Dear Friends,

I’m inviting you to help launch a groundbreaking new online venture: Thee Quaker Project.

The 21st century has brought challenges and opportunities for the Religious Society of Friends that our spiritual ancestors couldn’t have imagined. Let’s now look to the next generation of Friends, innovate the way we tell our stories, and ensure that the torchlight of the Religious Society of Friends stays strong and visible, even and especially through times of upheaval.

Thee Quaker Project builds on my 15 years of experience lifting up the stories of Friends as the founding director of the QuakerSpeak video project and as a touring Quaker songwriter. During that time, I’ve watched over 4 million new eyes discover the Religious Society of Friends. I’ve observed a broad hunger for the unique stories Quakers have to tell and the profoundly memorable way we tell them.

At its most fundamental level, this project is an opportunity for us to stand back and recognize that we’re living in a new era–one in which the public dialogue has moved online, for better or worse. As Friends have done many times in the past, we are invited to ask ourselves: what does the world need from us right now? What seeds will we plant to call forth the next generation of faithful, courageous seekers?

First, we need to invest. We are living through a revolution in communication technology. Revolutions are times of tremendous upheaval, and tremendous opportunity. It is past time for a 21st century Quaker organization with the skills and strategies required to address the challenges and opportunities of the modern world; an organization which is responsive to the ever-changing world of digital communications.

Second, we need to innovate. As the project reaches hundreds of thousands of new people, we are in a unique position to build a broad base of support and establish a new approach to funding our Quaker organizations. This new funding model is well established in the world of online content creators, and only requires the seed capital to set it on the path to sustainability.

It’s a bold new idea, and one that I can’t do alone. That’s why I’m inviting you to join the growing coalition of Friends supporting this dream. Together we contribute our time, our financial resources, our expertise, and our spiritual energy to building a new future–for the Religious Society of Friends, and for all of us.

in peace
Jon Watts

P.S. Thanks to the generosity of several major granting organizations and private donors, we have already raised $75k! Will you help us raise the last $50k and reach our startup goal of $125k by the end of the year?

Board

Thee Quaker Project is a registered 501(c)3 corporation. Meet our board! These 9 devoted Friends from across the country are holding this vision and building the structure to support the next generation of visionary online communicators.

Michael Birkel

Michael L. Birkel is a professor of Religion at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, and director of the school’s Newlin Center. He holds degrees from Wilmington College, the Earlham School of Religion, and Harvard University. Birkel is the author of numerous books on Christian and Quaker figures, as well as more general studies of religious tradition.

Christina Repoley

Christina Repoley is a member of Atlanta Friends Meeting. She serves as the Senior Director of Experience Design at the Forum for Theological Exploration. Her team works to make spaces for discernment, connection, resourcing and community building amongst various constituencies including young adults, campus ministries, high school youth theology institutes, denominational organizations, intentional communities and faith-rooted volunteer service organizations.

Prior to joining FTE, Christina founded Quaker Voluntary Service and served as its Executive Director for nearly a decade. She also serves on the board of directors of Friends Fiduciary Corporation and on the National Advisory Council to the North Carolina Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission. Christina holds an MDiv from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and a BA from Guilford College.

Naveed Moeed

Naveed is a British-born Pakistani and Muslim-Quaker. Member, Chapel Hill Friends Meeting (North Carolina), Piedmont Friends Yearly Meeting and remains affiliated with Mid-Thames Area Meeting (formerly Reading Monthly Meeting) in the UK. He has borne witness to the Peace testimony through social justice activism with all three.

Naveed serves as co-clerk for the AFSC South Region Executive Committee and on the Board of AFSC. Naveed holds a PhD. in Astrophysics and is a Director of Business Development for an analytics firm. He is also a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a semi-professional photographer.

Max Carter

Max L. Carter is a retired Quaker educator, having served for 45 years in Quaker secondary schools and colleges at the Ramallah Friends School, Friends Select School, Friends’ Central School, Earlham College, and Guilford College — from which he retired in 2015 as the William R. Rogers Director of Friends Center and Quaker Studies.

Raised on a Hoosier dairy farm in the Quaker community of Russiaville Friends Meeting of Friends United Meeting, he attended Ball State University before doing alternative service in Palestine as a Vietnam era conscientious objector. He later earned a Master of Ministry degree at the Earlham School of Religions and a PhD in American religious history at Temple University. With his wife Jane he leads annual service-learning trips to Palestine and Israel and speaks and teaches widely on topics of Quaker history and the Middle East. He is a member of New Garden Friends Meeting (Greensboro, N.C.), North Carolina Fellowship of Friends.

Traci Hjelt Sullivan

Traci Hjelt Sullivan is a member of Green Street Friends Meeting (PhYM). She is currently the Director of Finance and Operations at the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project – an organization that acts on the conviction that children shouldn’t be treated as adults by the judicial system.

Previously, Traci worked for more than 25 years for Quaker nonprofits, including serving as Interim Executive Director of Pendle Hill from July 2019 to August 2020. She is a member of the EMIR Healing Center Board. Traci lives with her spouse and is the mother of two adult daughters.

Trayce Peterson

Trayce Peterson received her B.A. and Masters of Divinity from Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion. Among Friends, Trayce serves on the American Friends Service Committee Nominating Committee and is a General Committee member and co-clerk of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion working group of the Friends Committee National Legislation.

She is an active member and on the League of Women Voters Greater Tucson board. Trayce co-founded SplitSeed Productions, which uses art-based interventions to inform, educate, and explore human rights issues. An avid film lover, she is a member of a team working on a film that profiles the work of four longtime Chicana feminist activists at the forefront of immigration rights organizing here in Southern Arizona.

Among Friends, Trayce serves on the American Friends Service Committee Nominating Committee and is a General Committee member and co-clerk of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion working group of the Friends Committee National Legislation.

Fritz Weiss

Fritz Weiss worked in Vermont in public schools helping schools become better at educating students who struggled with emotional and behavioral challenges. An essential element of this work was effective communication with professionals, parents and youth. He helped launch three new schools, two as part of the team and one as a parent.

Fritz has a MA from Northeastern University and a Certificate of Advance Graduate Studies from the University of Vermont. Fritz has been active among Quakers in New England for many years.  He served as the presiding clerk of New England Yearly Meeting for four years from 2015 – 2019.  He is a member of Portland (ME) Friends Meeting.

Holly Baldwin

Holly Baldwin is a Spiritual Director and retreat leader, and group facilitator. She has served in a variety of Quaker leadership roles, both in both staff and governance roles. She served for 11 years as Director of the Beacon Hill Friends House, and has held various positions at Friends General Conference. In volunteer capacity, she has served as clerk of the Permanent Board of New England Yearly Meeting. Holly is a member of Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting (New England Yearly Meeting) sojourning at Albuquerque Monthly Meeting (Intermountain Yearly Meeting.)

Anthony Christopher-Smith

Anthony Christopher-Smith is a convinced Friend from Central New Jersey. Currently a resident of Newark, NJ, he is a social worker and psychotherapist. He has an interest in non-profit governance. A member of New Brunswick (NJ) Monthly Meeting and serving on the governing General Committee of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL). When he’s not working or Quaking, he hikes, cooks, and thinks about where to travel next.

FAQ

• 1. Why is the project called “Thee Quaker”?
  Quakers initially used the second person “thee & thou” as a rebellion against social and spiritual hierarchy. Over time it transformed into a term of endearment.

  The name “Quaker” was given to us as an insult. Friends expressed our spiritual power so strongly we were physically moved. Today, we feel that anyone who speaks with conviction from a deeply inspired place is an honorary Quaker.

  So the name THEE QUAKER PROJECT was chosen carefully. It both describes what we are making (“Thee Quaker Podcast”) and also our approach to making it. Someday it may be your turn to sit across from us as we ask, “What canst thou say, thee Quaker?”

• 2. I am not a regular podcast listener. Should I support this project?
  Absolutely. The goal of Thee Quaker Project is to create an ecosystem of powerful, faithful media platforms using the Quaker approach of simplicity, authenticity and speaking out of the silence. As we survey the current media landscape, we recognize that creating a great Quaker podcast is a good start. But it’s just the beginning.
• 3. Why are you raising $50k?
  While anyone can make a podcast, it takes a talented, dedicated team to make a great podcast. We feel it is past time that Friends reach that incredible potential.

  As you read in the above answer, a great podcast is only the beginning. Our spiritual ancestors were infamous for plastering the town square with their understanding of the good news–that the kingdom of God is here and now, if we want it. In this era of unprecedented communication technology, we commit to lifting up voices of peace, of courageous faithfulness, and of possibility–on whatever platform now serves as the modern “town square”.

  It’s a big dream, and it’s going to take more than $50k. In fact, our startup goal is $125k, but thanks to the generosity of several Friends and grants, we have already reached $75k in fundraising! So now we are asking for your help to get us over the finish line.

• 4. Are there any perks for donors?
  Yes! In addition to the satisfaction of knowing that you are supporting the next generation of seekers with life changing new media, we’ll send you a download link for Jon Watts’ 2006 album A Few Songs Occasioned, a collection of songs written about early Quakers.

  “In addition to offering up interesting insight into three fascinating characters, the songs are entertaining, catchy, and clever. They lead the listener not only into captivity to songs stuck in the head but also into contemplation of the commitment of those first Quakers.” – Quaker professor Max Carter, 2006

• 5. Are there ways to give offline?
  Yes, please reach out to us and we will gladly provide information for donating by check or bank transfer.
• 6. When will the podcast launch?
  God willing (and with your help!) we will release our first of many episodes in early 2023.
• 7. Is this project only for Quakers?
  No. As with Krista Tippett’s “On Being” Project, we believe that powerful, authentic media can reach into people’s lives and have world-changing impact regardless of whether they join Quakerism or even know the source of the media. Help us put more beauty, more courage, more joy and divine inspiration into the world. You won’t regret it.

Updates

• 
  Update #2

  Wow! $15k in Just a Week

  Jon Watts

  9/15/22

  

  Dear Friends. I am blown away. Thank you for your generous support, and your supportive comments. Thanks to you, we are already 30% of the way to our goal of raising our last $50k by the end of 2022. This past week it has been such a joy to finally share this vision with a broader audience, and I’m overwhelmed by the thoughtful comments, both public and private that I’ve received about the project idea. Quakers, once again, are proving that we are small but mighty.

  Let’s keep up the momentum! Can we get to $25k by the end of September? Please give if you haven’t already, and help us spread the word! Thank you so much, Friends.

• 
  Update #1

  Only $50K left to meet our $125K start-up goal!

  Jon Watts

  9/8/22

  

  As I’ve traveled among Friends for the past year and shared the idea of a Quaker organization equipped to face the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century media landscape, I’ve heard one thing over and over: “it’s about time”.

  We’ve already raised $75,000 and now we need $50,000 by the end of the year to launch the project in early 2023. With your help, we can meet this goal! Donate now.

  I believe that Friends have something special to share with the world, a unique way to share it, and an unprecedented opportunity to be heard. But being heard isn’t a guarantee. Social media is a busy space, with lots of voices vying for our attention. I have spent the past 10 years experimenting with and building a strategic approach to visibility, while staying rooted in our unique values.

  But having a plan for highly visible, powerful content is just the start. Starting something new requires expertise, and perseverance. There have been a lot of steps to get to the starting line: applying for 501(c)3 status, organizing a board, writing bylaws, conflict of interest policies, and personnel handbooks. The list goes on and on (don’t forget fundraising!) and these are all areas that I don’t have experience in. The process has given me lots of opportunities to ask for –and receive– help..

  Quakers have a phrase: “Way opens.” When we are faithful to our guide and listening deeply, we find that the resources materialize, often from other faithful Friends who are listening to the same source. For the past year, I have watched Friends of all different backgrounds emerge from the woodwork to support the vision for Thee Quaker in whatever ways they could. We’ve had Friends with expertise in law, taxation, fundraising, board development, and many more areas offer their services. And Friends have been generous with their financial resources. To date, we’ve raised $75,000.

  Now we are turning to you. Do you find this vision for a hopeful future that engages modern media technology to lift up courageously faithful voices something worth supporting? If so, we need your help. We are trying to meet our startup goal of $125,000 by December. We hope you will choose to DONATE, and help us make history.

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