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Section of the Americas
| October 7, 2010
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Greetings!
I am checking weather forecasts for the road trip - pleasant days, chilly nights, possibly - but I know that the color of the leaves will be good and the hospitality will be warm. Looking forward to seeing some of you there, and full of gratitude to those communities that have extended themselves to host this fall's events.
Sincerely, 
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 FWCC coming to 16 locations in North America starting this weekend
Meetings in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are hosting local events starting this Friday, October 8, in Knoxville, Tennessee and running through mid November.
Last March, the Section of the Americas committed to focusing its energy and resources to bringing the theme of the World Conference to local meetings, so that many more people can think about the 2012 World Conference theme and its meaning for us today.
Each local event will take on a different character according to geography, Friends' tradition and local concerns. What does it mean to be Salt and Light in a city where factories are closed? Or where fields lie uncultivated and schools close because families move away? Or in an area where discourse about immigration is no longer civil? While the theme is constant, the context will determine the conversation.
Some host meetings are making efforts to reach out with invitations to other faith communities in their area, in the hope that closer ties can be developed. If you live in these areas, or will be in these areas, we encourage you to consider taking part in one of the events. Each event varies in length, ranging from weekend gatherings to evening presentations.
Click here for a list of when and where events are taking place.
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Online registration now open for Salt & Light events
You can now sign up online to attend most of this fall's events.
Read more about each event here and follow the links to register online. Or, contact the host meeting to let them know you are coming.
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'Intense work' needs your support
The momentum is growing as we begin to plan next year's 'Salt and Light' events. We hope to hold events within reach of most parts of the Americas where there are meetings.
This is intense work. We don't want cost to be a barrier to anyone's participation, and it is a particular challenge to develop the programming in the Caribbean and Latin America, so we ask you to join in underwriting this initiative to explore our prophetic witness as Friends in the 21st century. Thank you for supporting this work.
Donate now
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 FWCC sponsors Alternatives to Violence training for Quaker pastors in Central America
Sixty-six pastors learned about alternatives to violence during an annual, regional pastors retreat that welcomed Jorge Arauz (Philadelphia YM) this year as part of an FWCC Committee of Latin American Friends (COAL) workshop. The three-day July workshop was "very well received" according to the COAL Central America region coordinator Bernabé Sánchez and "greatly reinforced Friends' practice of non-violence." Participants in the workshop, hosted by Honduras Friends at their yearly meeting camp in Gracias, Lempira, included 36 Honduran pastors, five from El Salvador and 25 from the National Evangelical Friends Church of Guatemala. While in Honduras Jorge visited different groups of Friends, including the young Friends, pictured below. |
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 Spanish-English Quaker Glossary now online FWCC Section of the America's Quaker Glossary - Glosario Cuáquero, is now available as a downloadable resource to Friends for translation and interpretation uses. This glossary of Quaker terminology in Spanish and English is the product of a Consultation which took place in 1994 at Earlham College in Richmond, IN. The objective of the glossary is to provide a list of linguistic equivalents, as well as the definitions and sufficient historic and cultural context to permit and to enhance communication of the Quaker experience across distances - historical, theological, cultural and regional. |
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 | Esteban Ajnota presents certificate to Luis Vilca
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Writers workshop in Bolivia attracts young adults
Young adult Friends predominated at the September FWCC/COAL sponsored writers workshops held in Bolivia. This is yet another installation in a series of writing workshops that have been offered for Friends in South America over the past several years. This September workshop, held at a retreat center south of the city of La Paz, was designed for the beginner level of ministry writing. COAL coordinator of the Southern region, Jesús Huarachi of Peru, has provided a video interview with pastor and educator Esteban Ajnota of the National Evangelical Friends Church of Bolivia (INELA). Esteban and Romualdo Atahuachi from the Bolivian group CALA, Comisión de Alfabetización y Literatura en Aymara (Committee on Literacy and Literature in Aymara), taught at the workshop. Both instructors will continue to work with the participants by reviewing their writing via email. Friends noted the need to continue offering the writing workshops at all skill levels. See video interview with workshop teacher Esteban Ajnota |
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Friends in Europe & Middle East offer global change queries
A global change group in the Europe and Middle East Section (EMES) of FWCC has prepared six additional queries on the issue that they wish to share with Friends world wide. You can read them here.
The Global Change initiative of FWCC's World Office is a process designed to offer Friends around the world the opportunity to tell their own stories and share their own experiences of the effects of change, their visions, discernments and the actions they are taking in response.
Read more about the Global Change Initiative |
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