BHFM Minute in support of NEYM participation in lawsuit

Beacon Hill Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends is in unity with the

decision by New England Yearly Meeting to join with other Friends, the

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and the Gurdwara Sahib Sikh Temple in a

lawsuit against the United States government asserting the Constitutionally

guaranteed right of all people to gather for worship free of interference by the

State. Quakerism has spoken in defense of this freedom since our founding; and

Friends were hanged in Boston for exercising this right. Today we claim the right

to welcome in worship all who would join us - without distinction - and we insist

that immigration enforcement and other federal officials respect this

long-acknowledged principle. We unite and enthusiastically attest that the same

changeless Spirit that animated our forebears lives within each of us today, and

that this Light Within bears witness to the truth of God’s presence in each person

who joins us in worship on any day and in any place.

Approved BHMM Meeting for Business 2 March 2025