A longstanding tradition among Friends is to record in a paragraph or two a spiritually grounded moral or conscientious position on a topic of concern in contemporary society. For instance, a number of minutes have been written and circulated over the years opposing the death penalty. The minute is intended as a public witness on the issue, and proceeds from a palpable sense of the meeting, not just a lukewarm “okay.” Sometimes, it is reached after a long struggle and represents a new understanding. Copies are often sent to pertinent politicians and/or others and sent to newspapers as letters to the editor.
The list below represents minutes of conscience that were discovered via web search in 2022, updated in 2024. Please submit additional minutes using the link below.
Anti-Racism
- Anti-Racism Minute, Atlanta (GA) Friends Meeting
- Reparations, Cedar (MI) Friends Meeting
- Racism and Anti-racism, Cannon Friends Meeting
- Hatred, Racist Violence, and Domestic Terrorism Minute, Atlanta (GA) Friends Meeting
- Minute on Reparative Justice and Reconciliation, Atlanta (GA) Friends Meeting
- Racial Justice, Red Cedar (MI) Friends Meeting
- Minute on Responding to Systemic Racism and Police Violence, North Columbus (OH) Friends Meeting
- Statement Against Expression of Racism in Our Country, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Environment and Sustainability
- Sustainability, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
- Minute to Address the Climate Crisis, Northern Yearly Meeting
Indigenous Concerns
- Denouncing the Doctrine of Discovery, Milwaukee (WI) Monthly Meeting
- Minute to Renounce the Doctrine of Discovery, Winnebago Worship Group
- Doctrine of Discovery & Quaker Boarding Schools, Kickapoo Valley Monthly Meeting
- Minute of Northern Yearly Meeting of Quakers to Renounce the Doctrine of Discovery
- Minute on Truth & Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools, Northern Yearly Meeting
- Federal Recognition of the Brothertown Indian Nation, Northern Yearly Meeting
- Minute from Canadian Yearly Meeting on Truth and Reconciliation (2015)
- Minute from Canadian Yearly Meeting on Truth and Reconciliation (2016)
- Minute on Native Boarding School Legislation (2022), North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative)
- Minute of Unity Refuting the 1626 Schaghen Letter, Salem (NJ) Quarterly Meeting
- Minute Supporting the Establishment of a Federal Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the US, Salem (NJ) Quarterly Meeting
- Supporting the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation’s NJ State Reaffirmation, Salem (NJ) Quarterly Meeting
- Supporting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, Salem (NJ) Quarterly Meeting
LGBT Concerns
- Sexuality and Gender Equality, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
- Minute Welcoming and Affirming Transgender People, North Columbus (OH) Friends Meeting
- Minute Welcoming and Affirming Marriage, North Columbus (OH) Friends Meeting
- Gender and Sexual Equality – Updated, Memphis (TN) Friends Meeting
- Minute on Transgender Rights, Friends Meeting of Washington (DC)
Marriage Equality
- Minute of Welcoming and Affirming Marriage, North Columbus (OH) Friends Meeting
- Defense of Marriage Laws, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
Peace
- Terrorism and War, George Fox
- Minute on Gun Violence, Northern Yearly Meeting
- Peace Testimony Statement, North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative)
- Declaration on Peace and Violence, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
- Minute on Nuclear Weapons, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
- Gaza and Israel, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
- Minute on Gaza War, Red Cedar (MI) Friends Meeting
- Statement on Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
- Minute Supporting the Nuclear Weapons Ban, Multnomah Friends Meeting
- Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Act, Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting
- Minute on Ceasefire in the Middle East, Cannon Valley (MN) Friends Meeting
- Minute on Ukraine, Cannon Valley (MN) Friends Meeting
- Minute on Escalation in Iraq, North Columbus (OH) Friends Meeting
- Minute on the War in Ukraine, Friends Meeting of Washington (DC)
- Minute on the Conflict in Israel/Palestine, November 2023, Friends Meeting of Washington (DC)
- Statement on Seeking a Just Peace in Israel/Palestine, July 2024, Friends Meeting of Washington (DC)
- Canada’s Involvement in the Arms Trade
Reproductive Health
- Minute on Reproductive Health, Oxford (OH) Friends Meeting
- Minute on Reproductive Rights, Red Cedar (MI) Friends Meeting
- Minute on Reproductive Health, Brainerd Friends Meeting
This list was first assembled by Mathilda Navias and Carl Stanton in 2022. November 4, 2024.