Peace and Social Action

From CS-Quakers

Peace and Social Action Committee of Chatham¬Summit Monthly Meeting Mission Statement, Duties and Activities

Friends have worked for peace, equity and social justice, from the early days of the Religious Society of Friends. Motivation for this work came from individual religious experience, Quaker testimonies and Christian teachings.

New York Yearly Meeting’s Faith & Practice reminds us that:

“Friends are advised to work toward removing the causes of misery and suffering. They are urged to support efforts to overcome racial, social, economic, and educational discrimination; to bear testimony against all forms of oppression; to exert influence for such treatment of prisoners as may help reconstruct their lives; and to work for the abolition of the death penalty.”

Advice Seven, -Faith and Practice, New York Yearly Meeting Religious Society of Friends, Approved 31st July 1998.

It is the Peace and Social Action Committee’s role to foster and nurture these activities within the Chatham-Summit Meeting community.

The Peace and Social Action Committee of C¬S Monthly Meeting will:

1.INFORM & EDUCATE - Bring to the attention of the meeting important, topical or timely issues relevant to peace, social justice, equity and social well being. When necessary, to provide educational materials or persons/ organizations with the expertise and training to inform/advise the meeting on topics of peace and social action.

2.EMPOWER INDIVIDUAL ACTION - Provide an organizational framework to assist persons from meeting with specific social or peace concerns/ witness – to manifest their concerns/witness into action.

3.EMPOWER COLLECTIVE ACTION - Provide vehicles for activities or the collective action for the members of the meeting having an impact on issues of peace and social action.

4.PROVIDE OUTREACH - Provide outreach to the greater community outside of Quaker meeting to inform it of Friends concerns regarding peace and social justice issues. These purposes are manifest in the following current concrete activities:

• Advise the meeting on yearly charitable contributions. This advice will include the solicitation of input on potential charitable organizations from the C-S Meeting community. Provide research into the objectives and efficacy of charities under consideration. Present, in a clear summary form,

those charities selected for donations.

• Interfaith Homeless Network (IHN) - Organize and arrange visiting assignment for individuals from meeting to the IHN.

• Maintain and update C-S MM web site with P&SAC meeting dates and other organizational activities.

• Organize from time to time, within the year, fund raising dinners or events for organizations with social or peace concerns.

• Provide the meeting with information on the activities of national and local peace and social concerns organizations. These include American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)/ National, AFSC/ New York Metropolitan Regional Office (NYMRO), Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO),

Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund (NCPTF), Interfaith Refugee Action Team - Elizabeth (IRATE) PeaceWorks and Wind of the Spirit.

• Provide C-S MM with a yearly report of the P&SAC activities.

• Conduct correspondence relevant to the P&SAC.

The P&SAC shall review these activities on a yearly basis, or as needed and modify them as required.

Peace and Social Action Committee, Chatham Summit Monthly Meeting >From 1995 Revised 1/2010