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Lives of Conscience

• Authored by:
• World War II Conscientious Objectors

Conversations with World War II Conscientious Objectors

On War (January 2013)

On Consumption

• Authored by:
• Mary Klein

Dear Friends:  Nobody ever taught us to pray, “Give us this day our stockpile of bread with a shelf-life of forty years.” Hoarding resources for private gain is a course of action that despoils the Earth and obstructs our right relationship with God. Humanity today consumes resources 50% faster than the Earth can replenish them. In the United States, we consume them 400% faster. (See footprintnetwork.org.) Habitat destruction and other factors caused biodiversity to plummet by 30% across the globe and by 60% in the tropics between 1970 and 2008. (See wwf.panda.org.) Dozens of species go extinct and a thousand people die of starvation each day, due to human greed, ignorance, and inertia.

On Consumption (May 2013)

Forty Years of Progresa in Guatemala

• Authored by:
• Elspeth Benton,
• Ann Boone,
• Donna Higgins Smith

To celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the Progresa program in Guatemala, program participants and supporters gathered in Guatemala in April 2013 to review the program’s history and accomplishments. Looking back across forty years, we found much to celebrate.

On Superiority (July 2013)

Not by Our Strength Alone - Unabridged

• Authored by:
• Becca Mohally Renk,
• Paul Mohally Renk

Not by My Strength Alone: Laboring Together Beyond Our Comfort Zones

On Love (September 2013)

Draft Counseling Across the Divide

• Authored by:
• Bill Lovett

During the buildup of the Vietnam War in 1967, several Friends families found themselves in Visalia, California, due to the establishment of the American Friends Service Committee’s Farm Labor Program. The program was focused on helping low-income families, especially farm workers, to form cooperative groups. These groups of eight to twelve families were then guided through the process of building their own homes.

On Patriotism (January 2014)

Simplicity and Our Complex Economy

• Authored by:
• Greg Regaignon

Simplicity runs in opposition to modern life.  Thousands of people, and potentially hundreds of companies, are involved in the production, distribution, and sale of something as simple as a pencil or a cup of coffee – to say nothing of a pair of sneakers, a movie, or a car, or providing a service like a mutual fund or a night in a hotel room. 

On Production (May 2014)

Discovery: Peacework in Mexico

• Authored by:
• Doug Smith

Dear Editor:  I was greatly interested in Burton Housman’s article, “Between Two Civilizations” in the Jan/Feb issue.  I was one of seven Quakers (four Californians, one each from New York, New Mexico, and Nevada) who attended the first Quaker Social Action in Mexico Learning Tour hosted by the Casa de los Amigos team in Mexico City in January this year.  During our nine days there, we learned much about the critical humanitarian work, peace programs, and partnering done by their dedicated, bright, enthusiastic staff and volunteers.

On Needs (May 2015)

Vietnam: A Study in Contrasts

• Authored by:
• Joan B. Forest

Vietnam is a mixture of old and new, the simple ways of villages and the cutthroat competition of modern global capitalism, ugly nightmares from an ancient history filled with devastating wars and current struggles to recover.

On Countries (January 2016)

On Limits

• Authored by:
• Mary Klein

As almost any four-year-old child could tell you, if you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a great big box, you’ll need to cut holes in it before you can make it into a house. Or as “the old man” (Lao Tsu) said, “Profit comes from what is there; usefulness from what is not there.”

On Limits (May 2016)

Rich People Won’t Eat It

• Authored by:
• Jane Snyder

A friend told me a story about a woman with limited English proficiency who makes and sells tamales. She did not understand when customers asked her if the tamales were gluten free, so she asked her daughter what gluten free meant. The daughter said, “That’s something rich people won’t eat.”

On Limits (May 2016)