We are very happy to announce that the 2010 Friends Directory of Meetings, Churches and Worship groups in the Section of the Americas is now available for purchase online.  Meetings, churches and worship groups are listed for the U.S. and Canada and for some of the Caribbean and Latin American groups. The Directory includes yearly meeting information for all groups in the Americas.

While the directory contains the most current information available that was sent to us, our web directory of meetings, churches and worship groups in the U.S. and Canada is even more up to date.  You can help us by submitting changes online if you see something that needs to be updated for the next edition.

Order your copy here. Because of limited staff resources we will not be fulfilling any orders out of the office.  The previous edition of the directory was published in 2002. 

The group planning the 2012 World Conference of Friends met at Kabarak University in Nakuru, Kenya in May. They report that the university administration is looking forward to hosting 1,000 Friends August 20-31, 2012.  

Yearly Meetings (and independent monthly meetings and churches) should now have received a letter from the FWCC World Office with the number of delegate places (based on membership numbers.)

Some key dates to keep in mind with regard to the naming of delegates:

• September 2010 -  The World Office needs to know how many of their allocated places will be taken up by each yearly meeting or group. Delegations should include a balance of age range, gender and experience among Friends

• December 2010 - Names and contact information of those who have been appointed delegates to the World Conference need to reach the World Office.  One reason for this is to be able to identify those with gifts of ministry of all kinds that will be helpful at the conference.

• January 2011 and onward - Open places will begin to be released.  Once we hear back from yearly meetings about the places they will take up, it will be possible to make available a number of open places. These will be allocated to ensure broad representation reflecting geography and different Friends' traditions. Holders of open places will participate on an equal level with delegates named by yearly meetings.
  
  

Friends who have questions about the allocation of delegates should refer to the World Conference website.  Or, contact the World Office directly.

 

The date and location for the first FWCC local event on the World Conference theme of "Being Salt and Light: Friends living the Kingdom of God in a Broken World" has been set for October 8-9 at West Knoxville Friends Meeting, Tennessee. All Friends, from anywhere, are welcome. Further information and registration details will be available soon, but please save the date.

'Salt & Light' events are local gatherings aimed at 'Bringing FWCC to where Friends are' by engaging more Friends in pre-World Conference discussions. The General Meeting of Friends in Mexico has also selected this theme for their yearly meeting on November 13 and 14.

Could your meeting or church host an event?
FWCC plans to hold many local events in the next two years. Now is the time to explore whether your meeting or church could host an event. FWCC will provide the programming and bring excellent speakers, some of them international. The events can have a variety of formats - one day or a weekend; at a retreat center or with home hospitality. Please contact us with questions or offers to host.

 

Jorge Arauz of Philadelphia YM will lead a group of Friends pastors in Alternatives to Violence (AVP) training in Honduras next month. Pastors from yearly meetings and churches in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador hold an annual retreat and this year it will take place at Honduras YM's Camp Peniel near the city of Gracias in western Honduras.  Jorge, who has led AVP workshops among Friends and others in Latin America, will guide the group in exploring this topic from a biblical-historical perspective.  
 
Bernabé Sánchez of Honduras YM and Coordinator for the Central America region of FWCC's Committee of Latin American Friends (COAL), along with COAL Executive Secretary Loida Fernández, arranged for Jorge's participation.

The latest set of selected writings from contemporary Friends includes

• a narrative by Bill and Fran Taber on the Witness of Conservative Friends
• To Do Nothing, by Tina Coffin. Tina relates an experience when she was admonished to be generous.
• Why I Deeply love FWCC, by Julie Peyton, tells about a time in her life when she had lost her faith in a God who would guide her life

 Read or download the pamphlets here.