Beyond Acknowledgment: Indigenous Peoples & Quakers
Martha Catlin & Pat Powers
Beyond Acknowledgment
Committing to Antiracist Work Through Transformation and Reparative Actions
Join Sandy Spring Friends for a powerful 4-part Meetings for Learning series each fourth Sunday of the month from January through April 2024. Over the last several decades, our U.S. history and our Quaker history have been rewritten to acknowledge harms suffered by Black, Indigenous, and other historically marginalized people. But we are also called to go beyond acknowledgment. Quakers recognize a powerful spiritual resource (which Friends variously name Spirit, God, Christ Within, etc.) that helps us seek and speak the truth, acknowledge our past and current realities (both the beneficial and the harmful), experience our appreciation and our grief, actively participate in transformation, and take reparative actions to atone for past injustices.
Each session will consist of an educational presentation that reflects on our history as American Quakers and as Sandy Spring Friends, followed by worship during which we will listen for revelation from the Spirit for how we as individuals and as a faith community are being called to act. Our topics will follow this schedule:
January 28: Our Quaker Relationship with Chattel Slavery
February 25: Our Quaker Relationship with Indigenous Peoples
March 24: Our Quaker Relationship with Structural Racism/White Supremacy Culture
April 28: Our Commitment to Transformation and Reparative Actions
A study guide has been prepared to assist our journey through these sessions together. You may download it by CLICKING HERE or pick up a printed copy in the office in the Community House. Printed copies are free, but donations to help offset the cost of printing are welcome.