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Shareholder Activism versus Divestment

• Authored by:
• Karie Firoozmand

Dear Editor: I read with interest the article “Quakers, Climate, and Money” in the May/June 2015 issue of Western Friend. I am always happy when Friends concern themselves as individuals with the future that climate change will bring, and take action. I would like your readers to know, however, that in deciding how to handle invested assets, they may find useful information by reading about the movement for divestment from fossil fuel companies that is going on worldwide. The Friend who wrote the article may find additional information that could change his opinion about the values of shareholder activism vs. divestment.

On Difference (July 2015)

Children as Soldiers

• Authored by:
• Shelley Blank

Dear Friends:  Please consider this article I wrote for Epoch Times, September 10, 2015 on “children as soldiers.” UNICEF estimates that about 300,000 children under 18 are currently involved in more than thirty conflicts across the globe. Although there are no exact figures, the average age is 16 in government forces, younger in armed rebel groups. Some soldiers are as young as eight years old. Please consider this issue, and let your conscience be your guide. Read the article here.

On Money (November 2015)

Beyond Hatred and Scapegoating

• Authored by:
• Tom Kowal

Dear Friends: In the last edition of Western Friend, the last paragraph of the “Daily Justice and Injustice” article was incomplete — I had not gotten my final edit back to Mary in time. So please consider this to be a correction to that article, which I call “WWJWD: What Would John Woolman DO?” 

On Rules (November 2020)

A Good Push

• Authored by:
• Nancy Rice

Dear Editor: Thank you for this latest issue of Western Friend, “On Rules.” I’m only half-way through, but I’ve appreciated every article. Eleanor Dart and David Tucker gave good viewpoints on their topics. And then I got to Valerie Ireland and Lori Patterson, and I was truly moved to tears, which is really unusual for me. I don’t know if you will get some flak for Lori’s article, but it was a really good push for me. I have a lot to learn, and these present-day Quakers, sharing their struggles with present-day issues, are really great. I know Valerie Ireland, so it felt like she was just sitting in my living room explaining what it’s like these days to work in inner-city schools. Really important to hear. I don’t know Lori, but I very much appreciated her challenge to us white folk.

On Vision (January 2021)

No Homework Required

• Authored by:
• Jo Ann Kidder

Dear Editor: A Friend in our meeting, Patricia Hogan, started a group you might like to hear about. On the third Sunday of every month, we meet for an hour before meeting for worship to read an article from Western Friend. So that no one feels like they have to do “homework” before getting together, we read the article aloud and stop for discussion or comment at any time. This group has proven to be a way to more thoroughly digest articles and also to get to know each other better. We used to work our way through books this way, but reading articles from Western Friend has been more rewarding.

On Place (May 2022)

Two Hands of Nonviolence

• Authored by:
• Donna Eyestone

Dear Editor: I am writing to thank David Albert for his article, “Gandhi’s Smile,” in the July/August 2022 issue of Western Friend. I have been studying the life and work of Barbara Deming, and Albert’s article resonated with those studies. Like Gandhi, Deming addressed ways we can make use of the positive energy that anger brings, while not allowing ourselves to become overcome by its force. She used a “two hands” metaphor to help describe the tension that many of us feel in moments like the one we are living in now.

On Cooperation (September 2022)

Rationales for Guidelines

• Authored by:
• Eric Sabelman

On Compassion (November 2024)

Demilitarizing Police Across California

Medical Pioneer Sets Sights on Global Concerns

Vets in Our Meetings

• Authored by:
• Bob Jolly

Dear Editor:  I congratulate Zachary Moon for his fine article in the Western Friend (Jan/Feb 2013). It is well written and thought provoking.

On Power (March 2013)