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Section of the Americas
September 9, 2014
In This Issue
World Quaker Day
"To Friends Everywhere...."
Quaker Youth Pilgrimage
Robin speaks at ESR
2015 Section Meeting
QUNO Job Opening
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August was not vacation time for me. It was an opportunity to wrestle with big questions: What does the Religious Society of Friends need from a worldwide committee? How is my work exemplifying the ideals of servant-leadership? How can Quakers respond to the real needs of the world? Are we standing in the tragic gap? What will get us ready?

 

I am grateful to all the Friends who are also engaged in asking these questions, in all parts of the Friends Church. You know who you are. I am particularly grateful for the current members of the Section of the Americas Executive Committee who have been wrestling hard with these questions along with me in the last few months. This month we will meet in person to propose our new answers to these eternal questions. I ask you to pray for our discernment process as well as our work to communicate these proposals to Friends everywhere. Watch for more details in our November e-newsletter and on our website. I am praying for wisdom and courage. Not my will, Lord, but thine. 

robinmohrelsalvador

 

In friendship, 

Robin Mohr 

Robin Mohr

Executive Secretary

Friends World Committee for Consultation is pleased to announce the first ever World Quaker Day on October 5! As the sun rises around the world, we invite every Quaker meeting and church worldwide to consider themselves joined in worship, celebrating our deep connections across cultures and Quaker traditions. We are united in love and can accompany each other on this special day that draws us together. The theme is Let Your Life Speak; Living the Kabarak Call for Peace and Ecojustice, connecting us to the work we did at the World Conference of Friends in 2012 in Kenya, taking the work forward in the context of our spiritual communities.

 

Take a photo of Friends gathered at your meeting/church on October 5 and post it to your social media. Look for more ideas to celebrate the first ever World Quaker Day in the manner of Friends at www.WorldQuakerDay.org.

 

Consider making a special contribution to the Friends World Committee in honor of your Quaker meeting. If you have never made a donation to FWCC, your gifts will be matched through the end of the year!

"To Friends Everywhere...."  

 

Did you know the Friends World Committee posts all yearly meetings' epistles in one place? You can read epistles from yearly meetings in the Americas in English, or in Spanish. The FWCC World Office also collects epistles from the entire world. If you don't see your yearly meeting on the list, email your epistle to Evan Draper, Administrative Secretary.
Quaker Youth Pilgrimage

Pilgrims with Peru Flag  

The 2014 Pilgrimage in the Andes is complete. In their closing epistle, the young Friends wrote, "The pilgrimage makes us understand that it is God's purpose that we are not alone. Whether our worship is programmed for a whole morning one day a week, or an un-programmed spiritual moment that lets the silence work and enables us to listen to the voice of God or sometimes a semi-programmed union of the two, we are united in faith to praise God." The links of spiritual friendship are still spreading through the young Friends and their home communities. Please pray for the Pilgrims and the Leaders during their re-entry period and their continuing growth in faithfulness. Read more about their itinerary and their complete epistle here.

Quaker Leadership Conference

 

Robin Mohr, Executive Secretary for the Section of the Americas, spoke at the 5th annual Earlham School of Religion Quaker Leadership Conference on a panel about servant leadership in Quaker organizations. During this conference in Richmond, Indiana, Friends considered what servant leadership is, how it can be constructively practiced, and what Light Friends bring to the topic. Robin said, "One aspect that is important to me at the Friends World Committee is stewardship and care for the Religious Society of Friends as a whole. I try to keep in mind that my decisions, and the work we do together, they're not just about me, or even about us right now. It's about the future of the Society of Friends. In our program work and in our fundraising, how am I, how are we, building up the whole? Not just taking advantage of the moment, or at the expense of another part of the body." Other speakers included Ann Riggs, Wanda Coffin Baker, Colin Saxton and Gabe Ehri.

Woven Together in God's Love

 

Hold the date for the 2015 Section Meeting in Mexico!
All Representatives and interested Friends will meet March 12-15 in Mexico City. The Committee of Latin American Friends meets March 9-11. Registration information
coming soon.  

 

Please consider a donation to the Travel Fund to support the attendance of Latin American representatives at the Section Meeting. 

Opportunities with QUNO 

  

The Quaker United Nations Office, which operates under the auspices of FWCC, has an opening in their New York office for a Representative, Operations. This is a full-time position. Essential responsibilities include program development and implementation, Quaker outreach, financial management, fundraising and development, and staff supervision. The deadline to apply is 15 September. You can apply here, or visit their website to learn more.