Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. [1 John 4:20-21, New International Version]

Love your neighbor as yourself. [Mark 12:31, New International Version]

We are called to respond to the continued atrocities against, and attempts to continue to devalue and subjugate, people of color which goes against our faith and experience of God and the teachings of Jesus Christ.

We are called to understand the way other people experience navigating the world as seriously as our own experience. The important thing in this regard isn’t about finding immediate unity as a meeting, it’s about doing the work and then discovering unity.

Toward this end, we agree to begin on a project of Middletown Meeting members educating ourselves toward the goals described above, possibly as early as spring of 2021. Some ideas for group education include reading articles, watching YouTube videos, having a speaker, and attending online events e.g., via Zoom. The committee will put forward a program toward this end to be approved by the Business Meeting.

As we go through this work, we will seek to become educated as a meeting by discussing, examining, defining, and processing terms and acknowledging any feelings, such as discomfort or anger, individuals might have around certain terminology and concepts. By sharing with one another, actively listening to the experiences of others, and having honest dialog, our goal will be to grow through any possible conflict or disequilibrium. We will seek to speak and hear the truth in love.