As Way Opens
Last week on August 18th, President Trump made a proclomation for the 100th Anniversary of the Ratification of the Nineteen Amendment giving women the right to vote. The proclomation stated that, “This milestone in American history was the product of the tireless efforts of suffragists and other advocates for women’s rights, who steadfastly pursued their vision of a more just and equal society… As we commemorate this historic event, we also celebrate the incredible economic, political, and social contributions women have made to our Nation.”
Many of those original suffragists were Quakers and have left a wonderful legacy for equality in our country and the world. I would like to introduce you to one of those Quaker suffragists whose tireless efforts and steadfast pursuits created a more just and equal society. You may notice as you read her story that her efforts and the reactions to them are very similar to those we see as the fight continues today for equality in our nation and world.
Alice Stokes Paul (1885-1977) was born into a Quaker family that strongly believed in equality. She graduated from Swarthmore College which was founded by the Religious Society of Friends with a degree in biology and continued on to earn a master’s degree in social work.
For Alice attending suffrage rallies were a family affair, as she attended most of them with her mother. When she realized her social work alone would not solve the problem of discrimination against women, and that current suffrage efforts were slow-moving and ineffective, she traveled to England and made her voice know in the suffrage movement there.
Before long she was back in the United States (1910) and began working on creating change at the federal level for the passage of the 19th Amendment. She was known for this bold saying:
“There will never be a new world order until women are a part of it.”
It was Alice who became a strong activist and organizer. She is known for planning the 1913 protest parade in Washington, D.C., and at her lead, suffragists stood in front of the White House displaying protest banners through all kinds of weather in 1917. Later that fall, Congress retaliated against the protesters and increased their jail times. Alice was arrested and taken to the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia, where she and the other women were beaten, starved, not allowed to sleep, and forced to live in filthy rat-infested cold cells. Alice was a fierce activist and on one occasion went on a hunger strike. She ended up being force-fed by guards before being put into a hospital where they considered her insane.
Nevertheless, Alice persisted, and continued to be arrested seven more times and jailed on three more occasions in England and another three times in the United States. Once the 19th Amendment finally passed, Alice continued to plan for more legal progress for women and went on to earn a law degree in 1922 from the University of Pennsylvania. She would later pen the words to the Equal Rights Amendment influencing the charter of the United Nations.
(adapted from “Profiles Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage,” Lacrosse Tribune)
We should be honored that Quaker Alice Stokes Paul and many other women persisted for the rights of all women throughout the world and for leaving a legacy for our young daughters to look up to as they take up the mantle of equal rights and work to make a positive contribution to society! For more about the Quaker impact on the American Suffrage Movement click here.
Grace and peace,
Bob
Quaker-Affiliated Organizations
FCNL Head Recognized as Faith Leader to Watch in 2020 ~ The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) appreciates the recognition given to General Secretary Diane Randall as one of the “Faith Leaders to Watch in 2020.” The list of 15 faith leaders was released recently by the Center for American Progress (CAP).
In a statement citing the 15 faith leaders, CAP stated: “Religious communities offer a clear moral voice in support of civic engagement, the peaceful transfer of power, combating voter suppression, and protecting the ability of marginalized communities to participate in elections.” The list included leaders across many Christian traditions as well as Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and others.
To read the story in its entirety, visit https://www.fcnl.org/updates/fcnl-head-recognized-as-faith-leader-to-watch-in-2020-2901
WYM and FUM 2020 Mission Projects: Each year Western Yearly Meeting (“WYM”) and Friends United Meeting (“FUM”) designate mission projects for us to consider and help. WYM is a Quaker organization of which First Friends is a member and consists of approximately 32 monthly meetings located in Indiana and Illinois. FUM is a Quaker international organization based in Richmond, Indiana and consists of a number of yearly meetings around the world. These mission projects are the primary way that folks at First Friends can assist Quakers in parts of the world that can use our help.
The WYM project for 2020 is for the benefit of the Belize Friends School. The school needs financial assistance for its operating expenses and the WYM goal is to raise $15,000. You might recall that in 2017 WYM also designated Belize as its project but monies raised at that time were designated for re-locating the school and expanded ministries including community services and the starting of a Friends meeting. Many of you knew Dale Graves, a member of Mooresville’s West Newton Friends, who poured his heart and soul into the Belize school and surrounding area and was the driving force that enabled the Belize school and Friends meeting to become what it is today. While Dale is no longer with us, there is no doubt that Dale would be very proud of the ongoing efforts to improve the Belize school and Belize Friends meeting.
The FUM project is to assist the Friends in Turkana who are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Turkana Friends Mission. Turkana Friends was founded in 1970 in Kalokol, Kenya. It began as a project of East Africa Yearly Meeting and FUM. Turkana Friends Mission has grown from one location to a vibrant multi-site Quaker community that, among other things, oversees six nursery schools and six primary schools. The number of meetings in Turkana Friends Mission has increased dramatically in the past few decades from seven village meetings in 2002 to twenty-five meetings in 2019.
We at First Friends Indianapolis seem far removed from our fellow Quakers around the world and FUM and WYM are organizations that help connect us through worthy projects each year. Please help these Quakers in Belize and Turkana as you are led. Checks should be made to First Friends with a notation as to whether the monies should go to (WYM) Belize, (FUM) Turkana, or split between these projects. Thank you.
Support FUM’s Online Auction Please support Friends United Meeting in this time of financial crunch by visiting the online auction and bidding on the lovely handmade items:
https://www.friendsunitedmeeting.org/resources/online-auction
Read about other FUM news including the fruits of collaboration among Friends organizations in Africa and Cuban Friends respond to COVID-19: https://mailchi.mp/fum/fum-e-news-25-august-2020?e=f8045113f7
Joys & Concerns
Thank you MNFP volunteers! It was another busy day at the food pantry for First Friends. Volunteers: Phil G, David B, Kathy and Bill F, Virginia and Derek S, Linda L, Christie M, and Jim D. These volunteers were kept busy as 70 families were served. Thanks to our dedicated volunteers.
We want to see what is bringing you joy during the Pandemic: Our Friend Nancy had this great idea for us to submit photos to Friend to Friend so we can stay visually connected (they may even end up being shown during the prelude of our virtual distancing Meetings for Worship if you give permission). Feel free to send your photos with a brief caption to office@indyfriends.org.
This week, we have (left to right above): LeeAnn exploring a fairy garden. Susan showing one of Dan’s favorite books, A Prayer for Owen Meany, to the “socially distanced” Fun Quakers gathering. She also shared some of Dan’s thoughts about it. Dan the Man striking a manly pose and wearing a manly countenance. Kathy teaching Nancy how to host Zoom!
Announcements, Reports, & Opportunities
Voter Information for the General Election ~ Are you determined to vote in the general election this fall, but a little confused (or nervous!) about what the pandemic might mean for Indiana's election process? Vote.org is a reliable, easy to use, non-partisan voter information resource that can be used to check deadline dates, confirm your voter registration status, find out the location of your polling place, and/or apply for an absentee ballot if you want to vote by mail. Vote.org is national in scope, with links to individual states. Just follow the link to Indiana, which will lead you through the process on the IN.gov website for registering or for making an application to get an absentee ballot. There are strict time deadlines, and the volume of voting by mail this election is forecast to be very high, so it would be best to act soon! Thank you for voting this year.
What Will You be Doing on Election Day? ~ One of the many challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic in an election year is that elections officials foresee a shortage of poll workers. Typically, the majority of poll workers are over the age of 61, and over a quarter of them are over 70. Because they are the most susceptible to the virus, many of these seniors have indicated they will not work the polls this November.
Where does that leave us on Election Day?
One solution is for younger Americans to step up.
Did you know that in Indiana, high school students as young as 16-18 can serve as poll workers? And that Indiana law treats this service as an excused absence from school? Requirements vary depending on what county you live in, but the non-partisan WorkElections project has gathered all the information you need to apply, wherever you live (https://www.workelections.com/). For all ages, if you want to be a poll worker, some training is required and (unless you're in high school) you must be a registered voter in your county of residence to work at one of its polling places. See the WorkElections website for specific county-by-county requirements.
At a pivotal moment in American history, when many of our most pressing problems can seem insurmountable and it's hard to know just how to help, you can act. You can enable others to perform one of the most sacred of civic duties: voting on Election Day. By serving as a poll worker, you will be doing something non-partisan, a matter of civics, not politics. And in the 2020 Elections, you can claim to have helped your neighbor--and defended democracy.
For more information, see or share a flyer here: https://bit.ly/2PCBUvs
A Wildlife Wonderland at First Friends ~ Hummingbirds, butterflies, birds, and bees are some of the creatures that have increased populations at First Friends. Our members and attenders have planned, planted and nourished native trees, gardens and plants. We have provided food and shelter for many living species. In just a few years some of us have seen major increases in the wildlife populations. We are richly blessed.
This year I have seen many hummingbirds dancing through the sky. I took photos of one lingering in the Community Garden. Last year I found a furry nest of baby bunnies in one of my plots. This year I wrote a limerick about the discovery.
I put black fabric on my garden plot
to keep weeds from overtaking the lot.
The plan worked quite well
For all I could tell.
Underneath: nesting bunnies—a lot!
Meditational Woods Bird of the Month for August
Northern Flicker: Special Talk
Couples who have been together for a long time have special ways of communicating. After 40 years of marriage, Naomi and I often use shortcuts as a convenient way of quickly passing on sometimes complicated thoughts and ideas. It could be a word or two, a tone of voice, or even a look, all of which can “express volumes’” It is a sharing between spouses, and also co-workers or close friends.
The Northern Flicker is a species of woodpecker that visits the Meditational Woods from March to October. I have found them on almost every visit this season. During mild winters like we have had in recent years the flicker may overwinter, especially if it can find its favorite food: ANTS!! This could be in the ground, or as I have pictured it, a colony in a stump. Notice in the picture the bright yellow underwing and undertail; the former name of this species was “Yellow-shafted Flicker.” By the way, the black moustache (malar) mark is on the male only.
Now back to communication. Like other woodpeckers, male flickers have a drum unique to flickers. The male also has a kek-kek-kek song. It is the special “flicka-flicka-flicka” call (done by either gender) that relates to the human story above. This flicka call is exclusively between the male and the female. When I am out doing a bird survey, counting the number of each species, and I mark down a flicker doing the “flicka” call, I know to look for its mate nearby. There will likely be a duet. ~Brad Jackson
Are you ready to help people in need? The First Friends Meal Ministry is happy to provide meals to those in need of a bit of help, such as while recovering from surgery or going through a difficult time. This ministry is such an important and tangible ministry in our Meeting that connects and supports all of us. We need more folks to join us in this ministry- we can add your email to our ministry group and you can decide if the request for a meal is something you can do at the time. Lynda S and Vicki W lead this ministry and we have an app that allows for easy sign up for a meal. Will you join us in this important ministry? If you’re interested, please contact the office at office@indyfriends.org.
Queries for the Week
(From online service)
Environment
Value what’s local
Where do I live or want to live?
How can I live most of life near that place?
What kind of commute is sustainable?
Time
Value presence
With whom do I spend time? Why?
How much extra time do my commitments cost?
What could I insource?
What kind of job allows the time I need elsewhere?
Am I on devices too much, and if so, would a digital disconnect help?
Money
Value generosity
How can I make my resources available to others?
How can I keep spending low?
Which investments now will pay off later?
Does my spending reflect my overall priorities?
Parenting
Value slow growth
What’s the right amount of unstructured time for my kids?
How can I keep commitments light to preserve the calm they need for open-ended exploring and curious learning?
Where does all the technology distract from what’s good?
Arts
Value mastery
What tasks completely immerse me (where do I experience flow)?
Outside of work, what could I create or produce?
Does my leisure time reflect my values?
Where do I achieve quality?
(From self-led guide)
Where does my soul need affirming during these difficult times?
How are the secret places of my heart moving from a “noisy workshop” to a “holy sanctuary” of adoration and peace?
How will I make more time this week to connect to my Inner Sanctuary and divine Center?