Friends General Conference

Happy Juneteenth! Cicley Gay, Board Chairwoman for Black Lives Matter, asserts: "As some seek to erase or diminish Black joy, we must remember that indulging in joy itself has always been an act of resistance." She also says: "Just as Black Americans fled the South during the Great Migration seeking dignity, safety, and opportunity, today’s immigrants are doing the same."

Read the full editorial here.
https://blacklivesmatter.com/juneteenth/

Tomorrow is the last day to register for the 2026 Gathering! A member of the 2026 Gathering Clerk Team, Janet Hough, offers a prayer for all attenders: “May our souls be gathered into a community graced with both windows and doors.”

The theme for the Gathering this year is "A Window and a Door: A Prayer." We hope that you bring your souls open like windows, and the hospitality of your hearts open like a door, when you attend.

Register today:
https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcprograms/the-gathering/registration-and-logistics/

Holy ground. Is all ground holy ground? Or is some of it extra-sacred?

The Healing Center at the FGC Gathering offers a space for people to rest in the Presence. If you walked into the Healing Center in 2025, you would have seen a wide circle of massage tables and people speaking in hushed voices. Near the circle, a few people sit in chairs, holding space for healing. The Healing Center is often set off the beaten path at Gathering -- in a quiet corner, where people can go to receive some compassionate listening.

Have you been to the Healing Center at the FGC Gathering? What did you experience?

This weekend, Quakers in three different regions -- Lake Erie, parts of Illinois, and Southern Appalachia -- meet for their Annual Sessions gatherings. Quakers in Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting and Piedmont Friends met earlier this month.

What is a special memory you have from being with Quakers at your yearly meeting?

https://www.fgcquaker.org/2025/12/30/annual-sessions-dates-2026/

Lake Erie Yearly Meeting

FGC is grateful to Quaker House of Fayetteville NC for sponsoring the 2026 Gathering. Quaker House embodies the Peace Testimony by seeking an end to wars and also working to address harm. They work against the military-industrial complex by offering a GI Rights Hotline and individual counseling. Quaker House seeks a world where each person can live into their personal witness and achieve change.

Quaker House shares: “The Gathering helps build the sense of deeper community across our yearly meetings and local worshiping groups, and Quaker House relies on the support of everyone to continue our work.”

Find them at Quakerhouse.org!

Hello world! I am Frank, a magical unicorn who mysteriously appears each year at the FGC Gathering to grace children of all ages (1-101) with my joyful and peaceful presence. The youth like to frolic under my awesome shadow, and I often hear my name being called out with great delight during afternoon Intergenerational Activities time. I sometimes even spray water out of my horn... yes this is rather unusual, but perhaps one of my great great great grandparents was an elephant!

June is my favorite month because this is when the earthlings of this land celebrate 'Pride' and the folks who are extra sparkly and rainbowy like me! Not everyone shows their colors on the outside like I do with my glorious mane and tail, some are quieter with their identities across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, but either way it's important to support and celebrate our sparkly friends this month and every month.

Friends General Conference is hosting a virtual conference on outreach this fall, September 25-27. While we have some great plenary speakers lined up, we’re looking for success stories in the community that can be translated into 90-minute workshops or panel discussions that teach what you’ve learned about meeting growth to others. Complete the proposal form by June 30 to submit a workshop idea.

What has worked for you? What mistakes were made? How might you do things differently? We hope you’ll offer your gifts with the wider FGC community this fall!

https://forms.gle/2xa5R7k9p1M9BFbp7

In his book Healing Resistance, Kazu Haga says: "True reconciliation has happened when the two sides of a conflict are closer to each other than they were before the conflict started.” Have you experienced a conflict that brought you closer to someone? What steps do you take to navigate through conflict?

Kazu Haga will be speaking at the FGC Gathering in only 28 days! Looking forward to seeing you there!

Buy Healing Resistance through QuakerBooks today.

https://quakerbooks.org/products/healing-resistance?_pos=1&_sid=c8681e587&_ss=r

Friends in Maryland recently held a Conscientious Objector training for an intergenerational group. In gathering, they urged people of any gender to develop the records that document their nonviolent beliefs.

Read more about the training here:
https://stonyrunfriends.org/blog-conscientious-objection-the-selective-service-system-training/

More resources from the Center on Conscience and War:
https://centeronconscience.org/selective-service-info/

If every voice matters, how does that show up in Quaker spaces? This activity from the Spiritual Deepening Library explores the diverse insights and contributions of many members. Find out how Quaker communities promote interdependence, that healthy balance of relying on others and reliance on self, by practicing the readings and queries in a group:

https://www.fgcquaker.org/exercises/how-do-quaker-communities-nurture-interdependence/