Wahroonga Friends Bulletin - 3 June 2026

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Wahroonga Friends Bulletin - 3 June 2026 Understanding Gender Diversity in Our MeetingsHow can Quaker meetings welcome and support people who are trans or gendernonconforming? Rhiannon Grant reflects on a recent paper which can help.
As part of our wider commitment to being welcoming and inclusive, Quakers welcome and affirm trans, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people in our communities. In a world where trans people are often excluded or even attacked, finding a faith community which is understanding and supportive can be hugely important. It's great that we already have many nonbinary and trans Friends in our communities, but how can those of us who are not trans ensure that we offer consistent support?

In order to help all Quakers understand gender diversity and deepen our love for one another, the British Quaker national representative body Meeting for Sufferings recently endorsed a paper from the Quaker Committee on Christian and Interfaith Relations (QCCIR) which explores the theology underlying Britain Yearly Meeting's 2021 minute on the topic.

That minute said, in part, "We seek to provide places of worship and community that are welcoming and supportive to trans and nonbinary people who want to be among us. Belonging is more than fitting in. With glad hearts we acknowledge and affirm the trans and gender diverse Friends in our Quaker communities, and express appreciation for the contribution and gifts that they bring to our meetings, which are communities made up of people with a diverse range of gender expressions."

Theological Foundations

The minute reflects the discerned position of Yearly Meeting, but making it a reality needs ongoing and prayerful work. A small number of Friends have found it hard to understand or accept. Acknowledging the reality of this, QCCIR's paper reminds us of the importance of loving one another.

It also discusses some of the ways in which the hard gender boundaries constructed by society are deconstructed in the Divine: in Christ there is no male and female, as Paul said in Galatians 3:18, and Margaret Fell said, in her argument for the legitimacy of women as ministers of God's word, that God "makes no such distinctions and differences [between genders] as men do; for though they be weak, he is strong".

Following this line of thinking, the paper reminds us that as Quakers, we "are guided to perceive humanity as created both male and female in the image of a God who is beyond gender. Indeed, the very form and essence of Quaker worship that is rooted in silent waiting embodies a radical equality of all humans before God".

Drawing on the language of the Psalms, the paper describes us as each made "most intricately and wonderfully". Gender diversity, as with other kinds of diversity, is "part of the richness of the unconditional love the Inner Light offers and by which we seek to be guided". There may be people in any community we find difficult to understand, especially if their experience and ways of expressing themselves are outside the norms for a particular culture, generation, or gender. That doesn't allow us to reject them or require them to explain themselves, especially if this becomes repetitive or combative.

What Can We Do?

The paper finishes with a list of queries which we could ask ourselves and our meetings. It asks, for example, whether we invite the sharing of pronouns and gender self-identification amongst our worshippers. One small step would be to share your own – whether or not you are trans or gender nonconforming, if you feel comfortable adding your pronouns to your Zoom screen name, name badge, or introduction at the end of worship, this sends a clear signal that you are ready to hear and respect other people's pronouns and experiences with the complexities of gender.

Attending to trans voices and listening deeply to the experience of trans people is vital in this work. It can be good to share our experiences in community, but it can also difficult. It's important not to assume someone wants to speak about gender just because they are nonbinary, gender nonconforming, or have transitioned. They may not feel safe, not want to be known for their gender alone, or be tired of retelling the story. Or they might be delighted to help and feel seen and appreciated! Ask and be ready to accept the answer. An alternative is to use online resources or a book to hear from someone who has chosen to share – see the links below.
Other activities build the whole community, without specific attention to gender. Being ready to have hard conversations and address conflict when it arises, including challenging hurtful words or actions, will help our communities to name and repair the damage. Checking whether people who are newer to the community are beginning to feel like they belong may show up many ways in which we accidentally exclude. And a chat over coffee or shared lunch, starting with the ordinary but willing to go deep, can be powerful on any topic. Understanding gender diversity in our meetings 
Read the paper (PDF)



63 Years Ago, the Quakers Stood Up for Gay Dignity & 

They’re Still Advocating for LGBTQ+ Rights

Quakers, like most Protestant denominations, hold differing views of homosexuality within their ranks. But no other mainstream Protestant religion has embraced LGBTQ+ identity like the Quakers, known officially as the Religious Society of Friends.
The clearest example is a text promulgated over seven years in meetings by a group of Quaker writers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and teachers, assembled to consider issues surrounding homosexuality.

Published in 1963, “Towards a Quaker View of Sex” asserted, “An act which expresses true affection between two individuals and gives pleasure to them both, does not seem to us to be sinful by reason alone of the fact that it is homosexual.”

The book sparked fierce debate among Quaker communities, with one member from the Friends Temperance and Moral Union calling its findings “poison.” But the book also set the Quakers on a path to forward-thinking policy on LGBTQ+ rights, at a time when other Christian denominations remained adamantly opposed to homosexuality. The group was contrarian from the start.

The Quakers trace their history to England, where George Fox, a founder of the movement, proselytized a direct relationship to God and a “priesthood of all believers.” It was an organizing principle anathema to the state-directed Church of England. Brought before a judge in 1650 with an accusation of blasphemy, Fox “bade them tremble at the word of the Lord.” The Quakers’ name was coined.

The Friends — named for Jesus’s words recorded in the Gospel of John: “You are my friends, if you do what I command you” — gained a foothold in England and Wales, particularly among women drawn to the goal of restructuring the family and central roles for them in “meetings” that regulated marriage and domestic behavior.

As in England, the Quakers were persecuted in the American colonies. The Puritans were responsible for the hanging deaths of four Quakers known as the Boston martyrs in 1660.

But the Quaker movement spread in North America, and settlements dotted the Northern colonies. They earned a reputation for silent worship, insularity, austerity, craftsmanship, and opposition to slavery. A history of conscientious objection to military service dates back to the American Revolution.

Since the publication of “Towards a Quaker View of Sex,” the Friends have shared a compassionate embrace with LGBTQ+ people in the movement for equal rights.

In 1973, a group of Quakers established the Friends Homosexual Fellowship to promote dialogue over the rights of gay people in the wider Quaker community. 

In 1987, a Friends community considered same-sex marriage for the first time, and at their Yearly Meeting in 2009, Quakers in Britain became the first religious organization there to formally recognize same-sex marriage.

In recent years, LGBTQ+ affirming Quakers in Iowa have protested book ban legislation in the state. In 2023, a Quaker community erected a Pride Progress flag billboard with the message, “You are Loved, You are Valued, You are Welcome.”

The same year in Pennsylvania, Quakers took a stand against a far-right MAGA group espousing hateful Christian Nationalist rhetoric attacking the LGBTQ+ community, and in 2025, British Quakers rejected the country’s Supreme Court ruling that prevents trans people from using single-sex spaces.
Said one friend at the meeting held to address the issue, “This is what love requires of us.”  63 years ago, the Quakers stood up for gay dignity & they're still fighting for our LGBTQ+ rights - LGBTQ Nation 
See - Creating Visible Support For LGBTQ+ Folks"When I was growing up," says Kerry Wiessmann, "I was taught that God is love and I felt like what we need to do is help everybody understand that… God's greatest gift to us is love and that we need to cherish it with every form that love takes." With that leading, Kerry has worked steadily since the late 1980s to help her meeting in State College, Pennsylvania, define itself as a welcoming and affirming place for the LGBTQ+ community. See it here Creating Visible Support For LGBTQ+ Folks 
June QBC - The Stolen Wealth of SlaveryA Case for ReparationsThe June QBC (Quaker Book Club) selection is The Stolen Wealth of Slavery: A Case for Reparations by David Montero.
This groundbreaking book tracks the massive wealth amassed from slavery from pre-Civil War to today, and lays out a case for reparations that shows exactly what was stolen, who stole it, and to whom it is owed.

In this timely, powerful, investigative history, The Stolen Wealth of Slavery, Emmy Award-nominated journalist David Montero follows the trail of the massive wealth amassed by Northern corporations throughout America's history of enslavement. It has long been maintained by many that the North wasn't complicit in the horrors of slavery. The truth, however, is that large Northern banks--including well-known institutions like Citibank, Bank of New York, and Bank of America--were critical to the financing of slavery; that they saw their fortunes rise dramatically from their involvement in the business of enslavement; and that white business leaders and their surrounding communities created enormous wealth from the enslavement and abuse of Black bodies.

The Stolen Wealth of Slavery grapples with facts that will be a revelation to many: Most white Southern enslavers were not rich--many were barely making ends meet--with Northern businesses benefitting the most from bondage-based profits. And some of the very Northerners who would be considered pro-Union during the Civil War were in fact anti-abolition, seeing the institution of slavery as being in their best financial interests, and only supporting the Union once they realized doing so would be good for business. It is a myth that the wealth generated from slavery vanished after the war. Rather, it helped finance the industrialization of the country, and became part of the bedrock of the growth of modern corporations, helping to transform America into a global economic behemoth.

In this remarkable book, Montero elegantly and meticulously details rampant Northern investment in slavery. He showcases exactly what was stolen, who stole it, and to whom it is owed, calling for corporate reparations as he details contemporary movements to hold companies accountable for past atrocities. Obtain a copy here The Stolen Wealth of Slavery 
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