Q: During 2005, what was the major work done by your committee?

We co-sponsored and/or participated in several events: a tsunami benefit, an event about health care, peace vigils in March, the nationwide ringing of 100,000 bells in remembrance of civilian war casualties in Iraq, AFSC's Eyes Wide Open exhibit. We sent letters to: Mayor Bloomberg of NYC asking him to join the Mayors for Peace initiative; Friends meetings in Baton Rouge and Houston, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; FCNL, to ask for advice on how to proceed in the matter of proposed pre-emptive nuclear strikes; Congressman Olver, to ask him to co-sponsor McGovern's bill to stop funding the Iraq war. We hosted two 11:40 Hours. The topics were "What impedes you and what encourages you in following our Quaker testimonies?" and "Our Use of Resources." We also arranged an evening worship service at Mt. Toby after the kidnapping of the Christian Peacemaker Team workers in Iraq. We bought "Handbook on Military Taxes and Conscience" for the Meeting library, and made available locally copies of a handout with information for members of the military or national guard about options for leaving the armed forces. With approval from the Meeting, we set up a Peace and Social Concerns email listserv. In cooperation with MREN and the Affinity Group, members of P&SC offered CO/draft counseling and information sessions. We recommended to Mt. Toby that support/clearness committees be set up for young people facing the draft. The Meeting agreed, and put P&SC in charge of organizing them. As a committee, we approved FCNL's STEP resolution (stating that the US will not maintain permanent bases in Iraq), and then brought it to Meeting for Business, which also approved it. [Thanks to Roger Conant for excellent minutes and for an annual summary, which greatly simplified the task of creating this list!]

Q: Was this work different than work this committee has done in prior years?

In details, yes; in essence, no. Some on the committee feel that the 11:40 hours we offered to the Meeting this past year were particularly meaningful.

Q: What problems did your committee encounter in your work? What might have helped?

We see challenges in trying to find ways for people in the Meeting to be active in issues of peace & social justice; people don't know what they can do that would be truly effective. (The committee doesn't necessarily have the answer to this question!) We need more people to follow through and do the work.

Q: What is your committee's understanding of the life of Mt. Toby Meeting in 2005? What do you see as the major events, on-going themes, important questions and concerns of the year?

The Meeting is a place to pull people together and give them support for the work they feel called to do. For attenders who may not wish further commitment or involvement, it nevertheless offers a quiet hour of meditation weekly. Much work is done by individual members in their life outside the Meeting that may not be discussed or widely known in the Meeting, but which organically has an impact on the life of Mt. Toby community. The Meeting is a good place for families and children. The Iraq war has brought an intensity to the affinity group. An important question (also referenced above): "What can we do to be effective?" In looking ahead to a post-fossil fuel world: will we be able to keeping getting to Mt. Toby from a wide array of towns, or will we need to meet in more locations? More of us are realizing that our current lifestyle depends on war, and that we need to return to simplicity.