February, 28th 2022

You can download the entire statement here.

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation expresses its very strong concerns and deep sadness about the invasion and occupation being conducted by Russia in Ukraine.

These are dark days in history.

War is a crime against humanity and can never be justified. It only leads to human suffering and tears, and rips apart the societal structures that enable people to live in dignity.

The use, or preparation for use, of nuclear weapons is unconscionable.

Therefore, IFOR:

▪ Stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and supports the efforts of Russians who are protesting against this war.

▪ Urges an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of the Russian troops from Ukraine.

▪ Stands up for conscientious objection, the right to refuse to kill, to reject violence and to repudiate bearing arms in both (and all) countries.

▪ Urges all governments and multilateral organisations to choose diplomatic and political means to address the situation.

▪ Encourages the Ukrainian government and people to choose persistent nonviolent resistance.

▪ Calls on European people and nations to welcome refugees from Ukraine.

▪ Encourages the Russian people to non-violently resist the war policy and actions of their government.

▪ Calls on Russian religious leaders to disassociate themselves from the aggressive and bellicose

policy of the Russian government, to recover the peaceful intentions of those religions, and to actively engage with peace initiatives and diplomacy.

▪ Invites people of faith, spirituality and conscience to direct their prayers and actions to stopping the war and sustaining peace in the region.

As the world struggles to recover from a pandemic that has claimed nearly six million lives and the reverberations continue to be felt from the U.S. pullout from Afghanistan after 20 years of military occupation, war has broken out once again in Europe. The escalating brinksmanship between Russia and the United States — two nuclear powers — over the Ukraine raises fears about another terrible carnage for humanity, and possibly even a nuclear holocaust. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said about the crisis on February 14th. “The price in human suffering, destruction and damage to European and global security is too high to contemplate.” Today, he called the Russian invasion “the saddest moment” of his five-year tenure.

The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR-USA) condemns Russia’s invasion of and military aggression against Ukraine, and calls for bombardments to stop immediately. What is needed is a comprehensive ceasefire, the withdrawal of all troops on both sides, and a return to diplomatic negotiations aimed at peace and common security.

FOR-USA likewise calls on the U.S. government to cease its bellicose rhetoric and belligerent actions that have been pushing Russia, Ukraine, and European countries toward war. The current cycle of threats, bombastic language, and the politics of fear are not solutions to the problem; rather, they have been adding dangerous new layers of tension and conflict to a very combustible situation.

With particular concern regarding our nation’s role in this conflict and the presence of dozens of U.S. military bases across Europe, FOR-USA calls on all parties to commit to nonviolent solutions to avert the prospect of cataclysmic death, destruction, and despair.

These efforts must involve collaborating with the UN Secretary-General to immediately stop the violence and de-escalate the situation through dialogue and diplomacy, informed by each nation’s historic commitment to the UN Charter and guided by the Minsk Protocol and Agreements of 2014 and 2015. The framework should be grounded in the necessity for neutrality in peace negotiations. NATO is a military coalition, based on a Cold War framework, and is not an impartial actor; all parties must acknowledge the imbalance of power in this conflict, with 30 NATO nations — three of which possess nuclear weapons — poised against Russia. We urge parties to follow the lead of the Ukrainian Pacifist Union and peace movements worldwide in calling for the neutrality of the Ukraine.

For decades, the United States has invested trillions of dollars into the notion that our security is directly correlated to the buildup of our weapons and defense capabilities. That is a sad fantasy. If we are to de-escalate tensions and avoid the destruction that this fantasy always and inevitably brings, the government and people of the United States must begin to engage our moral imaginations instead and seek a diplomatic solution to this conflict.

Since 1915, the U.S. Fellowship of Reconciliation has represented a community of believers from diverse faiths and spiritual traditions united in opposition to war and violence. Working on behalf of 15,000 individual members and 80 grassroots U.S. chapters, affiliates, and religious peace fellowships, FOR-USA is a branch of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation, founded at the outbreak of World War I when two peacemakers — one English and the other German — shook hands and promised that they would resist war between their countries and dedicate their lives to the pursuit of reconciliation.

Despite the resounding clarion call for nonviolence, justice and peace throughout the globe, this past century has been the most violent in human history, which begs the question: Have we learned nothing? The words of Rev. A.J. Muste, who led FOR through much of the early 20th century, ring as true today as during that era of global warfare: “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.”

The first thing that I couldn’t get over when I learned about the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) comic book was that I had never seen it or heard about it before. For all my studying and teaching way beyond the textbook for years about the civil rights movement, I was chagrined that I didn’t already know about Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story. Once I read it, though, besides marveling that FOR had published a comic book in 1957 to tell this story, what stood out to me most was how much of the story of Montgomery wasn’t in it.

How do you mean?

As a history teacher, I realized that, even though the comic was created by people at FOR who were close to the bus boycott and Dr. King provided input and editing as well, I had to treat it as a secondary source about those events. And then I could look to it as a primary source about the movement itself: how leaders, including the mostly white leadership of FOR, thought they could or should tell the Montgomery story in the context of 1957. This included Cold War-era fears as well as class and gender dynamics at the time that centered the work and contributions of mostly middle-class men. None of this meant the comic book wasn’t an incredible resource for teaching about the civil rights movement; it just meant we needed to give anyone using the curriculum and study guide lots of ways to explore the comic’s value as well as its limitations.

What is the process for developing a study guide and curriculum, and what were your main goals?

One of my main goals for the curriculum and study guide was to create materials that would deepen, complicate, and supplement the text itself. I knew we had to make sure to bring back in some of the people and organizations who had been left out. So I wanted to shine a light on the work and sacrifices of people like Claudette Colvin, Jo Ann Robinson and the Women’s Political Council, Georgia Gilmore and the Club from Nowhere — people without whom the boycott simply could not have gotten off the ground or lasted over a year.

All of us wanted to write back in the mentorship that former FOR staffer Bayard Rustin, a gay man and a Quaker whose outsized role in the movement was long overlooked because of his sexuality, provided to Dr. King on carrying out nonviolent strategy. And we also wanted to give proper credit to Rosa Parks’s serious expertise as an organizer and advocate, which shaped her decision to not give up her seat to a white man on December 1, 1955.

Another goal, just as important, was to highlight Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story’s relevance for today. The comic provides a unique perspective on the events of the bus boycott, features a section where Dr. King narrates the work and teachings of Gandhi, and concludes with a pretty timeless primer on taking nonviolent action. I wanted to give teachers, students, and community groups opportunities to examine and consider all these parts of the comic — as well as its own history as a training and organizing tool that inspired no less an activist than the late Rep. John Lewis — with an eye toward how they can inform current struggles for justice, peace, and equality.

So there are classroom activities that aim to trace connections between the struggles remembered in the comic book and others from the past and the present, including the fight against apartheid in South Africa, the ongoing struggle for Palestinian liberation (including through the call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions), the Black Lives Matter movement, and a series of mini “case studies” of movements and campaigns led by young people around the world.

For as long as violence, inequality, and racism have shaped this country, there have been people–that they may never have heard of–who challenged what seemed inevitable or unmovable.

Sarah DeBolt Badawi

Can you talk a little about how you go about creating a study guide like this?

The process of developing the guide started with figuring out how best to achieve these goals for all of the audiences we were trying to serve. For a K-12 audience, I had to think about what would capture students’ imagination, push their thinking, build academic skills, and give them a sense of possibility about their own capacity to be agents of change — all while making sense for curriculum at the middle school versus the high school level and being accessible and relevant for students both in the U.S. and in other countries.

For college-level students, adult learners, and/or community groups of different faith backgrounds, I knew I had to create bases for thoughtful discussion and analysis that would build on their own experiences of activist work and connect themes raised by the comic book to those that social movements contend with to this day.

To get there, we spent a lot of time hashing out ideas and questions I brought to my FOR colleagues, and then there was a lot of editing and rewriting and reworking of the background essays, classroom activities, guiding questions, and issues for discussion. We had help early on from generous advisors, academics, educators, and former colleagues. Finally, we were really fortunate to have reviewers who helped us refine and improve the work. Everyone from the former Executive Director of FOR, the Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan Simpson, to classroom teachers, to some very astute middle and high school students helped us to make the guide the resource it is.

What do you hope the broader public takes away from this resource?

I hope this guide will lead more people to the Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story comic book, which can in turn, help them learn about FOR’s work over more than a hundred years. That matters right now because it’s really important for people to know more about the many, many examples in U.S. history of people and organizations like FOR (that they may never have heard of) that have undertaken innovative, courageous, and often unpopular work to promote peace and justice.

For as long as violence, inequality, and racism have shaped this country, there have been people (that they may never have heard of) who challenged what seemed inevitable or unmovable. We can still connect with and learn from this tradition of resistance.

The other thing I most hope this curriculum and study guide will offer the broader public is another resource that works to challenge what Julian Bond called the “master narrative” of the civil rights movement, because I think that has huge implications for contemporary struggles. When we look at social movements in all their messiness, fallibility, and complexity — especially when we highlight the importance of grassroots activists whose names most people may not know — we give ourselves and our students the chance to see that progress isn’t tidy or linear, and that we all have a part to play in creating a more just world.

This Q&A is an edited excerpt of an interview for Swarthmore College’s website.

It is with bittersweet emotions that the Fellowship of Reconciliation — USA (FOR-USA) announces that Rev. Dr. Emma Jordan-Simpson has stepped down as executive director in order to become the president of Auburn Seminary in New York City.

A gifted pastor, preacher, and administrator, Rev. Emma’s immense skills and commitment to emergent strategies have advanced FOR-USA’s mission in numerous ways. During her tenure, FOR-USA built capacity to support our grassroots chapters and affiliates; launched the Wink Fellowship for emerging leaders; made a critically-important investment through a new board-controlled fund; and deepened our partnership with International FOR branches worldwide. Many of these transformational commitments and accomplishments were achieved during an unprecedented period of global pandemic and social brokenness.

Rev. Emma’s ability to embrace love and rigor, and to recommit us to fellowship and reconciliation, has reignited the moral fire of our organization. Rev. Emma took the helm at FOR-USA three years ago during a time of extraordinary transition. The organization had just sold the Shadowcliff estate that had been its home for more than a half-century. At the same time, FOR-USA’s National Council was struggling to take a hard look at itself and the organization to examine and challenge historic patterns and practices of internalized white supremacy. Some wondered whether FOR should continue to exist and whether Rev. Emma’s role would be to bring FOR’s organizational history to a close with a sense of integrity. Under Rev. Emma’s leadership, the path forward to achieve the Beloved Community has become lucid. The organization has recommitted itself to the faithful witness, rigorous ethical reflection, and truly joyful accompaniment that we now recognize to be at the heart of fellowship and reconciliation.

While we are saddened by this immense loss to FOR, we are overjoyed that Rev. Emma will now bring her unique talents and innovative practices to Auburn Seminary in this prestigious and impactful role. We can think of no better future than one in which thousands of religious and community leaders nationwide are infused with the wisdom and gentle prophetic fire that Rev. Emma carries within her. We also know that this is not the end of a relationship, only its evolution and transition. We are honored to know that we will continue to be in community with Rev. Emma for years to come.

We are excited to announce that two core members of FOR-USA’s leadership team have graciously accepted the call to help steward FOR during this transition period. Ethan Vesely-Flad, director of national organizing, and Dr. Anthony Nicotera, strategic visioning and fundraising lead counsel, will serve as interim co-executive directors as our National Council coordinates a search for our next long-term leader. As an organization, we are committed to seeing this as a moment of grace, a sacred seed ball planted — to draw on one of Rev. Emma’s inspirational phrases — that new possibilities might blossom. Indebted to her example, we commit to prioritize real human relationship as the core of our work, and we pledge to name and uproot structural racism, settler colonialism, and institutional white supremacy, both inside our Fellowship and in the world beyond. We are confident that, with our community’s support, the leadership of our National Council will continue to build upon Rev. Emma’s prophetic vision and foundation.

In a farewell message to FOR, Rev. Emma declared:

“Leading the Fellowship of Reconciliation at such a critical point in its history and in global history has been such a clarifying experience for me. Creation and the peoples that inhabit this planet are hurting in such profound yet preventable ways. To approach the exit portal of this pandemic with some real determination requires people of faith and conscience in the United States to abandon the delusion of separateness. What is broken in America matters across the globe. Realizing that our U.S. brokenness leads to pain across the world must change the way we engage in the world. The world is getting a stronger Fellowship of Reconciliation because we have taken the deep breath that allows for that reset. I am so proud that FOR is doing its work to claim its place in the economy of peace and justice leadership. I’m proud that it is focusing on its very roots — trusting truth and justice to light the way toward healing, peace, and human security. I’m grateful to all of the National Council for its leadership, to Ethan Vesely-Flad and Anthony Nicotera, and all of FOR’s staff and team members for the good work we did. I’m excited about the horizon and am anticipating the work we have yet to do together as I transition to this new responsibility with Auburn Seminary.”

Thank you, Rev. Emma, for the love, leadership, and liberation you have shared with and inspired within us; for leading us with grace and healing through this extraordinary period of global pandemic and communal trauma; and for your generous commitment to continuing fellowship as you move on to Auburn. On behalf of FOR and all our sister movements for justice and peace, we celebrate this exciting next step of your prophetic journey!

FOR-USA National Council and Staff

TFC is grounded in a radically inclusive Greatest Commandment Theology, which is derived from Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:37–40. There, he upholds loving God, loving your neighbor, and loving yourself as the commandments on which “hang all the law and the prophets.” TFC seeks to reorient our basic question from “What does the Bible have to say about this,” to, “How does the Greatest Commandment apply here?” With this as our basis, we operate by five keys — Greatest Commandment Theology, Anti-Racism, Women’s Equity, LGBTQ+ Affirmation, and Bible Criticism. And all of this serves to help us deliver on our promise to be Disruptive, Authentic, and Inclusive.

September 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protest that took over Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan for two tumultuous months in 2011. The action began with little fanfare on September 17, 2011, but soon captured worldwide attention. It ultimately inspired similar protests across the U.S. and in many international cities for its commentary on extreme income inequality and the gap between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of society.

#Occupy@10: An Oral History is a short documentary (30 minutes) produced by the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR-USA) that tells the story of Occupy through the eyes of seven interfaith leaders and activists who participated in Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Oakland. FOR-USA is interested in inviting organizations and communities to use the film as a tool for deeper conversation surrounding the themes discussed in the documentary, including economic and racial inequality, intersectionality, faith-based activism etc. In addition, FOR-USA is seeking partners interested in setting up screening events in which the faith leaders featured in #Occupy@10 would participate.

About #Occupy@10: An Oral History
In Fall 2011, NYC ministers the Rev. Michael Ellick, from Judson Memorial Church, and the Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt, from the Fourth Universalist Society, as well as Union Theological Seminary students Carolyn Klaasen and Matthew Arlyck and journalist Nathan Schneider devoted countless hours to organizing and participating in actions around Zuccotti Park and the Occupy encampment. Approximately 3,000 miles away, Rev. Sandhya Rani Jha and Rev. Nichola Torbett were having a very similar experience at Occupy Oakland.

In #Occupy@10: An Oral History, these interfaith leaders reflect on the enormous energy and excitement that characterized the idealistic beginnings of Occupy, a “leaderless” movement in which no money was needed, and people lived and made decisions in common. Those heady days soon gave way to a sobering realization that lurking just beneath the class analysis that dominated the mostly young and white Occupy movement there was a broad-based lack of a racial or decolonial analysis.

#Occupy@10 recounts how these failings contributed to the ultimate fragmentation of the movement. In spite of these critiques, however, the interfaith activists in the film reflect positively on Occupy’s immense legacy and impact and suggest that the movement’s DNA is evident in numerous front-line social movements and policy battles that have occurred in the decade since.

A two-page study guide resource for facilitators is available with suggested questions for discussion and reflection. (PDF download here)

Contact
For more information on how you or your organization can set up a screening or use #Occupy@10 in your classroom, place of worship etc. please contact the film’s director, Bill McGarvey 201–725–4202, bill@mcg-media.com Ethan Vesely-Flad at FOR-USA (organizing@forusa.org).

The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR-USA) is an interfaith movement working nationally and globally on today’s most pressing human and civil rights issues through advocacy, activism, and educational programs. Founded in 1915, FOR-USA is the oldest interfaith peace & justice organization in North America, promoting active nonviolence and progressive social change through a diverse membership of people of conscience spanning many religious, spiritual,
and cultural traditions.

How would FOR respond to the 9/11 attack?

We dropped everything, becoming a team intent on caring for each other in the frightening and uncertain time and on mounting a FOR response. Individuals offered ideas and picked up tasks. By evening, we had prepared a press release, which was issued during the following 48 hours and very well received.

The next morning, September 12th, program staff began planning and contacting FOR leaders, religious peace fellowships, and national peace organizations to share ideas. Around the country there were calls for a war on the enemy, a war on terrorism, and Muslims were being targeted. We decided it was vital to quickly provide new resources for members around the country, so staff and local volunteers designed, assembled, copied, and distributed an easy-to-duplicate packet titled “9/11 Response: No to War, No to Hate.”

The packet included: statements of condolence from around the world; a guide for self-care and reflection; interfaith prayers and readings; the articles “The Challenge of Terror” by John Paul Lederach and “The Deeper Wound” by Deepak Chopra; and information about FOR programs and membership. The packet also included a sample flyer for organizing a local event with the theme “NOT IN OUR NAME,” to be held at sunset on Sunday, October 7th.

Next, we developed a national speakers’ list and responded to numerous media inquiries, provided interviews, and wrote articles. As interim co-executive directors of FOR at that time, Rev. Richard Deats and I were asked to speak to press outlets and to collaborate with diverse global allies. Eight international Nobel Peace Laureates, with whom FOR had worked, asked assistance in preparing a joint statement and press release. I accompanied three of them to the United Nations to meet with Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and later toured the Family Service Center at Ground Zero.

On the advice of Jim and Shelley Douglass, renowned Roman Catholic anti-war activists, we began encouraging FOR members across the county to become more visible in their communities. We especially urged them to hold small, silent street corner vigils that would show others that they were not alone and who to contact. We held vigils in town, too. We announced to our local community that FOR’s Peace Room (in our then-headquarters, known as Shadowcliff, in Nyack NY) was open for private reflection and made interfaith prayers available. We contacted the nearby Islamic community and offered support.

The local community was tense; our offices were located just north of New York City, and many residents had deep connections to the city. People were in shock; there were warnings that another attack was possible. We heard color-coded daily warnings and even faced soldiers with guns drawn as we crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge. People who had escaped the Twin Towers alive shared their horror stories, and hundreds of photos circulated in an effort to find those who were still missing. We attended services for the dead.

U.S. flags flew from many buildings and most cars, except for ours. Well-known in the area as a peace organization and the home of the Muslim and Jewish Peace Fellowships as well, and conspicuously flying a Whole Earth flag instead of an American flag, resulted in some harassment of FOR staff colleagues as they entered or left our office. We received hateful letters, emails, and phone calls, and even some suspicious envelopes in the mail during the anthrax scare.

In addition to continuing our established programs, we ramped up some new ones. I attended a meeting in Manhattan with staff from other national peace organizations, and we formed a new coalition for taking joint action. It was an intense meeting, and I felt compelled at one point to state that women, too, must be seen at the front of marches and as co-leaders of campaigns this time; a few women quickly rose and stood beside me.

In another meeting, I talked with family members of people killed in the bombings of the Twin Towers. They had adopted the motto, “Not In Our Name.” They wanted to turn their grief into action for peace and nonviolent options, and they requested (and received) FOR’s support to start a new organization, “September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows.” Their courageous work, which FOR fiscally sponsored in that early development period and which received tremendous publicity, included organizing events and mounting delegations to Iraq and Afghanistan.

We ramped up FOR’s new active nonviolence training program, Creating a Culture of Peace, which became an important resource across the country for our members, religious peace fellowships, Veterans For Peace chapters, student groups, peace centers, and synagogues and other religious congregations. We publicized other relevant FOR programs: the Campaign of Conscience opposing Iraq sanctions; Interfaith Peace-Builders (now Eyewitness Palestine) with its delegations to Israel-Palestine; the Latin America & the Caribbean program with its focus on Colombia and Vieques; and FOR’s Disarmament program. FOR Staff, National Council leadership, and grassroots members gave speeches, wrote articles, held vigils, and mounted nonviolent projects.

We all were determined to say “no” to war and violent responses. We would try, as Gandhi admonished, to be the change we wanted in the world.

What are some 9/11 lessons for today?

Fear, hatred, racism, religious intolerance, terrorist threat, and political polarization are again poisoning our culture today, 20 years later, adding to other threats from COVID, climate disasters, poverty, and racism. Some lessons stand out to me:

• Be visible, approachable, relatable — Whether in small vigils or large rallies, in public statements or in simple daily interactions, or even by inviting conversations through FOR bumper stickers and hats. Review the skills for building dialogue and respect, especially with those who differ and oppose. Practice the Hassle Line and Active Listening exercises.
• Take self-care seriously — Time to rest, reflect and heal are vital for each individual. Get support in regular sessions with a small caring group, too. Remember Affinity Groups?
• Know you’re not alone — In the struggle, you can plan and partner with other individuals, groups, and organizations and also share concerns, new ideas, and expertise.
• Go deeper into active nonviolence — Take nonviolence training again! Study again the basic principles, innovative approaches, strategies, actions, and tactics — know the stages of building a nonviolent movement — learn the stories of creative campaigns.
• Mix it up, socially — Intentionally spend time with and learn about people and communities who are less familiar to you, especially those with opposing political views or from different cultures and faith traditions or who are demonized or oppressed. Listen to them, learn from them. Encourage others to do the same.
• Spread active nonviolence — Develop, share, and promote nonviolence and interfaith resources, including lists of speakers, trainers, books, principles, practices, inspiring stories, prayers, and more. Publicize the ground-breaking research documenting successes of nonviolent movements around the world by Erika Chenoweth and Maria Stephan.

What lessons learned would you add to the list?

Janet G. Chisholm served as nonviolence training coordinator at the Fellowship of Reconciliation from 2000–2006, where she founded Creating a Culture of Peace, a national training collective focused on nonviolent practice, education, and action. During her tenure Janet also served as FOR-USA’s interim co-executive director (October 2000 to March 2002), including the period discussed in this article. She lives in Albany, California.

She attended Holy Angels Catholic Schools. As an early teen, Mary, because of her father being stricken seriously ill, was called upon to become the caretaker of her younger sister and baby brother so her mother could tend to her father. Mary cooked and cleaned and at too early of an age was managing kids and a house. She had to grow up quickly.

After graduation she entered the convent of the Ursula Sisters of Brown County. Though she enjoyed the camaraderie of the other novices, Mary decided the religious life was not her vocation. She then left the convent and traveled through Europe with a friend taking in the sights and culture, as well as every art museum she could manage to visit. This solidified her love of art and became an integral part of her life.

Returning to Cincinnati, she utilized her degree in art and taught elementary students. She delved into sculpting, painting, and pottery, leaving behind many pieces for her family and friends to remember her by. She was well known for her stunning religious banners, many inspiring the congregation of the Catholic Center at Xavier University. Mary also created graphic art for logos and advertising for many clients. As if that was not enough, Mary’s talent did not end with art: she was equally creative in the kitchen, making even the most simple dish taste five-star worthy. Mary took this talent and love of cooking and moved to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1976 to work at Victoria Station, accelerating from line cook to general manager in just three years.

Her parents and siblings moved to Austin, Texas, and Mary decided it was time to live closer to family. She was offered an opportunity to create and open her own restaurant and catering business, and soon the Purple Plum became the iconic noon-time destination in central Austin. She was known for her special meatloaf sandwiches, homemade soups, and luscious desserts. One of her favorite memories was meeting Willie Nelson while catering an outdoor festival, where he commented that Mary’s food was “Good Grub.”

After 15 years, it was time to move on and the Bay Area in Northern California called to her soul. She became the volunteer and event coordinator for Catholic Charities in 1999, a job that brought her great joy because it was helping other people that were giving of themselves. This planted the seed of the California lifestyle and climate, which Mary loved.

Several years later Mary moved again to another of her favorite locations, near New York City. Mary began working for the Fellowship of Reconciliation in Nyack, New York, in 2008 as Peace House host and event coordinator. This, too, was a position where she found much joy and fulfillment. After leaving FOR, and with the urge to run her own business again, she opened a Bed & Breakfast in Ithaca, New York. This was her opportunity to create a true home environment for friends new and old. Her home was top rated and a favorite for students, their families, guests of the college, and travelers in general.

When the New York winters proved to be too harsh, Mary felt the call of California again and decided to move back to the Bay Area. There Mary continued to pursue her love of all things of art. She dealt in these things as a business. She continued using her gifts of organizing gatherings and parties with the greatest of food for her friends and neighbors. She was the one generously offering time and transportation to make sure all her neighbors got to the grocery, drug store, and doctors.

Throughout her life, Mary made friends everywhere. When you became her friend, you were her friend for life. She would share her artistic creations, send gifts, cards filled with touching sentiments, emails of encouragement, all so you knew she was thinking of you. Her generosity and love was shared without judgment or expectations. You were cherished and never forgotten. Her joy for life, no matter how difficult at times, was evident in everything she did.

Mary is survived by her brothers, Robert Heckler, Jr. (Janie); David Heckler (Jane); sister Lynn Christopher (Doug); and numerous nieces and nephews who remember her as “their favorite aunt.” She was predeceased by her parents and brother, John.

We will never fill the empty space the passing of Mary has left in all of our lives. We won’t hear her laugh, enjoy her company and stories, witness her kindness, or taste her food. What we have is our memories of our time together held in our hearts and the knowledge of how blessed we were to be included in her life. She is missed every day. We love you, Mary.

Shared with the Fellowship of Reconciliation by the Heckler Family.

Wilson is Chicago-based Community Renewal Society (CRS)’s inaugural Bayard Rustin Fellow, leading its LGBTQIA+ advocacy work. He served as Minister of Social Justice Education & Advocacy at University Church in Chicago from Nov. 2018 until joining CRS in September 2020.

Wilson served as Justice & Peace Policy in the United Church of Christ’s Washington, D.C. office from June 2016 to June 2018. He founded BRLI in April 2018. Making Black and queer liberation a reality is BRLI’s mission. The three-year-old organization has stood with coalition partners to advocate for the Equality Act and Every Child Deserves A Family Act.

Wilson is pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Howard University School of Divinity. He earned a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary. Wilson brings 20 years of communications experience gained as a journalist. The Champaign, Illinois native earned a bachelor’s degree in print journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1999.

In his new role at FOR-USA, which began in August 2021, Rev. Jason Carson Wilson is conducting listening sessions with leaders of FOR chapters and allied local and national groups. His work will support FOR’s strategic development to build capacity at the grassroots and strengthen social change work for justice and peace movements. FOR-USA warmly welcomes Rev. Wilson to its team of staff, consultants, and fellows.

• Steps to Protect Your Online Identity: Digital History and Evading Biometrics Abuses: This guide includes a series of related factsheets alongside the two Afghanistan-specific factsheets listed below. (English)
• Evading the Misuse of Biometric Data: Overall, it is very difficult to avoid recognition based on biometric data, but the following fact sheet outlines some things you can do, and some you shouldn’t. (Darī دری) (Pashto پښتو)
• How to Delete Your Digital History: This short guide helps human rights activists erase their digital footprints. When covering digital tracks and erasing your digital profile remember there are various ways the authorities can try to attack you. (Darī دری)
• The Umbrella App (iOS & Android) provides self-guided lessons and checklists for simple, practical steps an individual can take to stay secure when they work, travel, and communicate. Umbrella covers both physical and digital security. The guidance is tailored for NGO’s, journalists, and activists. So, it will not all be relevant. But, its self-guided nature allows for the user to focus on the guidance they feel they need. Available via iOS, Android, Amazon, and F-Droid. Relevant languages available: (Farsi فارسی )
• Do-It-Yourself Online Safety was written with women dealing with domestic abuse or stalking in mind. But its principles and guidance can be used to make key small changes to better secure ones online presence (online accounts, social media profiles) from being used against them. This is not the most in-depth guidance. But, it is an easy-to-follow guide with good first steps. (Farsi فارسی ) (Pashto پښتو)
• The Defenders Protocol is a high-level level set of principals for a person to use when trying to take care of their physical safety, digital security, and well-being and resilience. It’s a useful tool for individuals who are under stress and are want a resource to help them think through some key aspects of their security to work through. (Farsi فارسی ) (Pashto پښتو)
• Online safety resources for Afghanistan’s human rights defenders: A short, English-only, resource list which includes links to the official documentation for how to delete specific content, or entire accounts, on many major social media services. (English)