Gunpowder Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Minute on the Peace Testimony
21 Seventh Month, 2002


We acknowledge that the historical roots of the Quaker Peace Testimony lie in George Fox's 1660 declaration to Charles II:

We. . . utterly . . . deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons, for any end or under any pretense whatsoever. Andthis is our testimony to the whole world. . . . The spirit of Christ, by which we are guided, is not changeable, so as to once command us from athing as evil and again to move unto it; and we do certainly know, and so testify to the world, that the Spirit of Christ which leads us into allTruth will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the kingdom of Christ, nor for the kingdoms ofthis world.
In our tradition of faith and practice, Friends continue to rely upon individual and collective discernment of God's will to reveal right action in complex circumstances. After considerable discussion and discernment over the past year, we share the following minute as our sense of the Peace Testimony:

The Christian and Quaker Peace Testimony is rooted in affirmation, not merely rejection. It is not a position developed out of contemporary political analysis, but out of discerning God's will arising from our religious faith. We feel the Inward Light is present in all people and that we are called to open up our lives more and more to that Light in ourselves and in others. As we try to "live in that life and power that takes away the occasion for all wars," we are led to share God's unconditional love with all. We seek to find ways to address the root causes of war and strife, including injustice, hatred, revenge, oppression, and human need.

We urge our government to adopt foreign policies that encourage reconciliation and peacemaking and to seek international cooperation in peacemaking efforts.

We pray for strength and inner guidance to provide spiritual support and tender listening to each other and to wait to know the leading of the Light within. In the spirit of seeking God's will as a Monthly Meeting, we support all who follow their spiritual leadings.