A Message from the Principal

A Message from Principal Bo Lauder

Welcome to the first issue of Meetinghouse, a rebirth of News from Friends.

The timing of this relaunch of our community magazine is apt as we transition back to some semblance of prepandemic normalcy; new beginnings are afoot. The title of this publication is also of obvious significance.

As change endlessly swirls in the city surrounding the Fifteenth Street Meetinghouse, the Greek Revival building stands firm—inside and out—just as it did when it was built in 1860. It’s as if this historic room exists in an alternate dimension of time and space. The straight lines and unadorned lintels and sills accentuate the simplicity of this sanctuary. Here, I find respite and comfort from the kinetic pace of life. Here, I often count my blessings.

I am proud to share that echoes of a Quaker meeting—in spiritual and reflective form—reverberate through the pages of this magazine that you are holding. In many ways, I hope it can serve as an extension of a Meeting for Worship. Imagine me, if you will, standing among the wooden benches, reading this letter aloud.

As for my aformentioned blessings, I am grateful for the people you will get to know in the following pages. I hope they remind you of what we are capable of in trying times. Here’s a preview of just a few of those I’m grateful for: I am grateful for students and young alumni, particularly from the Classes of 2020 and 2021, who continue to look forward with hope and motivation, despite the many sacrifices and disappointments that so many in our community and beyond have experienced over the past year and a half. Our students made their own opportunities, and their resilience is humbling.

I am grateful for dedicated faculty members like Linda Chu who is retiring after 51 years of service, bringing an end to the longest tenure of any teacher in the School’s history. Her commitment to her students is awe-inspiring.

I am grateful for alumni like Ed Carroll ’56, who attended Friends two years before the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. True leaders step up with little fanfare, but always for the good of others.

I am grateful for you, for being a part of Friends. Our community has drawn from deep wells of creativity, empathy, and action amid a dual pandemic of COVID-19 and systemic racial inequities. Our collective efforts have brought light to even the darkest moments.

Let your life speak,