|
|
|
|
Section of the Americas
|
April 2, 2010
|
|
|
|
|
Greetings!
Our recent Annual Meeting approved a plan for 'Bringing FWCC to where Friends are' by holding a greater number of local events throughout the Section of the Americas that will seek to engage Friends in conversation on the 2012 World Conference theme of Being Salt and Light: Friends living the kingdom in a broken world.
Representatives were energized by the "rightness" of this new direction, and staff are eager to begin this new chapter of our work. I am hoping that this bold idea spreads to other sections of FWCC
so that, over the next two years, Friends, globally, will be connected
through exploring a common theme.
We look forward to sharing more in the coming months. Sincerely,
|
|
An impromptu chorus at Annual Meeting.
 | Annual Meeting 2010
Surrounded by woods, walking trails and a working organic farm, Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center in Maryland provided a relaxing setting for the 2010 Section of the Americas Annual Meeting. For 25% of participants it was their first FWCC annual meeting.
Thanks are due to Baltimore YM Friends for their work in hosting us.
|
| From the grass roots...
Most of our focus until early 2012
will be on offering as many local events - such as weekend and day gatherings - as
possible. We plan to bring speakers on the theme from different parts of the
world to locations in North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. Out of these events we hope that study
materials will grow that can be used by Friends worldwide.
Not everyone can attend a World
Conference, but everyone can be part, through prayer, study, discussion, and
local involvement, in the uniting theme and the support for this
once-in-a-generation event.
|
 Why 'Salt and Light?'
The theme is distilled from a number of sources. The Friends responsible for planning the World Conference drew on:
- Matthew 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth..."
- Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world..."
- Matthew 6:33 "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God..."
- Matthew 6:9-13 (the Lord's Prayer)
- Micah 4:4 "They shall sit under their own vines and fig trees and no one shall make them afraid."
- Micah 6:8 "... And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" and
- Luke, 17:20-21. "The Kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed ... the Kingdom of God is among you."
- Eighteenth century American Friend John Woolman also provided inspiration: "We have the prospect of one common interest from which our own is inseparable, to turn all we possess into the channel of universal love becomes the business of our lives."
Look for more information about the World Conference in our next issue. In the meantime you can read more about it on the World Conference website. |
| Changes in the Section's work program
Some of our regular activities will
be modified or suspended. The 2011 Annual Meeting will be shorter and
focused primarily on business. Committees will meet less in person and more by
conference call. Regional gatherings will give way to local events based
on the common Salt and Light theme, coordinated
by a working group and staff. Other activities of the Section will be connected with Salt and Light events
and activities as much as possible.
|
COAL reps meet with Friends from the Section of the Americas.
 | FWCC activity in Latin America planned for coming year
During the Annual Meeting the Committee of Latin American Friends' (COAL) Executive Committee considered ways of incorporating the theme of Salt and Light into gatherings in Latin America. Several interesting options were proposed and will be worked on in the coming months.
In addition, some regular COAL workshops on topics will continue to take place. These include more work in the area of the ministry of writing. In Cuba, Friends hope to conduct a writers' workshop they had been discussing but utilizing the Salt and Light theme. In Bolivia, this training will be conducted for those with beginner writing skills. In Central America plans are underway for incorporating an Alternatives to Violence workshop with a regional pastors' conference.
|
Bernabé Sánchez of Honduras YM speaking with a Friend while Sara Palmer waits to interpret.
 | Latin American Friends visit East Coast US Quakers
The Annual Meeting held near Baltimore provided an opportunity for members of the Committee of Latin American Friends (COAL) to visit among Friends on the East Coast.
Jorge Luis Peńa Reyes of Cuba spent time with Friends in Miami, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston. Jesús Huarachi of Peru and Bernabé Sánchez of Honduras also visited Friends in Baltimore and Philadelphia and attended Philadelphia Yearly Meeting annual sessions, where they were warmly welcomed and given agenda time to speak. They visited unprogrammed meetings and evangelical Hispanic Friends churches in Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Visitation among Friends is long-standing FWCC program work, and this will continue in the coming year as part of the Salt and Light events to take place throughout the Section.
|
| Northeast regional gathering in May - register now
In conjunction with the annual Atlantic Friends gathering in eastern Canada, a regional FWCC gathering that has been in the works for several months will take place May 21-24, 2010 at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton on the theme The World Turned Right Side Up. Online registration is now available.
|
| Closing the gap: FWCC fiscal year ends April 30th
If you receive snail-mail from us, you have probably already learned that an extra effort is needed to reach our annual fund goal before our fiscal year ends on April 30th. Here's the good news: Friends have already responded generously and that gap is closing.
Additionally, we've saved some expenses by gradually moving towards greater electronic communication with Friends...you are a big part of that if you are receiving this e-newsletter. But we really need to hear from our e-community. Please help us really close that gap...by giving to our annual fund before April 30th. We are excited about the next few years and we think you will be, too.
|
Mending the World: A Broken Covenant? Friends' responses to Global Change
Samuel Mahaffy of Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends has been appointed by the World Office of FWCC as the coordinator of its Global Change initiative. He has already begun work convening small cluster meetings on the topic.
You can read more about the Global Change Initiative here.
Watch interviews on this topic here. | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
