Poplar Ridge Meeting Minute

We, the members and attenders of Poplar Ridge Friends Meeting (Quakers), mourn with the world over the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001. We pray for comfort for those who mourn. We give thanks for the courageous efforts of rescue and disaster relief workers. We commend our government for responding immediately and compassionately with assistance and resources for reconstruction. We pray for God's guidance and love for our leaders, fellow citizens, and ourselves as we all deal with the shock, anger and despair.

We oppose the current preparations for war. War is not the answer for these crimes against humanity. We affirm, as members of an historic peace church, that hatred begets hatred and violence begets violence, and God calls people everywhere to not allow the seeds of hatred to be planted in our souls. We fear the escalation of hate and violence that would occur with acts of war - acts that would cause deaths of more innocent victims.

We believe, although we sometimes fail to recognize it, that there is "that of God" in everyone, including all people of all nations and faiths. We commit ourselves to reach out to those, near and far, whose backgrounds, cultures, faiths, and political beliefs may differ from our own.

We desire to listen to others with open hearts and minds, with humble understanding and concern, but we affirm that we believe God calls us to seek justice and peace and help create a world free of hatred and oppression. At this time of national tragedy, we are called to comfort those who mourn, to seek justice by the arrest and prosecution of those who perpetrated these acts, but also to examine our own lives for how we may contribute to the oppression of others and the fostering of hatred in the world. It is through this self-examination that we can help create a world based on God's order and not the world's order.

We agree with the words of Martin Luther King Jr., that violence is "a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy --- adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." We pray for God's guidance and love for all of creation, because we believe only through trusting in the Divine Light, that is available for all people, can we truly transform the world.