Stories of faith in action

I’ve been thinking a lot about a passage from Scot Miller’s book, Gospel of the Absurd. He writes that intentional non-violent responses to specific situations are not usual “NOT because they are too difficult an ethic to maintain, but because we do not live in communities that seek out opportunities to embody such faith on a larger scale.”

I asked about the mess in the living room and got a quick reply. “We know you won’t fight, Dad, but we didn’t think we had the same chances as you do, so we were gonna fight the prisoners.” As I look back on this, I have considered a number of reasons why my children, at that time ages fourteen, nine, and five, were preparing to fight instead of offer a shared meal with escaped prisoners. Naturally, their age had a lot to do with it, and while they would all say they are Quakers, non-violence was not something they themselves had put into practice in any concrete manner. It was an idea to them, and having heard stories of their father being attacked with knives at the mission, or seeing him punched and not fighting back, equated non-violence with physical danger and potentially painful outcomes. It is difficult to ask children to consider accepting such a burden without some very deep thinking on their part. And some questioning.

I have come to believe that intentional non-violent responses to specific situations are not normative for Christians, not because they are too difficult an ethic to maintain, but because we do not live in communities that seek out opportunities to embody such faith on a larger scale.

Miller, R. Scot. Gospel of the Absurd: Assemblies of Interpretation, Embodiment, and Faithfulness. Wipf & Stock, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers. Kindle Edition.

I used the photo of the assassinated Palestinian poet and professor, Refaat Alareer’s quote, “If I Must Die, Let It Bring Hope” because it is symbolic of the extreme consequences that can occur when we put our faith into action.

I was raised in Quaker communities in the Midwest where there were many examples of people living their faith. Because Friends (Quakers) believe our faith is shown by how we live our lives. We have seen the embodiment of faith on a large scale.

But with the decline and aging Quaker population, I’ve been concerned about who will remember and carry on these living examples of faith in action. In these increasingly dark times, these stories are desperately needed.

FCNL Changemaker events

The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is an organization dedicated to create more stories about faith in action as they lobby the US Congress about Quaker concerns. There will be a new quarterly event series, ” focused on practicing hope and equipping Friends and others to act effectively and to learn from each other.”

The web page about this has numerous videos of examples of Quaker changemakers.

Beginning fall 2025, we are launching a new quarterly event series, focused on practicing hope and equipping Friends and others to act effectively and to learn from each other. We will continue the rich legacy of Changemaker events by lifting up stories of Friends’ faith in action.
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)

For Quakers, faith is not practiced only in a particular building, on a particular day of the week. We are invited to let our lives speak, to demonstrate our beliefs with each decision and action.

For more than five years the Quaker Changemaker event series has allowed Friends to share how they are practicing their faith through action and advocacy, and how their testimony connects to FCNL’s legislative work on Capitol Hill.

Beginning fall 2025, we are launching a new quarterly event series, focused on practicing hope and equipping Friends and others to act effectively and to learn from each other. We will continue the rich legacy of Changemaker events by lifting up stories of Friends’ faith in action. These new gatherings will also provide a space for the latest updates from FCNL’s lobbyists, opportunities to strengthen your advocacy skills, and an invitation to act on your most deeply held beliefs together with others.

Celebrating Quaker Changemakers. Over the past five years, FCNL’s Quaker Changemaker events have been spaces for sharing how Friends’ faith guides how we act in the world. As these gatherings evolve, we look back at some of these conversations. By Alicia McBride, FCNL, June 11, 2025

Quaker Stories

My mom, Alberta Kisling, was passionate about collecting stories about our Quaker community. Those stories can be found here: https://quakerstories.com/