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| Praying for those in our new traveling ministry corps |
[This is a report for the spring gathering of the Southern California Quarterly Meeting, where I serve as clerk of the Peace and Social Order Committee. Our spring gathering takes place on Sat., April 29, 2017.]
This
is a time when our country is deeply divided politically and religiously. The
divide between Evangelical and mainstream Christians is especially deep and
painful, reminiscent of the deep divide between Evangelical and liberal Quakers
that took place in the 19th century and still persists today. Fortunately, the Friends World Committee for
Consultation has worked hard and successfully to bring about reconciliation
among the many branches of Quakerism. It is the only place I know where you can
find real diversity among Friends---ethnic and racial and theological diversity.
I felt incredible inexpressible joy to be among such richly diverse Quakers!
Today
I’d like to report briefly about the recent FWCC meeting that took place in
Stony Point, NY. This was a meeting of the Section of the Americas. Over 120
Friends took part. 18 were from Latin America. Given the harsh anti-immigrant policies
of our current President, we were very relieved that most of our Latin American
brothers and sisters were able to get visas. Friends came from all the
different branches of Quakers—Evangelical, Conservative, and unprogrammed. Non-theists
as well as Bible-believing Christians took part. We worshipped in silence and
also with joyful singing and sermons. During times of fellowship and worship
sharing in our home groups, we got to know and appreciate each other as friends.
A highlight of the gathering was launching FWCC's new traveling ministry program. Seven Friends from North and Latin America were chosen for this program and we held them in the Light.
Other highlights included hearing a radical sermon by a Cuban Friend who works for the
Martin Luther King Center in Havana. Her talk was so powerful it convinced me I
want to travel in the ministry to Cuba as soon as possible and get to know Cuban Friends better.
Jill and I are thinking of going in December of this year. Please hold us in
the Light! I was also impressed by the powerful sermons of Jonathan Vogel-Borne,
a New England Quaker activist, and Carl Magruder, a beloved California Friend
who now works as a chaplain.
There
were many workshops dealing with a variety of topics. I was drawn to the
workshops dealing with climate disruption.
Based on my experience with FWCC gatherings in Kenya and Peru, I have
come to see that sustainability is as important to Quakers as peace in the 21st
century. Since climate disruption has world-wide consequences, it affects and
unites Quakers everywhere. Those who live in the global south often experience
the effects of climate change more directly than those of us who live in the
north. Droughts, floods and pollution are causing serious damage to countries
like Peru, Bolivia and other places where Quakers live. We hear their stories
and feel the need to redouble our efforts to work to be good stewards of our
beautiful and fragile planet earth.
We worked on an
addendum to the “Living Sustainably” minute that was approved in Pisac, Peru. We realized that that the Pisac statement didn't include important elements
like restoring the earth, supporting the resiliency and resistance of
communities adversely affected by climate disruption, and deepening the
spiritual basis of our work.
I am happy to share with you this report, which is on my
blog and which I have copies of. I wish I could share with you some of the joy
and enthusiasm and hope we felt coming together at the Stony Point Conference
Center. If you’d like for me to come to
your Meeting and talk about FWCC, I’d be very happy to do so.
Here's a report about our meeting at Stony Point:
On Friday, March 24, 2017 seventeen Friends met at the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) gathering in Stony Point, NY, to discuss the sustainabilty minute approved at Pisac. We had three working groups and here is a report on what transpired. We’d like to begin with a quote from Isaac Penington:
“Sink down to
the Seed… and thou shalt find by sweet experience that the Lord knows.… and
will lead….to the inheritance of Life.”
Powerful though it was in many ways, we felt the
Sustainability minute at Pisac dealt mainly with mitigating anticipated climate
disruption. We strongly feel Friends need to go further. Since climate
disruption is already adversely affecting the earth as well as the lives of
people and other living beings, we need to consider how we can act in
solidarity with communities affected by climate disruption as they strive to
respond, resist or adapt. We also need to consider ways in which we can help to
restore the damage caused to the Earth.
We see a need for a collective as well as personal spiritual
awakening leading to transformative spirit-led action. To be effective, we need
to express joy in the changes we have made in our lives and share our joy with
others. To be spiritually grounded, we need to deepen our relationship with
nature and connect with God’s creation. We suggest that Friends traveling in
the ministry through FWCC share FWCC’s material on sustainability and collect
stories about the effects of climate disruption on local communities and how
they are responding. We urge each one of us to carry out our Quaker testimony
on earth care and lift it up to all the bodies we are part of.
Queries:
How are we as Quakers living our lives as if climate
disruption is real and really matters?
How are we showing solidarity with indigenous and
marginalized peoples affected by climate disruption?
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