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Section of the Americas | August 24, 2012 |
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Greetings!
Recently I was asked to speak on a panel about leadership among Quakers in the age of social media.
My main point was that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The people we communicate with still have all the same issues, the same gifts, the same dramas. Email, Skype, and Twitter are just tools that we learn to use, not an end in themselves.
With these new communication tools, it is even more important for leaders to admit their mistakes. There's less chance for hiding and hoping no one notices. My personal life, my professional work and my Facebook page are all connected. Which calls for integrity, which is also nothing new among Friends.
One benefit of electronic communication is staying in touch across wider geographic barriers. Friends in Central America and Kenya who met at the World Conference in April can stay in touch more cheaply and easily than ever before. But that relationship will be stronger because they met in person first. The Friends World Committee strives to bring people together in both ways.
In friendship,
Robin Mohr
To see the video recording of the panel, visit the Quaker Leadership Conference webpage.
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 | | Kenya Casanova |
"Living Water" Program begins in September
You are invited! Noah Baker Merrill (New England YM) and Kenya Casanova from Cuba will speak to Friends in different locations on the theme Let the Living Water Flow! Friends serving God's purposes in September in the USA. Meanwhile, Heredio Santos and Odalys Hern�ndez, also Cuban Friends, will guide discussions at Friends churches in Santa Cruz, Cochabamba and La Paz, Bolivia, culminating with a weekend workshop for up to 100 Friends from the six Bolivian yearly meetings, near La Paz.
September events include:
 | | Noah Baker Merrill |
- Saturday, September 8: Traverse City, MI, at Friends of the Light. More information here or Register online now.
- Monday, September 10: Minneapolis, MN, at Minneapolis Friends Meeting. More information here or Register online now.
- Tuesday, September 11: Gwynedd, PA. at Gwynedd Friends Meeting. See flyer for information.
- Wednesday, September 12: Medford, NJ, at Medford Friends Meeting. See flyer for information.
- Sunday, September 16: McLean, VA, at Langley Hill Friends Meeting. See flyer for information.
- Tuesday, September 18: Baltimore, MD, at Stony Run Friends Meeting. See flyer for information.
Please check our website for additional information and new locations that may be added.
Help make these events accessible to more Friends by making an online donation today.
Is your meeting interested in hosting a Friends World Committee program? Contact us to learn more. |
Americas Section Meeting next March: save the date
The 2013 Section Meeting will take place March 14-17, 2013 at Waycross Episcopal Camp and Conference Center in Morgantown, Indiana. Representatives from all affiliated yearly meetings in the Americas as well as other interested Friends come together for fellowship and to attend to the business of Friends World Committee in the Americas.
Next year's meeting will also welcome the participation of members of the Central Executive Committee, the worldwide governing body of Friends World Committee.
On Saturday, March 16th there will be a special program on the theme guiding FWCC work this year: Let the Living Water flow! Friends serving God's purposes. Look for information on the Section Meeting and online registration to come in late 2012.
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 2011 Quaker UN Office Annual Report now available
Friends can now read an in-depth report on the work of the two Quaker United Nations offices in New York and Geneva in 2011. Click below to read it in:
The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) serves as a Quaker presence at the United Nations (UN), representing Friends' concerns at the international level, with offices at UN headquarters in New York, as well as in Geneva.
Since its inception in 1948, the Quaker United Nations Office in New York and Geneva has been able to promote Friends concerns for peace and the needs of God's world and God's people through accreditation with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN. In July 2002, FWCC was moved from Special Status to General Status. By this move, the UN has recognized that Friends do work of importance in a very broad range of international concerns. This new status gives representatives at the QUNO offices easier access to UN bodies, the ability to submit longer statements than those with Specific Status on specific areas of UN work, and also to suggest agenda items to the Economic and Social Council.
Read more about Friends' work through QUNO.
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Members of the Friends Committee on Scouting, including clerk Luanne Hagee (seated, center)
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New Curriculum for Quaker Scouts
Friends Committee on Scouting, an affiliated program of Friends World Committee in the Section of the Americas, has completed a new curriculum, "Quaker Faith Journey" for all Scouts & Guides living outside of the US and Canada. It may be obtained directly from clerk Luanne Hagee. (Please put "Quaker Faith Journey" in the subject line of your email.)
The creation of an international curriculum was motivated by a request from Friends in Jamaica. The project evolved into one that would include all young Friends around the world. FCS is looking for comments/feedback on this curriculum, including who is using it and at what age level(s), and where as well as what resources they used when working on it. Please send feedback to the clerk.
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 Flooding in the Philippines
For the second time in less than three years, severe flooding at the Philippines Friends Church in Pasig City has caused damage and disruptions. Pastors Cris & Sonia De la Cruz write, in a recent Evangelical Friends Mission Prayer Focus: "We request your prayers...for our hearts to experience God's peace and comfort as we recover from this experience ... for the spiritual uplifting of all of us, knowing what matters more is being children and servants of our great God. May we also be God's instruments to our neighbors in the community..." |
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Quaker Work Camp opportunity in Burundi
The Africa Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI) of Friends Peace Teams will offer workcamp opportunities next June-July for Friends to build guest rooms for the Mutaho Women's Group Center. Mutaho is the second largest city in Burundi. The host partner for this project is REMA, a group of about 50 women (Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa) from Mutaho Friends Church led by Pastor Sara Gakobwa. The name, REMA, means "be comforted, do not get discouraged."
Learn more here about this opportunity or contact Dawn Rubbert. |
 Quaker Youth Pilgrimage concludes
28 teen Friends from 9 countries in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East plus 4 adult leaders from the U.S., Guatemala and Ireland returned safely but not unchanged after the 2012 Quaker Youth Pilgrimage. Here are just a few of their initial reflections:
"I think that my experience as a pilgrim has made me very sure that I want to commit to Quakerism and become a more active member of the Society of Friends and also my community in general. I think before the pilgrimage I wasn't sure whether I felt fully Quaker but I am now more confident that I want to become more involved in my local meeting in particular."
"The 1652 country visits were one of my personal favourite parts of the pilgrimage, not only because the area's beauty was absolutely spectacular, but also because they gave me a deeper feeling of connectedness with all the other Friends that live or have lived all over the world."
"Thank you so much for making this one of the best experiences of my life."
Thank you to all the Friends, families, meetings, churches, and yearly meetings who made this year's Pilgrimage possible. To read more quotes from Pilgrims click here.
For more information on future Pilgrimages, visit the Youth Programs page on our website.
To support this and other youth leadership development activities in the Americas, please donate now.
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