Quaker Response to Homelessness
Explores Quaker responses to homelessness through compassionate service, advocacy, and reflection on the social and economic forces that leave people without secure housing. Examines the challenges of putting faith into practice and building communities that welcome and support marginalized neighbors.
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Editor’s Preface to “Engaging Homelessness behind the ‘Orange Curtain’” by Chuck Fager
This article examines the struggle of a small Quaker church in Orange County, California, that sought to minister to and advocate for homeless individuals in one of the nation’s wealthiest and most conservative counties. It contrasts the church’s inclusive, compassionate mission with the dominant evangelical Friends Church Southwest’s (EFCSW) centralizing, market-driven, and property-controlling leadership, highlighting…
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Engaging Homelessness Behind the “Orange Curtain” By Joseph Pfeiffer
This article explores the increasing homelessness crisis in Orange County, California, through the lens of a small Quaker church’s compassionate response and the ensuing conflict with local authorities and the church denomination. It critically examines how suburban ideals, white normativity, and church growth models in Evangelical Friends Church Southwest have contributed to exclusionary practices and…