Fierce Love: Annual Meeting 2020

More than 800 Quakers and friends from across the country gathered virtually to engage in worship, listening, and advocacy as we lobbied together for strong action to address the crisis of racism, police brutality, and the militarization of police!

Saturday and Sunday were times for worship and community. FCNL’s governors met to approve members of our General Committee, approve FCNL’s budget, set legislative priorities for the 117th Congress, and lay out plans for advocacy work in the next year. On Monday and Tuesday we lobbied Congress to begin to address the crisis of police violence by advancing the Justice in Policing Act (H.R.7120/S.3912).

Highlights

Participants in our Quaker Public Policy Institute went on 223 virtual lobby visits, representing 44 states and the District of Columbia.
José Woss spurred us to action in support of the Justice in Policing Act (H.R.7120/S.3912), reminding us that we need a strong, united national response to the ongoing crisis of police brutality. We cannot afford to wait for the more than 18,000 police jurisdictions in this country to implement changes.
Our worship leader, Cherice Bock, challenged us a with a powerful message entitled, “Friends, Racial Justice, and Policing: A Biblical Economy of Care.”
Secretary Julián Castro shared his vision for how we—together—can improve the lives of all people.
We presented Rep. Deb Haaland (NM-01) with FCNL’s first ever Justice Award for her commitment to end the crises of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
We awarded the Edward F. Snyder Award to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) for her work to bring an end to nearly two decades of endless war, prevent new wars, and reduce the suffering of those affected by violent conflict.
Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17) joined members of FCNL’s Advocacy Teams for a celebration of five years of advocacy for peace!