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Section of the Americas
| December 7, 2012
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Greetings!
"God has broken into revelation through a person
who made love and tenderness the supreme qualities of life both in man and God."
from the "The spiritual message of the Religious Society of Friends"
by Rufus M. Jones in the 1937 World Conference Report
I love this description of a Quaker understanding of the importance of Christ in the world. At this time of year, it is helpful to me to remember that Christ is present every day, and we know this experimentally through the love and tenderness around us.
The end of the calendar year is often a time to count our blessings and reflect on the gifts we have given and been given in the year. I am grateful for the gifts of Friends throughout the Americas who have shown tremendous love and tenderness throughout the year. The care and concern for people affected by war, hurricanes, earthquakes, and drought. The service of 152 people on the committees and working groups of the Section of the Americas. The support for Bolivian Friends to attend the World Conference despite a last minute airline bankruptcy. All of these gifts bring us together in ways that help us to understand and love one another.
The Friends World Committee is celebrating 75 years of promoting better understanding among Friends the world over. Be part of the next 75 years. Donate now to help this understanding thrive.
In friendship,
Robin Mohr
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Plan now to come to the Section Meeting next March
Registration for the 2013 Meeting of the Section of the Americas, March 14-17, 2013, will begin very soon. Check our website for newly added information on this event which will take place at Waycross Episcopal Camp and Conference Center in Morgantown. Friends from around the world - including members of the FWCC governing body, the Central Executive Committee - will share news from Friends in Europe & the Middle East, Africa, Asia & the West Pacific and Latin America. Representatives from affiliated yearly meetings in Latin America will be present. The FWCC Section Meeting is conducted bilingually in English and Spanish. Saturday's schedule will feature a young adult-led program on the theme "Let the Living Water Flow! Friends Serving God's purposes." Local Friends are invited to register for this opportunity to participate in an FWCC event along with Quakers from around the globe. This event will conclude with a celebration of FWCC's 75th anniversary. All Friends are welcome to attend the Section Meeting and/or the Saturday "Living Water" program. Advance registration is required. For questions consult our website or contact us. See the draft program here. |
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Wisconsin Friends at Madison Meeting
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Friends in Texas, Mexico, Wisconsin and Bolivia welcome FWCC programs
November and December have been busy months for FWCC "Living Water" programs. Friends have responded positively to both the message and the messengers, who included Brian Young of Western Association of Friends; Karen Gregorio de Calderón of the Guatemala Holiness Friends YM, and Heredio Santos and Odalys Hernández of Cuba Yearly Meeting.
From Madison, WI:
The Living Waters theme is powerful to me...Brian presented scripture showing, among other things, how Jesus reaches across a variety of cultural boundaries, [and] helps the water to flow.
The queries challenged how I seek the presence and guidance of Living Water in my life.
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Karen Gregorio de Calderón, center, at Angleton, TX Friends Church
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From Texas:
Thanks to FWCC for
the effort in bringing Friends together and specifically for getting Karen to this area
to share her testimony and to challenge Friends to "Let the Living Waters Flow." Lives have been touched and inspired.
After almost two years of planning and several postponements Cuban Friends Heredio Santos and Odalys Hernández were able to travel to Bolivia last weekto lead FWCC programs. They spoke in Santa Cruz and Cochabamba before traveling to La Paz where they were to have visited Friends churches in each of the six yearly meetings here. Altitude sickness has limited their packed agenda, but they are still planning to lead a two-day conference for representatives from all of the Bolivian yearly meetings, at a retreat center this weekend.
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Odalys Hernández and Heredio Santos at Río Paraí near Santa Cruz, Bolivia
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Many more opportunities to hear speakers address the Living Water theme, from a variety of perspectives, are planned for 2013. Check our listing of events here. It is still possible for your meeting or church to welcome this program. Please contact us to learn more.
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Nancy Irving set to depart as General Secretary; Gretchen Castle to begin
 This month marks the end of Nancy Irving's faithful service as General Secretary in the World Office. She will spend several months at Pendle Hill Retreat Center in the U.S. before undertaking new projects. A good-bye tea for her was last Monday at Friends House in London. We are grateful for all Nancy has done for Friends worldwide. Friends are welcome to send messages to be relayed to Nancy here.
We look forward to welcoming Gretchen Castle as General Secretary at the Section of the Americas meeting in March. |
 New map shows changed membership statistics for Friends worldwide The signs of renewal in the Religious Society of Friends continue to appear, most visibly in the new map "Finding Quakers Around the World" coming out this month. Membership statistics are ever-changing and each yearly meeting counts their numbers by a different formula, but by our best estimates, the number of Quakers in the world has grown by almost 40,000 members, or about 12% since the last published map in 2007. We hope you enjoy exploring the map and will share it with Friends you know and post it in your meeting or church. To receive a copy as soon as it is available, enter your name and email address on the waiting list here. |
Dates for yearly meeting sessions in 2013 now online
Want to know when yearly meetings in the Americas gather for business and fellowship at their annual sessions? Check our listing here.
If your yearly meeting's information is missing, please send it to us and we will add it to the list.
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News from the Asia West Pacific Section of FWCC
From Valerie Joy, outgoing AWPS Secretary:
My heart is rejoicing at early reports of the 6th All India Friends Gathering in Itarsi, which will be followed by the International Young Friends Gathering at Friends Rural Centre, Rasulia. The theme is "Loving your neighbour as yourself". ...The harmony achieved through meeting face to face provides encouragement and strength to these Friends and binds them ever more strongly in love. Please pray that the benefits of this Gathering will continue. From Ronis Chapman, incoming AWPS Secretary: Valerie, Patricia Macgregor [AWPS Clerk] and I have had 3 very full days together talking about the Asia West Pacific Section. It has been a very rich time as we have talked about the Quaker Meetings and Churches and gatherings and people that make up our vast and varied Section. Valerie has made a huge contribution to our work and this can partly be demonstrated by the number of worshipping groups that are now recognised as under the care of FWCC AWPS - about 7 new groups have become affiliated with FWCC over the last 8 years We live in a very different world from the one when FWCC was born in 1937 and it is time to look at changes we can make to make sure the organisation meets the needs of Quakers in the 21 century. Read the entire AWPS newsletter here. |
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