in conversation for over an hour after Iman Siddiqui's talk ended.

As I prepare myself spiritually for the Ramadan fast--which I have been observing since 9/11--I am glad that Friends are open to learning from our Muslim brothers and sisters. My own faith has been deepened by reading the Quran and working with Muslims concerned with justice and peace. I feel blessed by having such wonderful Muslim friends, some of whom were very supportive when Kathleen and I went through our cancer journey.

Another blessing has been the long-awaited publication of the book "Fit For Freedom, Not for Friendship." This book project was started many years ago by Friends General Conference so that Friends could seriously address issues of racism in our history. While it is true that Quakers were in the forefront of the anti-slavery and Civil Rights movement, we have not always been welcoming to people of color, as Henry Cadbury pointed out in a study he undertook in the 1930s. This book is more than an historical study of our checkered past, it is also a effort to engage the Religious Society of Friends in an ongoing dialogue about race that will help us to become more open and inclusive. One of its authors, Vanessa Julye, is of African American descent; while the other, Donna McDaniel, is of European descent. Together they bring a balanced perspective to this highly charged topic and model what interracial friendship is all about.

I confess that I have only read the beginning of this book since it just came out. But what I have read convinces me it is an important study that every Friend should take the trouble to read carefully.

FGC has placed a talk by Vanessa and Donna on youtube which is definitely worth watching. You can learn more about this book and see the video at http://www.fgcquaker.org/fit-for-freedom

I am also delightedthat Vanessa Julye has been coming to our Yearly Meeting to help us to have a deeper dialogue about race. Her ministry has been invaluable.

Other good news from YM: Friends approved a minute endorsing single payer as the best option for solving the health care crisis in the USA. Now if only our elected officials would listen to us instead of to all the special interests plying them with big bucks!

"Here comes the sun..." A new youth program at PYM

After five days of gray, foggy weather at Walker Creek Ranch, the sun broke through the clouds, and blue skies appeared, just as we were coming to a decision about hiring a full-time youth coordinator.

A coincidence? Perhaps, but I don't think so....

Coming to this point had been a long, tough slog. During our first consideration of this proposal, we had not come to unity and the clerk called us back for a second session that lasted almost two hours longer than anticipated. As a result, we had to cancel interest groups and were late to dinner.

The old Quaker expression “laboring with a concern” vividly describes what we went through. We were like a mother giving birth as we struggled over whether or not to move forward with this proposal.

The youth were unanimously and passionately in favor of hiring a youth coordinator, and so were most adults who had worked with youth. The youth and their adult supporters had done painstaking research to prepare their proposal and had visited or contacted over 20 meetings for feedback, which was mostly positive. They also consulted with other YMs that had hired youth coordinators. They developed a budget, goals and objectives, an evaluation process, and a job description for the coordinator. Their report (including appendices) was over 120 pages long.

But for some Friends, this was not enough. They were concerned about the cost, which would double the assessment from $38 to $72. They felt that the age range was too broad, from pre-teen to young adult, and would doom the program to failure. They felt that the YM did not have the experience and competence to run such a program. They questioned whether the YM should even hire a paid staff person, since we are committed to being an all volunteer organization (unlike the “other” PYM, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, which has 30 plus paid staff). Two Friends with considerable experience in youth work felt that they had a better plan, one that would cost much less and focus not on a coordinator, but on empowering local meetings.

Underlying many of these concerns was the old bugaboo: fear of change, and suspicion of young people.

Some older Friends expressed their concerns in ways that sometimes felt hurtful to young people, such as referring to the program as "five parties a year." Some adults were annoyed when young people expressed joy and said “This Friend speaks my mind” whenever someone expressed a viewpoint they approved.

During this time of laboring, the clerk showed amazing patience and allowed the Spirit to work. He called for periods of silent worship so that we could reflect more deeply. He stayed firm and clear when strong feelings were expressed. As a result, we were able to listen to the deep wisdom and the "still, small voice" that arose from our youth, and from adults.

Little by little, slowly and often unsurely, we came to unity.

A turning point came when a weighty elder arose and expressed his concerns that the program was ill conceived and doomed to failure. He spoke eloquently and convincingly, as is his wont.

Then another weighty Friend arose and shared a personal story.

“In high school my daughter had the idea of hanging up a huge condom in front of her high school on AIDs awareness day,” this mother explained. “I told her this was a terrible idea and she shouldn't do it. A few hours later, around 10 PM, I got a call from my daughter. Her friend was stuck in a palm tree in front of the high school. Would I come to help? So my husband and I went to the school, brought ladders and other equipment we needed, and we helped her to put up the condom. It turned out to be a great attention getter and was written up in the local paper.”

As she told this story, laughter erupted in the room and it became clear that if the program did go awry, we older Friends would do everything in our power to make it work.

As the mood shifted from fear to trust, from "No, we shouldn't" to "Yes, we can," it became clear that Spirit was calling us to make a leap of faith and to trust in our young people. As we came to unity and approved the proposal, I heard in the back of my mind the Beatles’ song: “Here comes the sun…”

It was an historic moment, one that makes me happy I am a Friend. I have a deep commitment to youth and to youth work. The picture in today's blog shows Pat Smith and her husband Steve. Pat was the clerk of the Southern California youth service program, and it couldn't have succeeded without her wise, patient, and loving efforts.

I was especially happy to see that several of the young adults leading this effort to hire a full-time youth coordinator had been active in the AFSC/SCQM youth service program that I helped to start fifteen years ago. Thanks in part to that program, they have the confidence to affirm: "Yes, we can!"

This has been a week of tears and laughter, as it says in the old song: "Give yourself to love." In an earlier posting I mentioned that I encountered a lot of Friends who are grieving the loss of loved ones.

During our meeting for memorials I rose and reminded Friends of my wife, who was not listed but had come to YM meeting several times and was instrumental in my decision to come to California. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't for Kathleen," I explained. "She has been my inspiration."

On the final night of YM, my grieving turned to laughter. During "family night" Friends of all ages did silly skits, sang songs, told stories and jokes, and shared their "talents," such as they are, to an amazingly appreciative audience.

I decided to do a skit about "laughter yoga." I told Friends about this practice and led them in a laughter yoga exercise. They laughed so loud and long it was hard to get them to stop so I could finish my act. When they finally settled down, I introduced my laughter yoga guru, "Sri Elmonanda" (aka "Tickle Me Elmo"). When Elmo started laughing, so did the audience. Elmo laughed so loud that he fell off the table. Everyone laughed even more. Finally, Elmo righted himself and stood up and said, "More, more!" By now the room was rocking with laughter. When it subsided, I said, "Elmonanda never ceases to amaze me."

The same could be said about Friends.

This laughter yoga skit was another testimony to my dear Kathleen, who had a gift for laughter. (Her loud, irresistible laugh was one of the reasons I was drawn to her). She and I both went to a laughter yoga session when we were exploring various spiritual healing modalities. Afterwards, we recorded an "Encounter with the Laughter Yoga Guru" for you tube, which I have included in this post.

Laughter is good for all that ails you, whether it's cancer, or a week of long and sometimes painful meetings. S whenever you're feeling blue, try this mantra (recommended by Sri Elmonanda): "Ho ho ho, hee hee hee, and couple of fa la las....That's how we laugh the day away in the merry old land of Oz..."