Speaking out for Others

15 January 2026

An Interaction

Yesterday, I sent an email to a Quaker group in Aotearoa New Zealand. I thought it would be nice if my wife and I could have local fellowship at the new city to which we are moving. I sent an email that included the following:

Kia ora,

My wife and I are moving to Wellington and we are looking for a local Quaker meeting without animal consumption following the meeting. We have been limited to online meetings so far, as we cannot combine our spiritual practice with violence.

Can you advise if your meeting consumes animals or their excretions at the end of the meeting? If so, any local meetings which don’t and you can provide details regarding would be much appreciated.

Arohanui,

Gerald

I won’t include the full response, but it mentioned animals and their bodily fluids being available after Meetings and then included the additional comment, “We have several vegans and vegetarians that attend our meetings and do not eat that to which they are opposed.”

I thought about this some hours. I had one thought of being sad about this and just saying nothing - a typical Kiwi response. I also had another thought of how this was something that needed to be discussed.

My ancestors include brave Quakers who stood up for their beliefs, to the point that they had to leave England to practice Quakerism.

I decided that this was something to discuss. My response follows.

Hello.

Thanks for your prompt email.

Yes, we realise that some can look the other way where violence and theft are involved, but we cannot. Just as a few of our Quaker ancestors spoke out against slavery and the other wrongs of their time (against the majority of Friends), this is our time to speak out and advocate for those who do not have a voice of their own.

Speaking out against wrongs such as the events in Palestine (for example) while killing other innocents is not consistent with our testimony.

We will continue our search for our Friends.

Ngā mihi,

Gerald

The world is full of silence in the face of oppression. While some speak out against oppression, it is often related to foreign wars and attrocities - things that require little or no change in their own lives. It often feels like a “feel good” thing - armchair activism - where a person can feel righteous and have to make no changes. What about the attrocities for which you are responsible?

Add to this, I find myself thinking about how Quakerism is dying. Check the statistics online for yourself, but there are estimated to be less than 400,000 Quakers worldwide and the numbers continue to decline. A once vibrant community has resigned itself to a split between the majority which has now become evangelical Christians and the non-programmed part, which revolves around social progress actions. The spirit that moved George Fox and early Friends has been replaced by copying others or becoming a social justice organisation. Social justice is admirable, but it is not enough for Children of the Light.

The first generations believed that they were bringing heaven on earth and they were willing to suffer and die to make this happen. If we still wanted heaven on earth, could we ever imagine that it involved killing trillions of innocent beings each year?

We are not of this world, but are redeemed out of it. Its ways, its customs, its worships, its weapons, we cannot follow. For we are come into the peaceable kingdom of Christ, where swords are beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks, and none shall hurt nor destroy. — George Fox, Epistle 203 (1659)

We have lost our way, but it is right there in front of us. It begins with empathy and compassion. It continues with being willing to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. It continues with beginning our activism with ourselves - first purify your own heart and life.

No, I am not content to go to a Meeting followed by tearing apart the corpses of innocent beings - what sort of spiritual experience is that? No, I am not content to remain silent while the milk stolen from dead babies is shared. If I cannot speak up about things as clear as this, my worship is a hoax.

Start with your own heart and lives. Commit to doing no harm and you are already on the path.

May all beings know peace!

Gerald T. Jordan, MBA, MEd, MCouns