Earlier this year, I sent a message comparing the 125th anniversary of the publication of The Wizard of Oz to the 125th anniversary of Friends General Conference, both occurring this year.

At the annual sessions of North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative), I continued that idea, reminding Friends that even though the Quaker faith exists in many different traditions among several branches, the Source is the same. Just as Wicked (2024) and The Wiz (1978) could not be without The Wizard of Oz (1939), they all stem from L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel.

Friends General Conference is a different entity than it was in 1900. FGC is different even from what it was in 1996.  In that year, our Minute of Purpose was different from what it is today. Some of our changes have been incremental, and others have been seismic, as Spirit leads us.

For me, and for many of you, worship is our constant. Waiting worship can change us in subtle ways, like a fluttering of the heart, or in major ways as we follow leadings to transform our lives and the world.

As I contemplate outreach as part of my work with FGC, I share that we must do more to demonstrate and explain our style of worship to the world. Yes, many of us do not separate our spiritual lives from our political lives, and live in such a way that perhaps makes our Quakerness self-evident.

But what might happen if, on Sunday afternoon, you decided to talk about your experience in meeting for worship? What happens if you put words to your experience of waiting worship in the unprogrammed tradition? Who might you touch on social media if, for once, you shared the beauty of what you get to experience by being part of such a community?

There will be more echoes of Oz for generations to come. As the core story is heard, the hearers will be inspired to reinterpret what they learn through the lens of their own experiences.

Quakerism is no different.  Share your version with the world and allow it to be changed by the hearers so that it may continue.

In Friendship,

Rashid Darden

Associate Secretary for Communications and Outreach