News from the Friends Committee on North Carolina Legislation (FCNCL)
September 2022
Annual Meeting. The 2022 Annual Meeting of the General Committee will be held Saturday, October 8, 9:15-12:30. The Annual Meeting will be held remotely again this year via Zoom due to Covid precautions. The link for the meeting and documents for organizational business will be sent to General Committee members prior to the meeting allowing us to conduct our business efficiently in the first portion of the meeting. Beginning at 11:00 we will focus on the topic of “Protecting North Carolina Democracy.” This will include a speaker and breakout sessions to explore how this connects with our work in FCNCL followed by group sharing. Our guest speaker is Rob Schofield of NC Policy Watch. For more information visit the website fcncl.org.
Invitation to join us. We have 31 General Committee members from 17 Monthly Meetings and two Quaker organizations. Marian Beane serves as representative of PF. We encourage other Yearly Meetings, Monthly Meetings, and other Quaker organizations in NC to name up three representatives to our General Committee. We also invite anyone with special interests and expertise on any of our policy priorities to team with us to craft policy alerts and/or fact sheets; help our Communications group develop and issue our announcements; send friends to our website to grow our membership; and most importantly — respond to our Alerts and build relationships with your representatives! If interested in how to get more involved, ask any of us (or email us info@fcncl.org.
FCNCL Policies.The draft 2023 FCNCL Policies have been approved by the Executive Committee and will be presented at the annual meeting for final approval by the General Committee members. Click here to see the draft policies.
Please Vote in the Upcoming Elections. If we want legislation that reflects our values, we need legislators at all levels and judges who share those values. Every vote counts. Please vote and remind your friends and family to vote. For voter tools, including how to find information about your county, visit the State Board of Elections https://vt.ncsbe.gov/. Ballotpedia is a good source for information about the 2022 elections in North Carolina https://ballotpedia.org/North_Carolina_elections,_2022. Key dates in North Carolina:
Registration ends October 14
Early voting starts October 20
Election Day is November 8
I found an interesting QuakerSpeak video: Why Do Quakers Care About Politics?
Strategic Advocacy and Education (SAE). We plan to organize a state-wide FCNCL Lobby/Advocacy Day in Raleigh early in the 2023 Legislative Session. Let us know if you are willing to help plan and stay tuned for more information.
SAE is seeking another 1-2 enthusiastic members to join in its critical work. SAE’s work is where the rubber of FCNCL’s mission meets the road. SAE seeks to strengthen our base of F/friends engaged in FCNCL’s advocacy efforts by connecting with General Committee Members, Friends Meetings and Churches, and the broader society of Friends. Join us in our multifaceted work by reaching out to the Nominating Committee.
From the FCNCL Nominating Committee. FCNCL is governed by a General Committee consisting of representatives from participating meetings. Our work is coordinated by several committees (see https://fcncl.wordpress.com/organization/). We are always looking for Friends with the time and energy to join us in this important work. If you would like to join a committee, contact one of the co-clerks of the Nominating Committee.
Marian Beane — marian.beane@gmail.com
Dorothy Mason — hmason@triad.rr.com
Visit Our Website – fcncl.org. Our website contains much valuable information that has been extended over the past year, including our newsletters, archived Action Alerts, Fact Sheets, and our revised Racial Justice/Antiracism Statement.
Take Action by helping to educate each other. If you have an area of expertise or information about a specific area related to one of our policy priorities, consider sharing a draft Fact Sheet to share with the Policy Committee that might be put on our website to share with others. Let us know about your potential interest at info@fcncl.org.
Learn More About FCNCL. Quakers have a long history of letting their lives speak in the political arena to bring a voice of conscience. FCNCL aims to build on that legacy. We advocate for NC policies that support people of all cultural, religious, and racial backgrounds; marriage and gender equality; violence prevention; civil and voting rights for all citizens; access to quality education opportunities; quality healthcare for all; an equitable and humane criminal justice system; environmental stewardship; and opposition to all forms of torture and extreme rendition.
Learn more about the organization and sign up for action alerts at the FCNCL website. Encourage your meeting to appoint representatives if they have not done so. Plan to attend a workshop. Ponder the queries raised in our Annual Meeting discernment. We hope you’ll feel led to join us.
Gratitude. We would like to give a shout out of thanks to the Monthly Meetings, Yearly Meetings, and individuals who contributed financially to FCNCL and to all the volunteers and participants that made this such a successful year for FCNCL. Our budget is small but necessary and your gifts of time and money make it all possible.