Engaging in Earthcare at Yearly Meetings

DO YOU KNOW who is your Yearly Meeting representative to Quaker Earthcare Witness?

Our 31 Yearly Meeting Representatives serve as liaisons between QEW and their Yearly Meetings, sharing information about what is on the hearts and minds of Quakers from their region with QEW’s national network.  They bring back resources and insights from QEW to their Yearly Meeting through outreach opportunities, like workshops and tabling at Yearly Meeting gatherings. Email shelley@quakerearthcare.org to get connected.

At QEW, we are also always looking for Monthly Meeting Representatives. If that’s of interest to you, please send Shelley an email.

In 2017, the Quaker Earthcare Witness Outreach Committee compiled the efforts of the Yearly Meeting Representatives. We learned that:

• Duluth-Superior Friends Meeting has been actively involved in the sulfide mining issue in Minnesota;
• Monthly Meetings in New York Yearly Meeting are typically very active locally on a multitude of Earthcare, energy, and climate change issues;
• Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Eco-Justice Collaborative is working on 100% renewable energy for 100% of the meetings;
• Southeastern Yearly Meeting has hired a Field Secretary for Earthcare.

Some QEW representatives also led activities on Earthcare or climate change:

• At North Columbus Friends Meeting, the Peace and Social Action Committee developed the YouTube video, “Can We Plan Ahead?”
• Wrote and produced a skit about climate change for the Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting.
• The theme of Iowa Conservative’s last yearly meeting was “Building Bridges.”  The Gathering included a panel with indigenous women who had been at Standing Rock.