"The fruit of the peace testimony is love manifested in countless ways: refusal to take part in military endeavors, finding a manner of living that does not exploit the labor and resources of others, working for a more just and equitable social, political, and economic order, and sacrificial giving to those in need."

"The root of this peace testimony is deep. It draws its nourishment from the power of God to bring transformation and healing into our inverted and wounded lives, from our deepening experience of Christ's love, and from our willingness to yield our lives to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Only as this testimony remains rooted deep in its nourishing soil is it able to produce fruit." (p. 3)

"Our peacemaking cannot wait until we feel completely loving. Feelings are notoriously unreliable guides. We are called to obedient love even though we may not be feeling very loving. Often it is through the performance of loving acts that loving feel-ings can be built up in us. We may start with small, perhaps very tiny, steps. It is only as we begin to allow Christ's love to act in and through us that it can become a part of us."

"Action requires discernment of God's will. Discernment requires that attention be focused on our Inward Guide who speaks to us through prayer, Scripture, the discipline of our Meeting, and the voices of our brothers and sisters in the church-community. From Christ we learn where our lives need healing and where they need re-ordering. We discover what we are called to lay down and what we must take up. We shall probably find that many of the accepted patterns of life in our society are inconsistent with those of God's kingdom."

Details from "Mother, Behold Your Son" by Laurie Marshall

A Faithful and Certain Response by Asheville Teens
By Robin Wells. "At a time when many people were uncertain how to respond to the tragic events of September 11, Young Friends from the Asheville (NC) Friends Meeting joined 60 teens from 11 different faith groups for an interfaith teen retreat."

Indifference is Not an Option
By Richard McCutcheon. "It would be a serious mistake, I think, to underestimate the power of indifference-indifference that has caused so many to turn a blind eye to genocide in the past and that now causes so many to turn a blind eye to the mass violence being visited upon men, women and children in Iraq."

What Do You Get When You Cross a Quaker with a Naval Officer? Me!
By Rebecca Haines-Rosenberg. "I heard the word 'revenge' a lot of times over the next few days, but never from my dad. He was busy calling all the people in his Naval Reserve Unit, making sure they were okay. I have seen this kind of thing all my life, naval officers taking care of each other. It is one of the reasons I cannot believe that the military is either heartless or rash."

Living the Peace Testimony in Time of War
By Mary Ellen McNish. "Taking the less popular stand is never easy. Friends like Thomas Garrett-a key figure helping free slaves through the Underground Railroad-and even Philadelphia founder William Penn, knew how lonely, even dangerous, holding to principle could become. Yet they too, held steady and helped change their world."

Blankets
By John Calvi. "Early December and Quaker meetinghouses all over the country are filling up with blankets for Afghanistan. Quakers have a wonderful history of looking into trouble and figuring out what pain can be most easily addressed right now to curb suffering... The idea of a blanket is easy to understand. It is apolitical. It can only warm. Anyone in any kind of winter knows that a blanket is a comfort, even lifesaving, and a wonderful gift. It can be the essence of kindness during our seasonal time of giving."

FGC Nurturing Quakerism Campaign: Nearing It's Goal
"At its heart the FGC Nurturing Quakerism Campaign is about strengthening meetings and following the leadings of the Spirit. FGC has undertaken new programs and services in response to the requests and leadings of Friends. Large numbers of Friends, mostly volunteers with the support of a small but effective staff, are implementing these programs because they care deeply about the vitality of unprogrammed Quakerism."

Book Review: Slap Your Sides
Reviewed by Melissa Edgerton. "Many young Friends are already aware of the difficulties of being Friends during a popular war. Many of them, both young men and women, are wondering about the choices they might have to make if the draft is reinstituted, and are dealing with their own feelings toward selective service registration. I think that Slap Your Sides would interest high school and middle school Friends, as well as older Friends who read young adult books."

Book Review: Peace is the Way
Reviewed by Jean Marie P. Barch. "My appetite for a further understanding of what moved some of our peacemakers to action was aroused even as my awareness of the scope of their work was satisfied. Wink helps the novice reader to place each piece within the sweep of the history of the movement through juxtaposition of works as well as through brief grounding introductions to each piece."