The Co-Clerks are holding a Special Meeting on Buffalo's Response to the NYYM Draft Minute on Becoming an Anti-Racist Faith Community. It will be on April 21, 2022 7:00 - 8:30pm on Zoom. The Zoom link is included in the weekly email update. If you don’t receive this email but would like to participate, please contact info@buffaloquakers.com for the link. This is a follow-up on the long discussion we had in Meeting for Business on this topic a couple months ago. To learn about ourselves, each other, and our community. NYYM requested comments or questions from the Meetings.
Nadine Hoover will facilitate this discussion. We encourage members to reflect on "NYYM Statement on Becoming an Anti-Racist Faith Community” and accompanying queries compiled below. If time allows, list your questions or comments in advance of the meeting.
Documents to consider:
What in this rings true and seems important for us as a meeting to consider?
What does being an actively anti-racist faith community mean to me?
What changes do we need to embrace to become an actively anti-racist faith community?
How might our meeting be contributing to racism and white supremacy?
How can we build a courageous space for diverse voices and opinions in all the communities where we participate?
How [are we | might we be] using Quaker language or Quaker processes to avoid engaging in uncomfortable conversations or to silence opinions with which we are uncomfortable?
How will our actions and our budgets reflect our commitment to becoming an anti-racist faith community?
What would be joyful for you about becoming part of an anti-racist community?
How does Spirit invite us to resonate with the Divine in all people?
What is the hardest part about this for you? Where do you experience this in your body?
What is Spirit leading me to do about the historic and ongoing racist pandemic across my meeting, my community, my work environment, and my country?
What is the work that white Friends need to do to hear and accept when Friends of Color speak of being harmed by white Friends?