Richard Grossman

“Community” is central to Friends’ faith and practice, and of course, it is central to all of humanity. Life starts with a community of two – the mother and her infant. A baby’s community grows as she grows. Eventually it may include her father, other siblings, and many others.

John’s son, Adam, spoke glowingly of his father at John’s memorial service. Adam and his sibling were adopted when they were small. Adam knew what his life would have been like if they hadn’t been taken away by social services from their alcoholic mother.

Wanna buy baby?” I was eleven years old and traveling with my family in Latin America. We were climbing up a dirt path in the humid heat when we passed a young woman, perhaps only five or six years older than I was. She was holding an infant in her arms.

Dear Editor: Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW) has just approved a new program, Quaker PopOffsets. It’s patterned after a similar program in Britain, which collects contributions and then disperses the money to programs that either educate about family planning or provide family-planning services. Because a “non-person” has no carbon emissions, this is a very effective way to offset one’s carbon emissions. I would also like to ask you to share with Western Friend readers the minute in support of Planned Parenthood that Intermountain Yearly Meeting approved at our annual session this June. Thanks.

Friends are not known for large families. However, it is my experience that many members of the Religious Society of Friends are like most people in the USA – we are generally unaware of the connections between what we hold dear and the growing number of people in the world. Human population growth is an “elephant in the room,” which we typically avoid or ignore.

There is something you can do that is likely to make you happier, healthier, save money and lessen your impact on the planet. What is it? Consume less by practicing simpler living.

When we considered joining the cohousing community, I was attracted for several reasons. Besides improving relationships, I was intrigued by the gains in efficiency and ways to decrease our impact on the natural world.