Support for youth to discern conscientious objection is a vital ministry for Quaker meetings. The teen years are the best time to start documentation for a CO claim in the U.S. because Selective Service registration is required of all 18-year-old males, and perhaps females in the future. Beyond that, the peace testimony is central to Quaker identity, making education about conscientious objection paramount for Quaker teens.
Social Justice Resources
The Good Garden
This is an inspiring story of one struggling farming family in Honduras…and their journey to growing enough food to meet their needs. Based on the real story of farm transformation underway in Honduras and many other countries, this book offers children ways they can...
We Are the Water Protectors
Inspired by the many Indigenous-led movements across North America, We Are Water Protectors issues an urgent rallying cry to safeguard the Earth's water from harm and corruption--a bold and lyrical picture book written by Carole Lindstrom and vibrantly illustrated by...
Almost American Girl
Transitioning from life in Korea to America, a young woman struggles with change and figuring out where she fits. After her mother’s decision to marry a man in Alabama, 14-year-old Chuna, who thought she was just going on another mother-daughter trip, grapples with...
Sometimes People March
Simple, direct statements are paired with watercolor illustrations to highlight some of the rallying causes for organized marches throughout the history of the United States. The text and art begin with two marches that will reemerge as metaphor later in the book: a...
Afirmación cuáquera: un curso de estudio para jóvenes amigos
"CURRÍCULO VISTO, CREADO Y DESARROLLADO como una forma de guiar y educar a los Amigos jóvenes en su fe cuáquera, similar a las Clases de Confirmación o los estudios de Bar / Bat Mitzvá que se encuentran en otras religiones. Para cualquier reunión o iglesia cuáquera,...
How Maps Change Things
A Conversation about the Maps We Choose and the World We Want I'd love to see this book in every Quaker home and Friends meeting/church library. It's a surprisingly short and utterly engaging journey from world maps to questions of social justice and it's worth it...
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins
When four courageous black teens sat down at a lunch counter in the segregated South of 1960, the reverberations were felt both far beyond and close to home. This insightful story offers a child's-eye view of this seminal event in the American Civil Rights Movement....
Weaving Quaker Activists Into First Day Schools
Make your Quaker Religious Education come alive! Weave Quaker Activists into your lesson plans bringing a fresh, contemporary voice of lived Quakerism to your Friends Meeting or Church. Use digital technology to invite the world into your classroom in the person of a...
Bayard Rustin: Troublemaker for Justice
A biography for younger readers about one of the most influential activists of our time, who was an early advocate for African Americans and for gay rights. Bayard Rustin was a major figure in the Civil Rights movement. He was arrested on a bus 13 years before Rosa...
Conversation Circle (October 2020) — Welcoming Diverse Youth and Young Adults
Topic: The current disruption in society is shaking the foundations of culture and faith. In the turmoil, youth and young adults from diverse backgrounds may seek spiritual community in Friends Meetings. Children of color who connect with Friends at Quaker camp may...
33 Multicultural Children’s Books About Peace
Every day can be about creating peace. Here are some multicultural books on peace for Quaker collections......
Books and Music to Celebrate Earth Day
Below is a list of some of our favorite books that are associated with Earth Day. Some books tell about people and the work that they’ve done to help the Earth. Other books share stories to appreciate our beautiful Earth. Each entry has been chosen because it has a...
Mumbet’s Declaration of Independence
Lesson plan for the home with a book, music and activities — "All men are born free and equal." Everybody knows about the Founding Fathers and the Declaration of Independence in 1776. But the founders weren't the only ones who believed that everyone had a right to...
The Mediator’s Handbook
The popular Mediator's Handbook presents a time-tested, adaptable model for helping people work through conflict. Extensively revised to incorporate recent practice and thinking, the accessible manual format lays out a clear structure for new and occasional mediators,...
Meeting Needs and Friends General Conference (FGC) Resources
Meeting Needs linked with FGC Resources: A Sampling (Bolded words can be put into a search engine like Google this way — “FGC clearness committees”, or "FGC outreach” for example or into the FGC search window on the website without the “FGC”) Outreach: How can we...
Loaves and Fishes
This picture-book version of the Biblical parable of the loaves and fishes tells the story from the perspective of the young boy who offers up his simple lunch of rye bread loaves and fish he'd caught at his quiet fishing spot to Jesus, who uses them to feed the...
Deepening Meeting Life
This curriculum enables Friends to explore central tenets in the shared life of a Friends Meeting. Topics include: Quakerism as an adventure in direct, unmediated, ongoing guidance by Spirit. Exploring our faith with each other. Deepening worship — how we can...
Friendly Holiday Gift Fairs!
Join us in an exciting pop-up partnership between Friends Peace Teams and the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative! We are starting a pilot project organizing Friendly Holiday Gift Fairs as a way to learn about, celebrate, and support peacemaking through "gifts...
Religious Education for the Home and Small Meeting
This is an idea packet assembled for families and small meetings who seek to educate children in Quaker faith and practice. Originally published in 1986, this is a treasure trove, worthy of adaptation and revision given that most Quaker meetings still face these...
New Children of the Light
Read interviews with sixteen millennial Quakers describing who they are and who they want to become. New Children of the Light can serve as a window into the lives and minds of young people coming of age in the twenty first century. It is common to hear about the...
Exploring Quakerism: A Study Guide, Teenagers Edition
"There is that of God in everyone," paraphrased from George Fox's revelation, electrified 17th century England and continues to speak to us today. This 14-session curriculum offers an overview of Quaker faith and practice for middle and high school students. Designed...
Let love (and welcome, inclusion, knowledge, and action) be the first motion!
In response to events and news stories, how can we parent, work with children, model activism and take care of ourselves? This article explores how to find support in the circle of people around us, whether in our families, Meeting, or the wider world of Friends....
Children and Youth Resources for Exploring Racism and Racial Justice
This is a growing list of resources for exploring racism and racial justice with young Friends. The document begins with queries to frame the task. The list includes websites, blogs, online articles, curricula and children's literature. Queries: How do we...