Founded in 1917, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace with justice, as a practical expression of faith in action. Drawing on continuing spiritual insights and working with people of many backgrounds, we nurture the seeds of change and respect for human life that transform social relations and systems.
OUR WORK: The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) lobbies Congress and the administration to advance peace, justice, opportunity, and environmental stewardship. Founded in 1943 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), FCNL fields an expert team of lobbyists on Capitol Hill and works with a grassroots network of tens of thousands of people across the country to advance policies and priorities established by our governing General Committee. FCNL is a nonpartisan organization that seeks to live our values of integrity, simplicity, and peace as we build relationships across political divides to move policies forward.
In 1956 Friends from five Tennessee communities assembled in Knoxville to share their experiences and hopes...in 1959 about 42 adults and as many children organized the Southern Appalachian Association of Friends (SAAF)… There were seven worshiping groups: Atlanta, Berea, Celo, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, and Pine Mountain. The next year members of the Association returned to Crossville for an overnight camping experience…These weekends became high points of the year and formed the basis for treasured recollections for those who participated. In 1970 … those who came to Crossville decided to create the Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association. The word “Association” was retained to acknowledge isolated Friends in our region.…In 1977… Birmingham and Charleston, won recognition as monthly meetings… Crossville, Huntsville and Memphis have become monthly meetings…. More recently, Athens, Boone, Brevard, Foxfire, Greenville, Oxford, and Swannanoa Valley meetings have joined SAYMA. Worship groups continue to be formed…. From the beautiful green mountains that dwarf the original Pendle Hill, they have had an opportunity to envision, as George Fox did… a great people waiting to be gathered in the service of the Truth that is Light and Love. (Excerpted from SAYMA Faith and Practice, pgs. 12-13). From these beginnings, our Yearly Meeting sprang. We gather each June at Warren Wilson College in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Swannanoa, North Carolina, to worship, conduct business, learn, sing, dance, and play together.
You are welcome in Southeastern Yearly Meeting! We are a diverse and inclusive community of people who support each other in our spiritual journeys and work for positive change in the world. SEYM is a community of 25 unprogrammed Quaker Meetings and Worship Groups in Florida, southeast Georgia, coastal South Carolina, and Managua, Nicaragua.
Quaker Earthcare Witness is a network of North American Friends (Quakers) and other like-minded people who are taking spirit-led action to address the ecological and social crises of the world, emphasizing Quaker process and testimonies. While QEW supports reforms in laws, technology, education, and institutions, its primary calling is to facilitate transformation of humans' attitudes, values, identity, and worldview that underlie much of the environmental destruction going on in the world today. You can be part of QEW's work by giving of your time, talents, and financial support, becoming a QEW contact for your Meeting, starting an Earthcare group in your meeting, reading and sharing BeFriending Creation and other QEW literature, and leading Earthcare activities in your Meeting.
Quaker House is a manifestation of the Friends’ Peace Testimony. Based in Fayetteville, NC, home of Ft. Bragg, Quaker House provides counseling and support to service members who are questioning their role in the military; educates them, their families, and the public about military issues; and advocates for a more peaceful world.