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The right to vote in the United States was originally only for white male property owners 21 years old and older, then extended to males of all races in 1870, to women in 1920, to eliminate racial discrimination in 1965, and to lowering the voting age to eighteen in 1971. I was one of thousands personally campaigning for the last two efforts. As a Quaker, I got involved by being active in protests for civil rights and against the Vietnam War in the ’60s. I was a full-time activist and campaign manager for candidates of both parties at every level of government. I then spent the ’70s in Pennsylvania state government as Special Assistant to the Governor and Secretary of Commerce.
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Editor’s note: During this election season, when our political life in the United States seems especially contentious, Friends United Meeting has invited a variety of Friends to share their thoughts on how to navigate as a Quaker through these divided times. Our ninth installment is by Jennie Isbell Shinn, of New England Yearly Meeting. Living Expectantly in Politically Charged Times, or Any Time This election season, a familiar unrest and uncertainty are settling in my bones, again. I feel on edge and vigilant, even against my siblings who have different political affiliations. I remind myself that even the most faithful person cannot see into another’s heart, or fully know how God is at work in the other.
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As One Who Seeks First The Kingdom Of God We need not beg to enter into the presence of God. Whether we recognize it or not, we are always and forever loved and watched over by the Divine Spirit. Instead of seeking and knocking to get into the presence of God, we have to knock on the door to get out of the prison of worldliness we have built for ourselves out of the things that we thought we desired but which do not satisfy us.
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As One Who Listens Like many older people, my Dad spent his later years wearing a hearing device to amplify the voices around him. I’m sure he had a legitimate degree of hearing loss, but our family was often amused and sometimes irked by how Dad could miss something that was said clearly in front of him, yet pick up on a conversation going on in another room. Mom’s diagnosis was that Dad was just “hard of listening.”I wonder if that is how God might view me! How many times has God spoken clearly to me and I’ve completely missed it?
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Throughout our history, the people known as Friends (or Quakers) keep rediscovering an essential and enduring truth: There is one who speaks to our most basic needs and most significant hopes—Christ Jesus the Lord. Both individually and communally, we are learning to know and follow the Voice that guides us in the way we should go. Together, we seek to understand and obey that truth which sets us free. As a people, we share in the experience of that powerful life which makes all things new. Maybe you are searching for an authentic and transforming faith and community to call home—if so, come in and join us as we seek to know and follow Christ.
Friends United Meeting commits itself to energize and equip Friends through the power of the Holy Spirit to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved, and obeyed as Teacher and Lord.
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