The following letter has been sent to the FCNL as a result of FCNL's request for input in setting its priorities, which is a regular part of keeping in touch with its Quaker constituency. We had an 11:40 asking Mount Toby Friends to comment, and our P&SC committee's clerk Susan distilled the comments into this letter.

---

Hello Friends at FCNL,

This is the response from Mt. Toby Meeting (of New England Yearly Meeting). About 25 people from the Meeting showed up to share thoughts about FCNL's priorities for the 110th Congress. The next day, the Peace and Social Concerns Committee reviewed extensive notes from that gathering and did our best to discern from them the Meeting's four top priorities. Here they are.

1. Federal budget priorities/war: the military uses much too large a percentage of our federal budget; that money should be used to address true needs. The world can no longer afford war; it is our most expensive and most useless luxury. We also need to go beyond the statement "War is not the answer" and make a positive statement about what IS the answer.

2. Global warming/our use of energy: two issues that need to be addressed in tandem. We encourage FCNL to use its "house" to educate and advocate. (Invite every C ongressperson to have a tour; use it to draw in people not necessarily in agreement with FCNL perspective...)

3. Erosion of Bill of Rights. The pattern developing in the US echoes what has happened in other nations as dictators took over. It should not be possible to have a President who says he doesn't want to obey the law.

4. Creating legislative structures to encourage greater simplicity in our lives -- for instance, supporting public transportation and renewable energy.

-------------

We also wanted to express our appreciation to you: -for your new green building. Several of those present at our meeting had seen it and were impressed by it and the impact it is apparently having on its neighbors in Congress and others.

-for being a light in the world. "When a candle is lit in the dark, a lot of people gather around it."

sent by Susan Conger,
Clerk of Peace & Social Concerns Committee
Mount Toby Meeting
Leverett, Massachusetts