A Request from the Webservant: If any of you are aware of up-to-date collections of minutes relating to same-sex unions and other same-sex issues, please let me know. This is an issue with a tremendous amount of activity and constant change, and it deserves a focused effort of its own. I have not been clear to undertake trying to keep up such a resource myself as part of this site. As important as same-sex issues are, they are only a piece of the much larger issue of integrating sexuality and spirituality for all of us. Having said that, the items included here are an extremely limited collection, many of which are very out of date. This whole page is only a very small first step in an ongoing work in progress.
Respecting Sexual Boundaries and Addressing Violations
Canadian Yearly Meeting Personnel Committee, "Policy on Sexual Harassment" at http://www.fgcquaker.org/library/fosteringmeetings/0304.html.
Friends General Conference, Long-Range Conference Planning Committee, "Policy on Abuse Prevention," Adopted 10/23/2004 at http://www.fgcquaker.org/connect/summer05/child_abuse_policy.htm.
Friends General Conference, Letter to prospective youth workers, 2006.
Friends General Conference, Draft-Child Safety Procedures in the Event of Child Endangerment, 2006.
Friends General Conference, Gathering Policy And Procedures On Harassment, 2005.
Gunpowder Friends Meeting, Sparks, Maryland. Child Safety Policy Approved 12/18/2005. Available on request from the meeting.
Pacific Yearly Meeting. Minute regarding sexual discrimination, harassment and abuse among friends. Approved, 8/1996.
- describes responses by six other yearly and monthly meetings and lists many resources.
Rochester MM (NY), Minute on Dealing with a Child Abuser in the Meeting Community, 5/14/1995, at http://www.fgcquaker.org/library/fosteringmeetings/0305.html
Sexual Orientation
Collection of "Marriage Minutes" maintained by Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC) at http://flgbtqc.quaker.org/marriageminutes.html
"The Quaker Electronic Archive's Page on Same Sex Unions/Issues" at http://www.qis.net/~daruma/samesex.html appears to end in the late 1990s.
Friends General Conference (FGC) Central Committee Minute on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Friends, October 22, 2004.
Baltimore Yearly Meeting "Epistle Regarding Friends United Meetings Personnel Policy" at http://www.bym-rsf.org/Epistles & SSM/FUM Policy Epistle.htm, July 30, 2004. Also, a variety of minutes relating to this ongoing concern can be found in the minutes of interim and annual sessions at http://www.bym-rsf.org/pubs.html.
New England Yearly Meeting Minute of Exercise on Friends United Meetings Personnel Policy Concerns, 2004, including a "History of FUM policy regarding appointment of homosexuals" by Ben Richmond, FUM, spring 2003.