Annapolis Valley Quaker Meeting

The radical peace roots of Mothers’ Day

admin — Sun, 13 May 2012 21:01:53 +0000

“Mother’s Day began in America in 1870 when Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation. Written in response to the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, her proclamation called on women to use their position as mothers to influence society in fighting for an end to all wars. She called for women to stand up against the unjust violence of war through their roles as wife and mother, to protest the futility of their sons killing other mothers’ sons.”

See http://www.nationofchange.org/radical-history-mother-s-day-1336835841

Julia Ward Howe’s Mother’s Day Proclamation – 1870

Arise then…women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
“We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”From the bosom of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
Blood does not wipe out dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace…
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

Marilyn Manzer receives 2011 Valley Arts Award

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:35:20 +0000

Marilyn Manzer was nominated for the 2011 Valley Arts Award because her contribution to the cultural life of the region has been consistently strong for over 25 years.

See http://www.deeprootsmusic.ca/artsaward.php for more details.

Marilyn Manzer gives Keynote talk at CYM

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:22:02 +0000

Marilyn Manzer delivered the 2011 Sunderland P. Gardner lecture on “The Moral Economy” to a full house at the Fouuntain Performing Arts Centre at King’s Edgehill School on Wednesday, August 10th. In describing her life-long journey of concern on this issue, she wove together threads of economics, history, philosophy, music and beauty and presented an alternative vision to our current greed-based economy. The lecture is published as a Canadian Quaker Pamphlet. See also http://www.quaker.ca/Publications/SPG/ for the audio.

Yearly Meeting in Windsor this week

admin — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 02:21:29 +0000

Quakers from around the country are converging on Kings-Edgehill School for the annual national gathering of Canadian Quakers from August 5th to 13th.

(Note that Meeting for Worship will be held in Windsor at 11am on Sunday the 7th of August, in the Concert Hall at Kings-Edgehill. There will be no meeting at Hortonville on that day.)

For more information on the gathering see http://www.quaker.ca/gathering

Celebrating Peggy Hope-Simpson

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 01:45:24 +0000

On Saturday, April 23rd, we held a celebration of Peggy Hope-Simpson on the occasion of submitting her nomination to be considered for the Order of Nova Scotia.

Click on the pic to see in more detail. Click that one again to see it larger…

Atlantic Friends Gathering is coming!

admin — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 02:03:12 +0000

Check out the AFG web site at http://atlantic.quaker.ca/afg for more information about the Atlantic gathering of Quakers over the Victoria Day weekend at Windhorse farm Conference Centre. Please register in advance ASAP! Click for the one-pager AFG poster 2011 Spread the word! Invite your friends!

Welcome to the new AVMM web site!

bdienes — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:48:45 +0000

Look for updates and new features over the next week or two!

Click on the Calendar link above to see our schedule.