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The right to vote in the United States was originally only for white male property owners 21 years old and older, then extended to males of all races in 1870, to women in 1920, to eliminate racial discrimination in 1965, and to lowering the voting age to eighteen in 1971. I was one of thousands personally campaigning for the last two efforts. As a Quaker, I got involved by being active in protests for civil rights and against the Vietnam War in the ’60s. I was a full-time activist and campaign manager for candidates of both parties at every level of government. I then spent the ’70s in Pennsylvania state government as Special Assistant to the Governor and Secretary of Commerce.
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Editor’s note: During this election season, when our political life in the United States seems especially contentious, Friends United Meeting has invited a variety of Friends to share their thoughts on how to navigate as a Quaker through these divided times. Our ninth installment is by Jennie Isbell Shinn, of New England Yearly Meeting. Living Expectantly in Politically Charged Times, or Any Time This election season, a familiar unrest and uncertainty are settling in my bones, again. I feel on edge and vigilant, even against my siblings who have different political affiliations. I remind myself that even the most faithful person cannot see into another’s heart, or fully know how God is at work in the other.
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The second harvesting season at the Friends United Meeting Sustainability Farm (the Ambwere Farm in Kenya ) commenced on 30 September 2025. This week marks the third week since harvesting began. This season, farm workers planted 800 acres of maize on our 902-acre property, with the remaining acres being occupied by roads, forests, and storage buildings. We managed to get a combine harvester to do our harvesting and, unlike last season where we used four machines, this time around we are only utilizing one machine for our harvest. This allows for easy, proper, and effective monitoring and management as we carry out our harvesting with a key aim of minimizing or reducing wastage and losses.
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Mama, I no reach Roly Poly. You help me? In Aristotelian ethics, a virtue sits at the golden mean between two vices. Take courage, for example. We tend to think of courage as the end goal, evaluating ourselves on how more or less courageous we are. Aristotle, on the other hand, sees a spectrum from cowardice to recklessness with courage balanced in the middle. The goal is not to max out the virtue but rather to have the proper amount of forward drive: not shying away from hard and scary things, and also not taking unnecessary risks. The same is true of mercy. Too much and too little are both bad. Too little is hard-heartedness, which I find hard to imagine. I hope my heart is always a soft place for Gardenia to land.
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Earlham School of Religion student Francoise Dutil writes about finding Quakerism, and then seminary, through the leading of the Spirit. Part 2.
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Earlham School of Religion student Francoise Dutil writes about finding Quakerism, and then seminary, through the leading of the Spirit. Part 1.
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Throughout our history, the people known as Friends (or Quakers) keep rediscovering an essential and enduring truth: There is one who speaks to our most basic needs and most significant hopes—Christ Jesus the Lord. Both individually and communally, we are learning to know and follow the Voice that guides us in the way we should go. Together, we seek to understand and obey that truth which sets us free. As a people, we share in the experience of that powerful life which makes all things new. Maybe you are searching for an authentic and transforming faith and community to call home—if so, come in and join us as we seek to know and follow Christ.
Friends United Meeting commits itself to energize and equip Friends through the power of the Holy Spirit to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved, and obeyed as Teacher and Lord.
