Friends Bulletin- Building the Western Quaker Community Since 1929-November 2001

24 Pages·2001·2.9 MB·English

Responses to
Impending
by: Gene,-
Knudsen '
Hoffniaii' Steve
Smith, and
others
Tributes to Jim
Corbett
Worship
Sharing at Yearly
Meeting
International
Concerns
Plus Epistles,
Minutes, Photos
and News of
Pacific Yearly
—
Friends From the Editor Carrying a Torch the Darkness
in
Bulletin
F
irst Day, October 7, 2001 the United States and its allies embarked on an “unholy war” against
The official publication of terrorism and began dropping bombs on Afghanistan, one of the poorest and most desperate
Pacific, North Pacific and
Intermountain Yearly nations on earth. It may therefore seem incongmous to place Trudy Reagan’s image of Hope
Meetings ofthe Religious (“Esperanza”) on our cover. But as Steve Smith, Clerk of Southern California Quarterly Meeting,
Society ofFriends reminds us:
(Quakers) —
Quakerism itselfarose in a time ofwar a civil war that swirled around the young, charismatic
(Opinionse3q)ressedarethose —
oftheauthors, movement and Friends paradoxically flourished in the midst of this conflict and violence.
notnecessarilyoftheYearlyMeetings.) Historically, Friends have been at their best in times ofcrisis and threat: reaching out to those
in need, calling for restraint and forgiveness, working for justice, seeking to “live in virtue of
Editor
Anthony Manousos that life and power that takes away the occasion for all war” (p. 5).
5238 Andalucia Court Other reflections and statements by Western Friends have been included in this issue, and on a
Whittier, CA 90601 newly established website: http://members.aol.coin/friendsbul/peacemakers.htnil. Please share
Phone: [phone] this information as widely as possible, especially with those seeking an alternative to the endless war
Fax: [phone] being promoted by our government and mass media. Now more than ever we need to work together
[email protected]
to “build the Western Friends community” and to promote an enduring peace based onjustice and
Web: www.quaker.org/fb
reconciUation.
The image ofEsperanza also reminds us that Friends have had deep connections with the peo-
Alicya Malik
2693 W AvenidaAzahar ples ofLatin America. No matter how dismal the situation in that war-tom, poverty-stricken region
Tucson, AZ 85745 may have seemed, and no matter how abysmally our government may have acted. Friends never lost
Henry Sellers hope. And they continue to care.
PO Box 12651
Albuquerque,NM 87195 Tmdy Reagan’s concern for Central America goes back to 1986 when she visited El Salvador
along with CarmenBroz, an elementary school teacher and member ofPalo Alto (CA) Friends Meet-
NPYM
Corresponding Editors ing. In the early 1980s Carmen began traveling to Central America to countries such as El Salvador
Don Goldstein and Nicaragua to do humanitarian projects. After twenty years of faithful service, she has found
PO Box 1010
Twisp, WA 98856 someone to carry on her efforts and announced her retirement (see FB, Dec. 2000, pp. 3-5). Tmdy
Jean Triol has been a major supporter ofCarmen’s work.
—
PO Box 3M6T7 In January and February, El Salvador suffered devastating earthquakes the worst in 15 years
Somers, 59932
Peg Morton that left thousands dead and a milhon and a halfhomeless in a country the size ofthe greater San
510 Van Buren Street Francisco area (Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz). Tmdy is using her considerable talents as an artist to raise
Eugene, OR97402 money for the victims ofthis tragedy (see p. 6).
PYM Corresponding Editor Humanitarian efforts in Guatemala have been supported in part by Redwood (Santa Rosa, CA)
Marybeth Webster Forest Friends. Sonia Dubielzig, the new intern in the Guatemala Loan Program, writes about Guate-
PO Box2843
Grass Valley,CA95945 mala Meeting and the scholarship/loanprogram for disadvantaged students ofMayanbackground.
Pima (Tucson, AZ) Friends were major supporters ofJim Corbett’s efforts to help Central Ameri-
Board ofDirectors
cans refugees. When he and other Friends were brought to trial for their sanctuary work, Pima Friends
LannyJay,Clerk
18602 Old Monte Rio Rd minuted that “in their ministry to Central American Refugees [Jim Corbett, Sharon Pfeil, and Clifford
Guemeville, CA 95446 Pfeil] are sinply carrying out the will ofPima Meeting...it is inappropriate for government authorities
JeaPNnenMwiBepoGr1rt3a1vBeeBsaocxh,8C04A992658-8049 tqouessitnigolneso”u(tseiend“iNvoidtuaWlisthnoaumteHdoanboorvei;nHriatsheOrwtnheMeenettiirnegm,e”etAinWgesstheorunldQbueakcearllReedatdoert,riapl.a2n2d5)t.o answer
Phyllis Hoge Justas Friends wholeheartedly supported JimCorbett’s ministry, we feel a deep sense ofloss at his
213 DarmouthNSME death. Words like “sainf’ and “giant” have been used to described Jim, but I prefer to think ofhim as a
Albuquerque, 87106
Lisa Down tme Friend.
PO Box 11197 In 1992 I had the privilege ofspending a brieftime with Jimand Pat attheirranch, and I remember
WA
Bainbridge Island, 98110 how quiet and unassuming Jimwas. As we roamed about, he showed us his goats and took us along the
JimKimball
3050NW Lynwood Circle San Pedro River. It was a very low-key, but satisfying day. One ofthe highlights was discovering a ma-
Corvallis,OR97330 tate, a stone that Indians use forgrinding com.
RobertGriswold Yet inhis quietway Jimhad a knack ofasking questions that stickwith you, much like some ofthe
D1e7n4v5erC,heCrOry8S0t220 cacti in that region. In the evening as we sat around and talked, he asked: “Would the planet be better
offifhumanbeings were nothere?”
This question got us to think about ranchers and their relation to the bio-region, and about how we
might hve in such a way that honors and sustains our planet instead ofsinply consuming its resources.
We didn’t come up with definitive answers, but ofone thing I am certain: The planet is better offbe-
cause ofFriends like Jimwho tmly embody Esperanza. >\ v» ^
I !ASaAiaaT
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Page 2 Friends Bulletin — November 2001
—
We
by Gene Knudsen Hoffman discovered.” Americans have a gift for
Santa Barbara (CA) Friends Meeting listening to the oppressed and disenfran-
chised.
This interview was conducted by Bob Ban-
ner, editor o/HOPEDANCE: PATHWAYS TO That’s very important, but can we begin
Sustainable Living and Positive Solu- to listen to our “enemies”?
tions, apublicationfrom San Luis Obispo
(CA) that can also be accessed via its One of the new step—s we can take is
website www.hopedance.org. Compassionate Listening a new interna-
tional program I conceived in the eighties
What do you think of this media craze which is now doing remarkable things in
focusing on vengeance and military ac- the Middle East, Alaska, Washington, and
tion against an unknown enemy? other States, as well as in Canada. Com-
passionate Listening means we listen to D
I feel that this is a reaction, not a response. people who widely differ from us with the ennis Rivers, a communication skills
CA
It might be an attitude which is being en- same openness, non-judgmentalism, and instmctor from Santa Barbara,
couraged by our government, I’m afraid. compassion we bring to those with whom recently made available for free Gene
Anger is a healthy response to an act our sympathies lie. Everyone has a partial Hoffinan’s latest pamphlet in PDF format at
ofviolence against something or someone truth, and we must listen, discern, and ac- www.coopcomm.org. This site also contains
Dennis’ book on “Cooperative Communica-
we love—but it need not be the determin- knowledge this partial truth in everyone
ing factor in how we behave. Anger is also particularly those with whom we disagree. tion”AacncdorsdeivnergaltoofDGenennies’,s swehmoinhaalsarktincolews.n
a reaction to danger, to fear, but it’s not The ultimate goal of Compassionate Gene for over twenty years; “Gene is a
the response which is needed. That we Listening is to bring both sides together to Quaker mystic. Her calling was to carry
must determine for ourselves. I hope we listen to one another an—d, hopefully, they pastoral counseling out ofthe pastor’s study
have evolved far enough to realize there will make compromises as they have af- into pubUc life. What has energized her
are other paths to take, that we need to ex- ter a year and a halfofbeing listened to in work over the years is the Quaker teaching
plore them, and to talk publicly, freely Alaska, as they are beginning to in small that ‘there is that ofGod in everyperson.’”
about them. pockets in the Middle East. This is called “Gene is a real prophet,” adds Judith
I don’t know whether we are having a reconciliation. Kolokoff, former AFSC regional director in
‘media craze,’ whether the media is now If we want to do this today, we will the Pacific Northwest, “and she’s a remark-
being controlled by some corporate or need training for it. This training is pro- able facilitator. She has the capacity to
governmental powers. What I do feel is vided in new a pamphlet I’ve written bring out the very best of the tmth in each
that not presenting a variety ofopinions to called Compassionate Listening: An Evo- individual.”
the public is a disservice. We need “open lutionary Sourcebook About Conflict An active Quaker and member of the
mikes” which encourage diversity because Transformation which takes you step by Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) for
there are other ways to go. step through the process and prepares you over fifty years. Gene Knudsen Hoffinan
to go out and do it. It’s free to anyone who traveled numerous times to the former So-
Do you think your work with Compas- wishes to take it off the web (see www. viet Union during the 1980s to do recon-
sionate Listening is impossible to imple- coopcomm.org). The beginning of listen- ciliatioFnOwRork. In 1989, she went to Libya
with a delegation to meet with Libyan
ment at this criticaljuncture, or doyou at ing compassionately will be to go from
leaders. She has met with and listened to
least contemplate it as apossibility? door to door with a brief questionnaire on Palestinians and Israelis, and published arti-
whether people want war now or do not
cles and pamphlets about her experiences,
Wherever we find someone who will want it and why. including Pieces ofthe Mideast Puzzle and
encourage us to listen, we should listen, No Royal Road to Reconciliation. Most re-
and we should listen to both sides. We Youfrequently say that “an enemy is one cently she helped to arrange Compassionate
should make “radically new responses to whose story we have not heard.” What Listening sessions between Alaskan hunters
the radically new situation of a world do you mean by that? Do you contend and fishers and native people through the
where violence is mindless, hopeless, and that terrorists have resorted to violence American Friends Service Committee
meaningless. I feel we must move beyond because their stories have not been (AFSC). Gene has been rightly called a
initiatives we formerly used, into realms heard? “pioneer” in the Compassionate Listening
we have not yet considered, and not yet (continuedon p. 4) movement by Leah Green (see mideastdip-
lomacy.org).
—
Page 3 Friends Bulletin November 2001
——
(continuedfrom p. 3) After the 1986 bombing ofthe Libyan pate in pleasures like dancing, playing mu-
Yes, I do. I think a terrorist is someone city Tripoli in an effort to kill Colonel sic, or listening to the radio and reading.
who thinks his/her grievances will never Muaminar Qadaffi, I wrote a personal let- We soon learned that young people had an
be heard, and never addressed, and that ter to him, expressing my grief at the vio- underground way of getting videos and
causes deep pain and severe anger which lence, the loss oflives, and specifically the video players and they saw the latest mov-
is an invitation to violence. loss of his little daughter. Remarkably, ies of the US. They also liked the partici-
I believe violence is caused by our Qadaffi wrote me back thanking me, and pation practiced in their country.
We
unhealed wounds. Not being heard and not added an angry condemnation of our mili- Finally it was time to go home.
being listened to is a grave wound that can tary action. did, after being feted in every city in
easily escalate to violence. Then, in January 1989, when the Libya where our planes landed. When
There is a quotation by the poet Long- United States shot down two Libyan we arrived home we went to our govern-
fellow which I refer to in times of stress planes, the editor of the Fellowship of ment, eager to tell what we had learned.
and which confirms my opinion about our Reconciliation magazine, Virginia Baron, We discovered we were not permitted to
need to listen to everyone and anyone: “If called me because I had written my first speak to any member of our government
we could read the secret history of our article about Compassionate Listening and in Washington for we had gone to Libya
enemies, we should find in each person’s she published it. She asked me if we illegally and it was against the law for
life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm should send a Compassionate Listening anyone to listen to us. So we wrote our
all hostility.” We should certainly listen to team to listen to the Libyans. I was enthu- articles and spoke on radio and TV, but
both sides before going to war! siastic, and so was she. She began to visit could not follow up on our Libyan visit
Ambassador Treikki at the United Nations because there was a ban on Libyans
You’ve been talking lately about creat-
and told him ofour plans. coming to the United States and we
ing a solid group of citizens who would — —
He was enthusiastic and on June 27, were considered and were law break-
present genuinely alternative policies to
1989 fifteen of us began an act of civil ers.
anything they disagree with in our Ad-
disobedience and with the aid ofa Libyan
ministration and our President’s poli- plane that picked us up in Rome, we were Do you think the people in the United
cies. Can you tell us more about this
flown to Tripoli, ensconced in the Kabir States are ready to listen to our ene-
new project?
Hotel, and stayed there ten days. mies or to our own diverse citizens for
I’ve long been considering what for- Next morning we me—t with a Libyan that matter?
merly was called the Shadow Government delegatio—n of fifteen men all outstanding
in England. It’s a group of people who in Libya in a lovely, spacious room and Some people in the United States are
seriously consider the initiatives of the began our exploration. We all told them ready to listen to their “enemies” and
British Government and, if they do not why we had come and when I said I those are people who realize that unless
approve them, they devise new initiatives wanted to know about Libyans, who they we do, we will never be able to make a
and publicize them in various ways, some- were, what their government was like, how real peace with them. I don’t know if
times taking them directly to Parliament. they lived, and what they ate for breakfast. Americans are ready to listen to their
We should create such groups in our They shouted in one voice: “Cornflakes!” own citizens on the planning for war
cities and villages, of people who will Our meeting opened in gales oflaughter. or peace question. I know I would have
come together to work on new laws, new When Virginia saw they were all men, a hard time with it and I would have to
initiatives they feel are in harmony with she asked where the women were. We refuel myself on compassionate listen-
what people need, with truth, or with our were quickly joined by Salma Abdul Jab- ing to do it compassionately!
Bill ofRights and Constitution. Each time bar, a teacher of philosophy at Tripoli On Friday, September 14 we had a
they read a proposal with which they do University, and Rawhia Kara, Libya’s meeting at the Sola House [Gene’s
not agree, they call together their group leading feminist and associate Professor of home and peace center in Santa Bar-
and brainstorm until they create a proposal English at Tripoli University. (We met bara, CA] to brainstorm about what to
they prefer. Then they seek to ge—t it into more women later.) We described our- do about the war our President has pro-
the media: newspapers, radio, TV and if selves as the Libyan Listening Project and posed, and our Congress and Senate
— We
they can’t ^they make fliers and go door- they dubbed us as “The Committee of have supported through its funding.
to-door to hand them out. Good Intentions.” listened to people of varying opinions
Ifalternatives are available to people, We learned that Libya was nothing some expressed their anger, some their
they might reconsider. I have a long name like we had been told in the American me- grief, some their hope for a new era. No
for this proposal, but it says exactly what I dia. It was an active, progressive nation. one wanted war and each sought new
think we might do. It’s called Concerned They had developed universities and the ideas for how they could perform ac-
Citizens’ Alternative Solutions. students were 60% women and 40% men. tions which would bring them face-to-
They wanted to come to the United face in deliberations with one another.
Duringthe hot crisis ourgovernment had States for more education; they had re- In the end we felt we could listen to
with Qadaffi and Libya, you actually leased all their political prisoners; they everyone’s story, from our President to the
went to Libya to speak to his administra- were well-read and aware. most ardent peace person, and try to per-
tion and to listen to theirgrievances. Can One of Qadaffi’s lesser loved laws ceive the truths in each one ofthem.
you tell us whyyou went there and what was that no mov—ies or television were al- The next test will be trying to do
happened whenyou returned?
lowed in Libya everyone had to partici- it.
—
Page 4 Friends Bulletin November 2001
.
flag that outlined the peace symbol, a flag
Western Friends' Responses
that signifies the potential for spiritual,
To The Current Crisis inward healing. Hence, as a Quaker,
American patriot, grieving for those thou-
For updated information, articles, and sands killed and millions of others around
reflections, see the Western Quaker the globe in various stages of hauma, I
Peacemakers ’ website at http:// offer a pahiotic, flag-waving prayer for
members.aol.com/friendsbul/ peace and justice: Please, members of my
peacemakers.html Congress and Mr. President, try to define
this terror as a heinous crime against hu-
What You and Your
manity and not a war. And please become
Meeting Can Do To Promote open to the inner, spiritual reality of the
Peace Divine and allow for the potential for heal-
ing and peace to enter our lives. As a pahi-
Adapted from Orange Grove otic American, I wave the flag for peace,
(Pasadena, CA) Friends Meeting justice and love.
11. Get business/chamber of commerce to
1. Pray for peace. During this time of un- sponsor diversity statements. Letter from the Clerk of
certainty, it is more important than ever to 12. Use “Islam” postage stamps and tell Southern California
be centered. other groups about doing this as a small Quarterly Meeting
2. Listen for and respond to “that of God” gesture to combat racism. A
in others. Many have been traumatized and 13. Go into the schools to talk about non- s I write, US warships and warplanes
angered by the events of Sept. 1 1. Be sen- violence. are massing in the Gulf of Arabia,
sitive listeners. As Gene Hoffman sug- and American hoops are swarming the
gests, when people have unhealed wounds, 14. Establish a “Dial a Prayer” service. sheets of Islamabad. This morning while
it is often better to listen deeply rather than See also Judith McDaniel’s letter at http:// reading the paper, I wept with foreboding
offer one’s own unsolicited opinions. WWW.afsc.org/nomore/whatcanido html about what is unfolding: a prolonged war
.
3. Display your convictions through “It’S My American Flag, of rehibution conducted by the United
States and its allies in some ofthe poorest,
bumper stickers, a World Peace Banner or Too”
most deprived regions of the earth, in re-
American Flag Peace Banner in front of
by Stanford J. Searl, Jr. taliation for the terrible acts ofterrorism of
your meetinghouse, church, or home.
WSanta Monica (CA) Friends Meeting 11 September 2001. As you read these
4. E-mail or letter writing campaign. words, that foreboding may have already
Check out: http://www.afsc.org or http:// hen I drive down Pico Boulevard turned into harsh reality.
www.fcnl.org. Once you have accessed in Los Angeles, I’m shuck now by In the days since 1 1 September, many
these sites, all you have to do is click on the whipping of American flags. These Friends have been doing work of support
your zip code and they provide the E-mail flags fly from store fronts, flutter on cars and healing. 1 hear of special meetings of
addresses of Congresspersons and local and are hawked at major intersections, all Friends in Santa Barbara, Orange Grove,
newspapers, plus a sample letter and a lot of them a pervasive reminder of the deep and elsewhere in the Quarter. Last Sunday
ofvery useful background information. importance of being a pahiotic American, my wife and I ahended a wonderful im-
a lover of one’s country and the flag, and promptu outpouring of support at the Is-
5. Place an ad in newspapers.
the Republic and so forth. With all of my lamic Center of Claremont, where more
6. Attend vigils/rallies/teach-in’s. Help to heart and soul, 1 love my country, this than a thousand people gathered to hear
build a community ofpeacemakers. deeply wonderful, deeply flawed America. speakers from many faiths pledge their
However, no matter how much I do unity with Muslims in our community who
7. Sign E-mail and other petitions. love my country, I love justice, peace and have been unfairly targeted. Charleen
8. Learn more about the background of the way ofnon-violence with equal fervor. Kmeger, Clerk of Claremont Monthly
this conflict including opportunities for At this time, in the aftermath ofthe terror- Meeting, helped to organize that gathering
conflict resolution. Study the Koran and ist attacks, feeling terrorized and hauma- and spoke to the audience eloquently
other works by and about Islamic and tized myself, I pray that I can enter into about the costs of hatred and the need for
Arab peoples. my pahiotic identity as a Quaker, an economicjustice.
American who feels an urgency to pro- At times of crisis, it seems especially
9. Have a media coordinator to send out
mote active, dramatic non-violence, even important for us as a spiritual community
statements and press releases [see sam-
in the face ofthis mass murder. to draw together: to worship and pray, to
ples in Friends Bulletin and its web- Here’s my version of displaying and deepen our unity with each other, to open
site]. flying our flag, my flag, too: above every- our hearts to God and draw strength to act.
10. Ask employers and shop keepers to thing, I will place a fully unfurled version It is natural to withdraw, to tighten up and
make a statement that they support di- of the American Flag on my Honda; but, close off to the pain, to erect defenses
versity. just below that flag, I would place another against distress; but 1 believe that Psalm
—
Page 5 Friends Bulletin November 2001
5 gives better advice: “The sacrifice ac- tember 11th, the loss of life at the World • Formulation of a carefully consid-
1
ceptable to God is a broken spirit; a bro- Trade Center, the Pentagon and rural ered response that honors and af-
ken and contrite heart, O God, you vidll not Pennsylvania. We are heartened by the firms that of God in all human-
despise.” heroism offire fighters and police workers kind;
As gentle Tibetan Buddhist Pema and by the solidarity and compassion • Actions which sow the seeds of
Chodron writes. shown toward those who are suffering. compassion and forgiveness even
We call for uniform standards of Jus- for those we may consider our
We think that by protecting tice and Truth. We ask that those responsi- fiercest enemies;
ourselves from suffering we are be-
ble for these acts of terrorism be tried in • Effective engagement in and pro-
ing kind to ourselves. The truth is, an international court. We can most honor motion of international forums
we only become more fearful, more
We the heroism and anguish of our society by that provide a voice for groups
hardened, and more alienated.
breaking the cycle of violence, which be- that are oppressed.
experience ourselves as being sepa-
gan long before 9/11.
rate from the whole. This separate-
University Friends Meeting (Quakers) In the midst of our grief and with
ness becomes like a prison for us, a
opposes the bombing ofAfghanistan. The this call for action, we encourage peo-
prison that restricts us to our per- current US bombing campaign will only ple of conscience to join us in vocal
sonal hopes and fears and to caring
inflict further suffering on the world and opposition to violent revenge and retri-
only for the people ftearest to us. Cu- compound the cycle of violence. Finally bution. We offer our support to our
riously enough, ifwe primarily try to we applaud the courage ofelected officials Muslim and Arab neighbors and others,
shield ourselves fi'om discomfort, we who publicly oppose the bombing and of- as they may become victims of the
suffer. Yet when we don’t close off
fer non-military alternatives. backlash of these recent grievous acts
and we let our hearts break, we dis-
Signed in and for the Meeting, Caro- ofterrorism.
cover our kinship with all beings.
lyn Stevens, Presiding clerk Rage is no guide to policy. As we
[Wise people] know that the best
respond, let us not become the evil that
thing they can do for themselves is to
Excerpts from a statement by Durango we abhor.
be there for others. As a result, they —
Friends: As children of God, as citizens Ross A. Worley and Kathryn
experience joy. [When Things Fall
of the United States, and as Quakers, we Bowers, Co-Clerks Durango (CO)
Apart, p. 887
call for: Friends Meeting (Quakers)
Quakerism itself arose in a time of
—
war a civil war that swirled around the El Salavador Earthquake Relief T-shirts
—
young, charismatic movement and
Friends paradoxically flourished in the Trudy Myrrh Reagan of Palo Alto (CA) Friends Meeting created the
midst ofthis conflict and violence. Histori- beautiful art work for our cover, which is also available on a T-shirt.
cally, Friends have been at their best in Another T-shirt displays a full-color “San Salvador Cathedral.” $5
times of crisis and threat: reaching out to profit on each “San Salvador Cathedral” shirt and $8 of “Por Siempre
those in need, calling for restraint and for- Esperanza” goes to Earthquake relief. You will receive a thank-you for
giveness, working for justice, seeking to your tax records from the Palo Alto Friends Meeting El Salvador Com-
“live in virtue of that life and power that mittee. See http://www.myrrh-art.com/tshirt.html for more information.
takes away the occasion for all war.” At
such times, we need to draw strength from T-Shirt Order Form
each other, to gather in community and
renew our commitment to what is truly Quantity SAN SALVADOR CATHEDRAL - $23 ea., including postage
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Name
Minutes In Response
TO “War on Terrorism”
Address
[Minutes that were received by the editor City, state, zip
can befound at http://members.aol.com/
Phone or E-mail (for our questions about your order)
friendsbul/peacemakers.html.]
Amt. ofcheck enclosed: $ Make check to “Myrrh” with note, “Earthquake.”
University Friends of Seattle, Washing- Orders bymail: Trudy Myrrh, 967 Moreno, Palo Alto, CA 94303.
ton, approved the following statement: Payby check or money order. Allow 3 weeks for delivery.
We are horrified by the events ofSep- Questions by e-mail: [email protected]
—
Page 6 Friends Bulletin November 2001
—
hilosopher, librarian, author, goat, Remembering Jim
sheep and cattle herder, range ana-
lyst, teacher of wildland symbiotics and by Pat Corbett
guide ofrefugees, Jim Corbett was born
Convictions Cascabel (AZ) Worship Group
in Casper, Wyoming, on October 8, 1933. of
He married Patricia Collins on Sep-
tember 21, 1963. Jim had three children “Faith is not a stubborn beliefin spite of
the Heart
from an earlier marriage: Laurie Lynn, all evidence. That is notfaith, that isfool-
Geoffrey Ross and Megan Elizabeth Cor- ishness. Faith is not beliefin spite ofevi-
bett.In 1962, Jim became involved with Jim Corbett and dence but —a life in scorn of the conse-
Quakers, though he didn’t actually be- the Sanctuary Movement quences. ” Clarence Jordan.
come a memberofa meetingfor 20years.
He ranched in Arizona during much Somehow this quotation seems to me to
ofhis adult life. epitomize Jim’s approach to life and
On August 2, 2001 he died at the be- what he felt called to do better than any-
loved ranch in the Cascabel area ofthe thing else I have heard or read. He always
Sonoran desert where he and Pat lived
knew that there were consequences, fre-
and cared for range land and cattle as
members ofa covenant-formedcommunity quently painful ones for him and some-
that converts land ownership into earth times for others, to the things he felt called
rights. to do.
His memorialmeeting was heldat the He would always t—alk to me about
Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson, what he was going to do “Pat, I’ve been
Arizona, September 1, 2001.
thinking” could always bring out the wince
Thefollowing tribute by Miriam
Davidson was originallypublished in the reflex in me as I thought “Oh God, now
Catholic Reporter, date?, year?. Miriam Davidson what kind of trouble are we going to get
into?” However, having once thought an
In Memory of Jim Corbett, issue through and decided that he needed
to act, you might as well just get ready for
Gentle Herdsman and Miriam Davidson is a Tucson-based journalist
the storm because he wasn’t going to back
Friend to All abentdt aauntdhotrheofSaCnocntvuiacrtyioMnosvoefmtehnetHe(aUrnti:veJrismitCyoro-f down. We used to laugh about how I
Arizona Press, 1988) as well as the recent Lives would frequently tell him: “Don’t think
by Miriam Davidson on the Line: Dispatches from the US-Mexico Jim, don’t think!”
Pima (Tucson, AZ) Meeting Border (UA Press, 2000). As I’m sure you know he was
gently hard as a rock once he got com-
T
o the Central Americans whose lives hire and deportation by the US govern- mitted to something. He was also gentle
he saved, Jim Corbett was a saint. To ment. He personally helped guide dozens and caring and concerned; shortly be-
the US government, he was a dangerous ofSalvadorans and Guatemalans to safety fore he died, and in full knowledge that
subversive. To those who knew him, he across the border into the US. he would only live a few days more at
—
was a thoughtful, quiet, unassuming man. Corbett’s sanctuary co-founders, in- most, he asked me how I was doing as
And to a world still struggling with the cluding Rev. John Fife of Southside Pres- though that and not his death were the
issues he confronted, his legacy is only byterian Church in Tucson, and Father major concern. I’m quite certain that to
beginning to be known. Ricardo Elford, a Redemptorist priest, him his death wasn’t the major concern.
Corbett, a co-founder of the 1980s recognize him as the guiding spiritual and To say that I felt loved and humbled by
sanctuary movement to shelter Central intellectual force behind the movement. that doesn’t begin to express how I felt.
American refugees fleeing war and death “He was religiously all-inclusive I hope that when my turn comes to die I
squads in their homelands, died August 2, catholic with a small ‘c,”’ Elford said. can face it with a fraction of Jim’s cour-
2001 at his home in Cascabel, Arizona. “His inclusive spirit reached out to the age and grace.
He was 67. Earth and animals as much as it reached Thanks for all you have done
Although he led a contemplative life out to people.” and are doing to make the memorial
as a rancher, writer, and teacher, Corbett Corbett’s moral philosophy of living meeting meaningful to all ofus. I really
rose to international prominence as a simply and humbly in harmony with do feel like a—paraphrase of one of the
leader of the faith-based movement to nature was based on his Quaker beliefs in Beatles’ songs “I’ll get by with a lot of
protect undocumented refugees from cap- (continuedonp. 8) help from my friends.”
—
Page 7 Friends Bulletin November 2001
(continuedfromp. 7) Corbett continued to write and speak In a treatise entitled Goatwalking,
nonviolence and respect for life, his stud- out against the militarization of the US- you might not expect liberal Quaker
ies at Colgate and Harvard, and his expe- Mexico border, the exploitation ofundocu- “prophecy” to be a prominent theme. But
riences as a rancher and goatherd in mented workers, and the increasing num- in the case of this stunning book, you
southern Arizona and Mexico. bers of Mexicans suffering and dying in would be mostly mistaken.
“He was at home with cows, with the desert. “One day,” he told a reporter, I say mostly because it’s hard to
—
sleeping on the ground, and yet he was so, “we will be as ashamed of borders as we characterize Goatwalking or its author.
so smart,” Elford said. are ofslavery.” If I call him a prophet, it is not because
Corbett was drawn into refugee work He published one book ofphilosophy, he pens jeremiads. Corbett was a gentle
in 1981, after a friend picked up a Salva- called Goatwalking: A Guide to Wildland man, retiring, soft-spoken, grizzled by
doran hitchhiker who subsequently was Living, a Quest for the Peaceable King- desert sun and wind. He has been a
arrested and deported. In trying to deter- dom, and was working to complete another rancher, cowboy, horse trader, librarian,
mine the hitchhiker’s whereabouts, Cor- when he was struck by cerebellar paraneo- shepherd and wilderness guide. He also
bett learned that many Salvadoran and plastic syndrome, a rare and fast-moving breezed brilliantly through college in
Guatemalan refugees were suffering simi- cancer ofthe central nervous system. three years, and finished a Master in phi-
lar fates, despite legitimate claims to po- In Goatwalking, Corbett contemplated losophy at Harvard while spending most
litical asylum. what his legacy might be: ofhis time partying. He cited the classics
— —
Corbett and others began helping of Western and Eastern thought with
On the prairie, when the wind
refugees to avoid capture, yet he insisted the same familiarity and confidence that
that what they were doing was not “civil wails a dirge and snow sifts in rivulets he explained how a human can become
through the sagebrush. I’ve hugged the
disobedience.” He ar—gued instead that it sticky-pink, death-chilled body of a part ofthe society ofgoats.
was “civil initiative” they were uphold- In the course of his “errantry” (one
ing laws regarding treatment of war refu- newborn lamb under my coat, and its of his favorite terms, which means a
gees that the US government refused to heart fluttered in reply. quest for personal and spiritual adven-
And on a desert mountain, amidst
enforce. On March 24, 1982 Southside ture, best exemplified by Don Quixote),
the hush of soaring granite. I’ve
Presbyterian became the first church in there were ups and downs: Corbett once
opened a forgotten spring. The few
the country to declare itself a sanctuary considered suicide, he says, after a series
for Central Americans fleeing persecution. who remembered thought it had long of personal setbacks in the early 1960s.
The movement quickly gained atten- ago gone dry, but I found the hidden But instead, after an unexpected personal
place and dug down until a stream ran
tion and acceptance. At its height, more mystical experience, he chose to live, and
clear and cold in the summer sun.
than 200 religious orders and congrega- then “turned Quaker” as the best expres-
So what are epitaphs to me? I’ve
tions nationwide, several universities and sion ofhis renewed view oflife.
shared life’s warmth with a lamb. I’ve
municipalities, and more than 600 relig- Corbett was by no means a conven-
opened a desert spring.
ious organizations, including the National tional social activist. But one night in the
Federation of Priests’ Councils Indeed he did. And so much more. early 1980s, he volunteered to help find
(representing more than 33,000 Catholic legal assistance for a Salvadoran refugee
priests) declared themselves in favor of Jim Corbett: arrested by the Border Patrol. But before
sanctuary. In 1984, Corbett accepted the he could file the required forms, the Sal-
Prophet and
Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award on vadoran was abruptly deported, in defi-
behalfofthe movement. GoatWalker ance of the US government’s own laws.
Rejecting the claim that sanctuary Corbett was shocked, then galvanized.
was in fact upholding the law, the US By Chuck Fager From this spontaneous effort to respond
government moved against its leaders. In to the refugee’s plight sprang what be-
F
January 1985, Corbett and ten others, in- riend Jim Corbett, of Pima Meeting, came the Sanctuary movement.
cluding two Catholic priests, a nun, and died on his Arizona ranch August 2, The saga ofthe Sanctuary movement is
several religious lay workers, were in- after a short illness. He was 67. something ofan underground epic, a coun-
dicted on alien-smuggling charges. After a With his passing a quiet Quaker giant ter-narrative to the triumphahst “Morning in
six-month trial in Tucson, eight were con- has departed. America” posturing of the Reagan-Bush
victed of various felonies. All received I for one am grateful to have lived in years. And predictably for the times, as the
probation. Corbett, who by this time had the same two centuries as he. For those movement developed, it first put Corbett’s
taken a less-public role in sanctuary, was who become familiar with the important weatherbeaten visage on national TV, and
among the three who were acquitted. strands of Quaker thought and action of thengothis name onthe FBI’s wiretap list.
Corbett retired to rural Arizona, our time, I believe Jim’s life and work will Federal prosecutors worked long and
where he and his wife Pat founded an in- loom even larger with time. hard to put him behind bars, in one ofthe
tentional community, the Saguaro-Juniper Not that we’ll see a lot ofmonuments more significant political trials of the
Association, which is based on principles to him; he deserves them, but that wasn’t 1980s. The effort misfired, it turned out,
of land, plant and animal protection. The his way, and Quakers aren’t much for it. because a wiretap recorder had run out of
association eventually grew to encompass But a tribute is due, and here’s mine. tape just at a point where Corbett was on
1,100 acres and includes a spiritual retreat It’s an adaptation of a profile of Jim that the phone making self-incriminating
center called the Cascabel Hermitage. was part ofmy book. WithoutApology. plans to rescue more refugee families.
—
Page 8 Friends Bulletin November 2001
—
Besides Goatwalking, Corbett’s It was Corbett’s intimate familiarity within outwardly quite different sects
unique career of “errantry” had the mak- with the Arizona-Mexico border country that Corbett began to sense the pres-
ings of a fascinating, offbeat suspense that made him invaluable in the early days ence of something beyond the visible
—
thriller (which I’d like to write someday). of what was to become the Sanctuary denominational structures what he
But it was a particular discovery made in movement. Indeed, it made him the move- called “the church.” And not just any
the course of his Sanctuary work that I ment’s founder, as much as anyone. And it church, but the “Catholic” church:
want to mention here: along with making was the religious encounters he had then, “During recent weeks,” he wrote
friends and jousting with the feds, he un- while working to help Salvadoran and Gua- in a letter to friends in mid-1981,
expectedly found the Church, and with it temalan refugees crossing the Arizona bor- “I’ve been discovering this catholic
what he called “the prophetic faith.” der to escape from the bloody wars raging church that is a people rather than
Before these encounters, however, there in those years which brought about creed or rite, a living church ofmany
Corbett spent years in the practice of another major personal turnaround for him. cultures that must be met to be
Goatwalking's title: wandering arid range- Fleeing imprisonment, torture and known.
lands with a herd of goats. On these ex- death in their homelands, the refugees all “I’ve been discovering the
clusions, he and the herd became a part of too often faced imprisonment, torture and Catholic Church, not by studying Ca-
the natural landscape, moving outside the death in the Mexican underworld, or pris- tholicism but by meeting Catholics.
—
standard, schedule-obsessed, nature- ons there and in the US not to mention Whatever our creedal differences, we
dominating way of life most of us lead the prospect of deportation back into the meet as one people by virtue of our
most ofthe time. hands ofbloodthirsty military governments allegiance to one kingdom. And my
The practice ofgoatwalking is not for from which they had fled. discovery is that the church is truly
the faint of heart, however: once he was catholic, a people of peoples
asked to bring along some teen-aged stu- that incorporates not only a mul-
dents from John Woolman School in Cali- tiplicity of nations and cultures
fornia for a week’s trek, but they only but also divergent beliefs, rites
lasted a few days. There was, they com- and perspectives....”
plained, “nothing to do.” Still, one outcome of this dis-
This was precisely the point, of covery, he noted, was that
course; but they couldn’t bear it. How “After having been Quaker for
many ofus could? almost two decades, I decided to
Yet Corbett notes that the reflective, seek formal membership in my
often mystical experiences evoked by meeting, in order to join the
goatwalking, though formally “useless,” church.... Until I began discov-
are hardly unproductive, especially in one ering the church, I had no inten-
important field: tion ofbecoming a member, be-
cause I thought of denomina-
Leisure, solitude, dependence on
tional membership as separative
uncontrolled natural rhythms, alert
rather than unitive.... [But] just
concentration on present events, long
“Dream-catcher” byKatti Sutton as there’s no generic form of
nights devoted to quiet watching
marriage that transcends and pre-
little wonder that so many religions cludes marriage to someone in
originated among herders and so
As the refugees kept coming, Corbett particular, there’s no generic form of
many religious metaphors are pas-
kept working with them. Soon he traveled membership in the church I’d come to
toral.... As a way to cultivate a di- anonymously through Mexico and into know.”
mension of life that is lost to indus- Guatemala, tracking hunted exiles. More His experience of the Church
trial man [and woman], goatwalking than once he narrowly escaped capture by both resembled and differed from that
may put us in touch with a mystery
hostile authorities. In these journeys he laid out in Barclay’s Apology. It is
more real than we are.
came to know not only the victims, but also similar in its indifference to institu-
(The religions which originated in people from many different churches who tional boundaries, and the shift from
wilderness experiences include not only were dedicated to aiding them. capital to small “C.” For Barclay, as
Judaism, Islam and Christianity, but also a Once he joined a priest in a visit to we have seen, the church “is nothing
little-known sect which germinated in the refugees in a filthy Mexican prison. The other than the society, gathering, or
wanderings of a youth who in 1643 “left priest introduced Corbett as “Padre Jaime,” company of those whom God has
my relations, and broke off all familiarity and explained that the gringo’s non-clerical called out of the world and the
or fellowship with young or old... [and language and gestures were characteristic worldly spirit, to walk in his light and
for more than three years] fasted much, of his peculiar order. La Sociedad de los life.... There may be members ofthis
walked abroad in solitary places many Amigos. Later the priest even introduced catholic church not only among all
days....” If England lacks deserts, it still him to an—archbishop as “un cuaquero muy the several sorts of Christians, but
had its share of wilderness, both outward cat61ico“ a description which Robert also among pagans, Turks [Muslims],
and inward, in which George Fox wan- Barclay would likely have approved. and Jews.”
dered alone for several years.) It was among such people of faith Corbett differed from Barclay on
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Page 9 Friends Bulletin November 2001
one major point, in that for him the church plained. “As I read the Bible, this kind of faithful response to leadings, rather than
is not primarily a collection of individu- unbeliefis entirely consistent with the faith being bound by dogma or ritual. He cited
als, but rather “a people ofpeoples.” It is ofAbraham and Moses and achieves clas- with Quakerly approval Psalm 62:1: “My
an organic network of persons working sic expression in Job.” (Corbett, like Eliza- soul waits in silence for God only,” and
from within traditional structures that are beth Watson, was a speaker at the 1989 the rabbinical comment that Silence is
meaningful to them, with people in other Friends Bible Conference in Philadelphia.) “the worship least likely to make an idol...
faith groups, for common purposes, or in Corbett pointed out that the biblical silence is the height ofall praises ofGod.”
a common pilgrimage in response to a faith, as embodied in the first three com- To sum up: Corbett encountered in
common call. Perhaps a useful metaphor mandments brought down from Sinai by the Sanctuary movement a new manifesta-
for this might be a patch of wildflowers, Moses, put opposition to idolatry at the top tion of authentic religion, which takes
variegated in color and form, yet all lean- of the list; and in the Book of Job, the form in communities that respond to the
ing parallel under the breath of the same smooth conventional theologizing of Job’s leadings ofan unimaginable but real pres-
invisible wind. friends is relentlessly debunked, showing ence which theologians typically call God.
Corbett doubted that this notion of that idols include not only sta—tues or golden These communities, especially as they
church can be adequately expressed intel- calves, but concepts of God dogmas and work together, moving in concert even
lectually; “This is the kind ofmeaning one theologies—as well. while maintaining their specific identities,
discovers only in meeting those who share Corbett illustrated this conviction of make up the true, “catholic” church, cut-
it, much the way a language lives among a biblical anti-theologizing by citing the ting across lines of dogma, denomination
people rather than in a dictionary’s after- prophet Isaiah, through whom God de- and culture.
thoughts.” clares, “I am the Lord, and there is no The mission ofthis invisible “church”
Many another eminent Friend would other.... I form the light, and create dark- is, in Corbett’s terms, the “hallowing of
have understood what he was driving at, I ness: I make peace and create evil: I the the earth.” To hallow means to make holy;
think. And as to what or who it is that ani- Lord do all these things” (Isaiah 45:5-7). and the holiness we are called on to mani-
mates and moves them, what lies behind This is in stark contrast to many other fest is capsulized by the prophet Micah
the word “God,” Corbett paraphrased Job passages, and to orthodox theology, where (6:8): “He has showed thee, O man, what
(38:2), “This is where words darken coun- God is spoken ofas all-Good. is good; and what does the Lord require of
sel and all names are blasphemy.” Such biblical demythologizing of the thee, but to do justice, love mercy, and
Yet if words are hazardous, we are Bible itself, Corbett said, reaches its zenith walk humbly with thy God?”
not without images. The model for this in the Book of Job, where the notion that In the gospels this task is described in
process also comes from the Bible, in the God must be only the source of good is Matthew 25, where we heard Jesus telling
molding of the heterogeneous Hebrew completely undermined. In a modem paral- of the separation of the sheep from the
tribes into the people Israel at Sinai by lel, Corbett noted a report that some rabbis goats at the last judgment; the division is
their response to the divine calling medi- in Auschwitz put God on trial for injustice made not on the basis ofbeliefor denomi-
ated by Moses. This models the commit- and pronounced a guilty verdict. nation, but according to whether a person
ted community, cutting across lines ofcul- What are we left with then? Not with has, like the heretical Good Samaritan,
ture, denomination and philosophy, which atheism, Corbett said, but without much been “moved with compassion” (Luke
constitutes “the church,” Corbett con- formal theism either; this is, instead, the 10:33) and fed, clothed, housed and de-
cluded. basis ofbiblical “unbelief,” namely that “... fended “the least of these, my breth-
Furthermore, his explorations in the the biblical faith has always required hon- ren.” (Matt. 25:40)
Bible, particularly in the prophets and the est God-wrestling.... Consider: Abraham, For Friend Jim Corbett, and many
Book of Job, began to make plain to him ‘the father of believers,’ was the ancient faith communities in the borderlands of
that the experience and community of the world’s trail-breaking unbeliever and the American Southwest and elsewhere,
Church, as reflected there, was one which iconoclast, rejecting all of humanity’s pur- these texts came vividly alive as they
could “bridge differences of creed, rite ported Gods.... The prophetic faith has joined in the work of providing sanctuary
and culture. It even transcends the divi- never ceased to need its idol-breakers who for some of the thousands of refugees
sion between believers and unbelievers.” question all authority. Over many centu- fleeing the horror ofwar in Central Amer-
Unbelievers, he added, like himself. ries, it has also developed a profoundly ica.
Yes. Shortly after his 1985 indict- seasoned piety that can be amused by the After his trial, as media attention
ment on federal charges ofconspiracy and Yiddish punchline; ‘If You forgive us, faded, Corbett returned contentedly to his
“alien-smuggling,” Corbett was feted at an we’ll forgive You.’”(1996, p. 6) ranch, his goats, and his writing. Accord-
interdenominational religious program This was a process Corbett under- ing to one news report, when his last ill-
featuring Elie Weisel. When Corbett’s stood; it was much of the basis of his own ness came over him, he hurried to finish
turn came to speak, he startled the admir- self-identification as an “unbeliever.” And work on a book manuscript, which was,
ing crowd by describing himself as an it had a lot to do with his attraction to the according to one fnend, “a mixture of
“unbeliever.” Society of Friends. He was drawn by our cabalistic and Jewish thought and his cow
“That is,” he explained, “I don’t be- attempts at radical simplification of the work.”
lieve selfhood survives death, and I con- business of religion, the stripping away of I smiled at that. How thoroughly Jim to
sider any conceivable God to be an idol.” outward paraphernalia on which new forms mix cabahsm with cows. But if anybody
And yet, his “unbelief’ was not con- of idolatry can hang as on hooks; and our could do it, he could. And he’ll make it
ventional agnosticism or atheism, he ex- emphasis on letting lives preach through good, too, I bet. I’manxious to read it.
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Page 10 Friends Bulletin November 2001