QNL Report, September 2005
As in the past, the QNL coordinators met at the FCNL annual meeting. We actively participated in considering the new legislative priorities which the Policy Committee proposed that from our perspective were a huge step forward from the previous priorities. Specifically the priorities include addressing structural economic violence and long-term environmental protection.
With QEW’s participation in FCNL as a member organization, we began reconstituting ourselves as a group with three projects undertaken by three teams: attending to the QEW/FCNL relationship by an FCNL Team, publishing Quaker Eco-Bulletin by a QEB Team, and co-sponsoring, with the Earthcare Working Group of Phila YM, the Friends Testimonies and Economics project by the FTE Network. We anticipate that the role of the QNL coordinators will be less prominent and that of the three projects will predominate, with the work of the FCNL Team most central to QEW’s organizational purpose and structure.
Friends Committee on National Legislation Team
QEW’s FCNL reps are Lynne Heritage and Ed Dreby, and the FCNL Team also includes Al Connor, Elaine Emmi, John Payton, and Rod Swirner. We determined in May to publish an article about FCNL’s mission and needs in BFC, reviewed by FCNL staff for accuracy.
We also agreed to initiate communication with our YM’s appointees to the FCNL General Committee to ask what is being done by them to support FCNL and how QEW folk could be of assistance. We tentatively decided to send a mailing to many Friends meetings and churches this fall that would include and/or be based on this article.
A question we need to consider further is how involved QNL should be in facilitating action alerts on issues not being addressed by FCNL.
Quaker Eco-Bulletin Team
QEB continues to be published bi-monthly by a Team of Judy Lumb, team leader, Keith Helmuth, QNL liaison, Barbara Day and Sandra Lewis, and Friends continue to express their appreciation for it. In July-August, the team experimented with a 6 page article by Roy and Carol Treadway on nuclear power. QNL needs to learn from the QEB Team if additional longer articles are apt to be published in order to budget appropriately.
This is QNL’s most enduringly successful project, for which the Team is to be congratulated with gratitude.
Friends Testimonies on Economics Project
Work continues on an FTE Project Guide (not a set Eco-101 curriculum as was initially proposed). Three controversial issues remain to be addressed in articles: 1) positivist economics as distinct from neo-liberal economics and normative economics, 2) the monetary system’s relationship to the growth economy, and 3) an ecological perspective on personal savings and investment. We have decided not to publish the Guide for sale, but simply to make it available on internet and in hard copy on request, trusting the contributions will cover the cost of photocopying.
FTE workshops were held at Central Phila and Trenton NJ MM, Balt YM, Phila YM, SAYMA, SEYM, and for the second year running at the FGC Gathering. The project also inspired a continuing consideration of food issues at Cambridge MA MM.
Finally, FTE sponsored a Policy Consultation at Haverford College, with 12 QPWs ( Quaker policy wonks), associated with the 20005 FAHE Conference, and had a role in bringing about 5 presentations at the Conference relating to economics and Friends testimonies. The focus of the Consultation was on social justice and ecological concerns in public policy. An up-coming QEW will be based on the Consultation.
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