Peace and Social Concerns

Putting our faith into action

CAJM: Our Meeting is a member of CAJM and several Friends actively attend meetings and serve on committees. CAJM works through people power and consists of about 20 local faith communities, whose aim is to change local policy to address social justice issues that face the most vulnerable in our community. It currently addresses 5 issues:

Affordable Housing,
Interrupting Gun Violence,
Mental Health,
Immigration,
Hunger and Food Insecurity.

The Meeting was also involved with the Affordable Housing project which is now on “monitoring” status since that project has been successful. Several folks formerly on the Affordable Housing committee will fan out and join other teams.

For more information see https://www.capitalareajustice.org/

iGrow Garden: While this is an urban agricultural and youth empowerment program focused on growing healthy food for the community and providing youth employment and leadership development, several Meeting members are involved mostly in growing vegetables in the Meeting’s community garden for them, and by working in the iGrow Garden itself on Dent Street.

Food not Bombs: FnB is a mutual aid organization which provides free lunches to anyone in need (currently about 80 people) every Sunday from 12-2 p.m. in the gazebo at E. Peck Greene Park. The Meeting supports FnB with non-perishable food donations, vegetables grown in the Meeting’s community garden and toiletries, and reusable water bottles in summer.

Voces Unidas de Gadsden: The Meeting is one of 5 hubs which collect donations for this group in Gadsden County, generally multiples of different non-perishable food items each month. VUdG supports about 38 families of asylum-seekers and other refugees in Gadsden County.

National and Internation Quaker Organisations: We also address issues of national concern – note: provide links to AFSC, FGC, FCNL, FCWC, QEW etc. The meeting responds to FCNL concerns from time to time, takes guidance from them, and supports actions they recommend.

Quakers take a stance: Our Meeting paid for our Minute on the Israel-Gaza war to appear in the Tallahassee Democrat in the spring of 2024. An article on Immigration written by the Meeting as a whole was printed in the Tallahassee Democrat in the “Your Turn” column, with the names of two Friends provided for publishing purposes. Provide link to Tallahassee Democrat.