[Quotations for programmed ministry during plenary session of Yearly Meeting]
A human being is a part of the whole, called by us UNIVERSE, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest a kind of optical delusion of our consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
[Albert Einstein]
Through the aweinspiring accounts of modern science, we are learning amazing things about the birth of the universe and the evolution of life on earth.
For our spiritual practice to reflect this unfolding of God's truth over time, this this sacred story must take its place beside the book of Genesis from the Bible. Learning who we are and where we come from makes clear that we're part of the community of all beings.
[Santa Cruz Meeting]
The continuing humancaused decline in the quality, integrity and diversity of the natural world is nothing less than the destruction of God's creation. This destruction has its roots in human culture's disconnecting the earth and its creatures from what is considered sacred.
We must begin to perceive more clearly how our every action is interconnected to the web of life, so that we act in accord with the sentiment of William Penn's question about the use of our world, when he asked: ~How could man[kind] find the confidence to abuse it, while they should see the Great Creator stare them in the Face, in all and every part thereof?"
We believe our faith calls us to serve not merely as good managers or "stewards" of the environment. We must instead become humble partners with the earth, sustaining and revering the sacred web of creation upon which humanity depends.
[Redwood Forest Meeting]
It is our experience that care for the environment has shaped our meeting house and corporate activities... [O]ur belief in the integrity of creation has taken root in our homes and daily lives, causing fundamental lifestyle changes for many of us. We have noticed that we are not making these changes alone, that many in the Religious Society of Friends have responded to this concern.
[Palo Alto Meeting]
The unfolding of God's truth over time has recently revealed the universe as it has emerged and grown, and the eventual evolution of earth and its life. We want our spiritual practice to reflect the awesome accounts of modern cosmology, which should take their place beside the Genesis of the Bible.
As much as we delight in the cosmology of creation, we humans now on earth are beginning to recognize the challenge and potential of this new knowledge to avert its destruction. So, we are moved by the spirit to act on behalf of creation. The chaos which we experience is the lubricant for changes which have to come.
[Elizabeth Jones, Santa Cruz]
The continuing humancaused decline in the quality, integrity and diversity of the natural world is nothing less than the destruction of God's creation. This destruction has its roots in human culture's disconnecting the earth and its creatures from what is considered sacred.
We must begin to perceive more clearly how our every action is interconnected to the web of life, so that we act in accord with the sentiment of William Penn's question about the use of our world, when he asked: "How could man[kind] find the confidence to abuse it, while they should see the Great Creator stare them in the Face, in all and every part thereof?"
We believe our faith calls us to serve not merely as good managers or "stewards" of the environment. We must instead become humble partners with the earth, sustaining and revering the sacred web of creation upon which humanity depends.
[Redwood Forest Meeting]
It is our experience that care for the environment has shaped our meeting house and corporate activities... [O]ur belief in the integrity of creation has taken root in our homes and daily lives, causing fundamental lifestyle changes for many of us. We have noticed that we are not making these changes alone, that many in the Religious Society of Friends have responded to this concern.
[Palo Alto Meeting]