American Quaker Service Committee

The American Quaker Service Committee is the best-known service agency associated with the Religious Society of Friends in the account. It brings together social and humanitarian work with peace advocacy, extending those activities around the world. Its work is presented not as separate from Quaker religious life but as one public expression of commitments to peace and service.

Mission and Work

The account describes the Committee’s work in broad but concrete terms: it provides social and humanitarian assistance and advocates for peace internationally. These commitments align with two central Quaker beliefs identified in the book, pacifism and social service. The organization thus gives those principles an institutional form, carrying them beyond silent worship and individual conviction into organized work.

Recognition and Leadership

The Committee received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947. Rufus Jones was its honorary chairman when it received the award and soon became its first employed leader. His transition from honorary leadership to an employed role marks a significant point in the organization’s development, while the award brought international recognition to its peace and service work.

Postwar Work in Germany

After the First World War, the Committee sent Thomas Kelly and his wife to Germany to nurture an emerging Quaker movement. The account notes that many Germans had become attracted to pacifism in the wake of the war’s horrors. During the Kellys’ fifteen months there, a permanent Quaker center was established in Berlin; they then returned to Indiana, where Kelly began his teaching career at Earlham. This episode shows the Committee supporting not only relief and advocacy but also the growth of a local religious community.