When Adele and John Looney moved to Wadsworth, they joined the United Church of Christ and also became part of an ecumenical group that worked on fair housing problems. Wadsworth became a test community for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker social service agency, to see if bringing guest speakers to discuss peace and social justice issues would enhance the community’s education and concern.
The Looneys became well acquainted with Quaker concerns then, and eventually John became the director for Northeast Ohio American Friends Service Committee. He joined this organization at the height of the Vietnam War and eventually set up an office in Akron called Humanity House. He worked with other social justice groups who shared space in this house. Out of the many volunteers, some formed the Akron Friends Meeting and John and Adele became convinced Quakers.
— Adapted from a statement by Adele Looney