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SPRING
2000 Gloria Horvay
Mickleton MM[Drew Smith, Associate Head at Friends School, is working with the Salem Quarter Coordinator, Phil Anthony, to explore ways for the school and quarter to be mutually supportive of each other. One avenue for accomplishing this is to have a half page article on Quakerism from someone in the Quarter included in each month's Notes to Parents. This one, by the Clerk of Salem Quarter, is the first in the series. Anyone who has a leading to write an article for the school's parents should forward it to Phil, who will pass it along to Drew for his consideration — ED.]
Why do they want our guns?” asked one Friends School student as he read December’s flier about the Toy Gun Exchange. We at Mickleton Meeting are concerned that the toys we give our children serve as models for their behavior. Violent toys encourage children to be violent. What a child practices often becomes habit.
Quakers are a nonviolent lot. Not only do most Friends promote peaceful alternatives to war, many of us also oppose the death penalty. Jim Pym, in Listening to the Light (Random House, 1999), puts it this way. “The aim of the Quaker life is to give people that state of inner peace where war, violence and injustice cannot exist.”
Our meeting members read about programs where children are given a nonviolent toy in exchange for trading in a toy gun, and we decided to offer such a program. As we selected and wrapped the toys, we became so filled with the spirit of giving that we plan to offer this program again next year. We are truly grateful to the children who turned in their guns and are prayerful that this action may in some way direct them toward peaceful choices in their life journey. And to answer the child’s question, all the guns we collected went into the trash.
On a different note, I would like to thank Friends School for presenting me with the Dorothy Kramme Service Award. To say I was humbled to be selected as recipient is an understatement. I recall when my children were new to the school, and I felt compelled to participate in the PTO to help bring new parents into the school community. I encourage all of you to look for ways to work with and for the school to make it an even more extraordinary environment for our children.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM
