Princeton Monthly Meeting

Minute on Sustainability

(Approved October 13, 1996)

We, as Friends, are disturbed by the increasingly numerous, and increasingly severe, environmental problems besetting our world. We deplore environmental degradation as well as attempts by groups and individuals to eliminate such protections of the environment as are already in place.

As Friends, we believe that harmony with the world around us is an important part of our service to the divine. By living sustainably, living in a way that the natural systems of the world can support, by seeking to live with nature rather than to control it, we come to deeper spiritual fulfillment and insight. We believe that human efforts should be directed towards the spiritual fulfillment found in a harmonious relationship with God and nature.

The idea of sustainability brings together such long standing Quaker testimonies as simplicity, stewardship, and justice. We believe that seeking God’s will includes accepting limits on our acquisitions and on our demands on the environment. We call upon our fellow Friends, our fellow citizens, and our political leaders to join us in a search for a sustainable and sensitive manner of living.