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Our leadings on Peace and Social Justice Issues

Harrisburg Monthly Meeting Minute of Solidarity with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual+ (LGBTQIA+) People

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May 11, 2025

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As Quakers, we believe that each person has that of the Divine within them. This belief forms the foundation of our testimony of equality. Therefore, in light of the increasingly hostile and direct attacks against LGBTQIA+* people, Harrisburg Friends Meeting commits to be in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ people and to humbly educate ourselves on the types of active resistance that would demonstrate our support in ways including:

                                                                                                 

  1. Affirm that all individuals are by right entitled to the sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression that are authentically theirs.

  2.  Promising to provide a safe space of worship for all LGBTQIA+ members, attenders, and other individuals who reach out to us.

  3. Pledging to continually educate ourselves on issues of concern to the queer community and charging our committees to consider how LGBTQIA+ issues impact their work and how they can contribute to advancing justice and equality.

  4. Speaking out against the attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive policies and language in the public sector and the threatening of private businesses and corporations that may seek to do business with the federal government

  5. Speaking out against the use of the terms Wokeism and Transgenderism as attempts to demonize policies, programs and values that are affirming and inclusive of LGBTQIA+ people.

  6. We also voice support for recent Queer and Trans Liberation movements that have sought to strive for a world where all people, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, can live free from discrimination, violence, and oppression, and where their rights and dignity are fully respected.

 

 

*The “+” part of the acronym LGBTQIA+ can also include but may not be limited to:

  • Pansexual - a sexual orientation characterized by romantic, emotional, or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity

 

  • Two-Spirit or 2S - is a contemporary term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) social role in their communities

 

  • Questioning - anyone who hasn't yet self-defined their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or some combination of the three

 

  • NonBinary - a person who does not identify exclusively as a man or a woman. Non-binary people may identify as being both a man and a woman, somewhere in between, or as falling completely outside these categories.

Minute of Support for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting DHS Lawsuit

 

February 23, 2025

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Harrisburg Monthly Meeting (HMM) of the Religious Society of Friends strongly supports Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) for the courage and conviction shown in joining New England Yearly Meeting, Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Adelphi and Richmond Monthly Meetings as plaintiffs in a lawsuit to block the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from its abrupt shift in policy that enables federal immigration enforcement officials to enter houses of worship for immigration enforcement actions. We appreciate the swift response of the General Secretary, Clerks and committee members who acted with purpose and clarity in making this happen. HMM is in unity with PYM and believes that houses of worship are sacred spaces and not a place where, “criminal aliens go to hide.”  We fully endorse PYM’s position that the Court should “declare unconstitutional any policy permitting government agents to carry out immigration enforcement at or near houses of worship when the policy is limited only by individual agents’ subjective ‘common sense,’ vacate the 2025 Policy, and enjoin DHS and its constituent agencies from implementing or enforcing the policy.”

With deep appreciation and support,  Harrisburg Monthly Meeting

Harrisburg Monthly Meeting Minute on the Israel-Palestine Conflict

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Nov 12, 2023

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Harrisburg Friends Meeting (Quakers), as part of The Religious Society of Friends, follows the Quaker testimony on peace, justice, and nonviolence, based in our experience of the divine in all of creation and within all persons:

Thus, we are deeply troubled by the suffering and injustice caused by the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and we are concerned that our government perpetuates that violence by continuing to send billions of dollars of military aid to the region. We affirm the right to self determination for both Israel and Palestine.

We call upon our nation to:

  • Work for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza to save precious human life

  • Cease sending United States military aid and selling weapons to Israel and work to end military aid and arms sales from all outside countries to all parties in this conflict

  • Continue diplomatic efforts with all parties and remain in dialogue even with those who have acted violently

  • Work towards a just, comprehensive resolution that allows all people of the region to live in security and equality, and repairs harm that has been done

  • Join the international court system and accept its jurisdiction

We call upon all nations to:

  • Support efforts based in international law to bring justice, peace, security, and reconciliation to all parties in the conflict

  • Take measures to assure that international laws are applied universally

We call upon all individuals and communities to:

  • Support and learn from organizations that bring Israelis and Palestinians together for justice and peacemaking.

  • Examine how anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and privilege affect our understanding of the conflict

Adapted from here: https://www.fcnl.org/updates/2017-12/quaker-meeting-minute-israel-palestine-conflict

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