Organizations
There are many national and international organizations that seek to promote Quaker ideals and to put those ideals into action. The list below is by no means exhaustive:
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)–Perhaps the best known of all the Quaker Service organizations, AFSC was founded in 1917 to provide U.S. conscientious objectors with alternatives to military service. They instituted a major child-feeding program in Germany in 1919 and, along with ther British counterpart, the Friends Service Council, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947 for their work in post-war Europe. Today they run over 200 programs in more than 20 countries.
Friendly Water for the World–The mission of Friendly Water for the World is to train and equip communities in sustainable village-scale technologies to sageguard, conserve, and expand essential resources. They have programs in the areas of water security, sustainable food, safe cooking, clean water, better building, good hygiene, and improved sanitation.
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)–Founded in 1943, FCNL is the oldest religious lobby in Washington, D.C. They are a national, nonpartisan organization that lobbies Congress for peace, justice, and environmental stewardship.
Friends General Conference (FGC)–FGC is a coalition of local and regional Quaker organizations, currently comprising sixteen yearly meetings and eleven directly affiliated monthly meetings, primarily in the United States and Canada. They offer a variety of programs and services to Friends, including QuakerPress Publishing, the QuakerBooks bookstore, the Ministry on Racism Program and the Spiritual Deepening Library.
Friends House Moscow (FHM)–FHM is a collaboration between Quakers worldwide working to promote peace, justice, and fairness, and to help underpriviliged groups and individuals in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. They are overseen by an International Board composed of Quakers from Russia, the USA, and Europe.
Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC)—The goal of FWCC is to foster understanding among diverse groups of Friends. They are a recognized non-governmental organization at the U.N.
Quaker Earthcare Witness (QEW)–QEW has been helping North American Friends integrate Earthcare into their daily loves. They work to inspire Spirit-led action toward ecological sustainability and environmental justice.
Pacific Yearly Meeting (PacYM)–PacYM is a coalition of unprogrammed Friends Meetings in parts of Mexico and the western USA. In addition to sponsoring an annual gathering every summer, they are responsible for Western Friend Journal and the book of Faith and Practice used by our Meeting.
Pendle Hill Conference and Retreat Center—A Quaker conference center located near Philadelphia that provides adult education, publishes pamphlets, and offers personal and group retreats.
Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR)-RSWR seeks to share the abundance of God’s love by giving grants to groups of marginalized women in Kenya, Sierra Leone, and India to fund individual micro-enterprise projects.
Southern California Quarterly Meeting (SCQM)–SCQM is a collection of unprogrammed Quaker Meetings and Worship Groups in the Southern California and Southwestern Nevada area. They sponsor two meetings per year: Fall Fellowship (usually the first weekend in November) and Spring Gathering (usually the last Saturday in April). They also sponsor occasional workshops throughout the year.
Publications
Friends Journal–Friends Journal, published by Friends Publishing Corporation, has readership in all 50 states and 43 countries. Their mission is “to communicate Quaker experience in order to connect and deepen spiritual lives.” In addition to the journal, they sponsor the QuakerSpeak video project.
Western Friend–Western Friend is the official publication of the Pacific, North Pacific, and Intermountain Yearly Meetings. Their mission is to build practical and spiritual connections among Western Friends in print, online, and face-to-face.