For me, a highlight was working with Chuck Kleymeyer, Geeta
Jyothi McGathey and other Friends to craft an "addendum" to the Living Sustainably minute approved
in Pisac, Peru.
In 2015 Pacific Yearly Meeting approved this minute, which
has been circulating among our constituent Monthly Meetings. Among other
things, it calls for two concrete actions on the part of Quaker Meetings toward
living sustainably.
From FWCC’s statements in Kenya and Piac, it has become clear
that climate disruption and living sustainably have become priority concerns
for Friends around the globe--in many ways, a testimony as important as our
traditional Peace Testimony.
Chuck helped us to see 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.
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?
FWCC
Traveling Ministry
By Hulda Bithia Muaka, Palo Alto
Meeting
”The
gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some
evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of
Ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity
of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the measure of the full
stature of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)
|
Traveling
Ministry
|
We
also had our own Carl Magruder (PYM ) a key note speaker and Jonathan
Vogel-Borne of New England YM. The theme was Living Peace (Viva La Paz in
Spanish). All the speakers emphasized the importance of Peace and the work that
is involved in maintaining it.
The
key verse was, “I have told you these
things, so that in me you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome
the World.” (John 16:33).
In a Quaker Speak Video, Jim Anderson notes
that it is a healthy opportunity for us to welcome guests. He says, “When a
visitor comes, we learn from them and we give them our own experience to carry
to the next place.”
A
travelling minister will bring freshness to a Meeting; this gift helps us
understand things in a new way. The minister gives us a chance to look at
ourselves again and reexamine our acts.
At
out sectional meeting in Stony Point, New York, where the first training took
place, we decided that the next group will focus on the youth. When we were in
Peru during the world conference (2016), the youth said that they are not just
leaders of tomorrow, they are leaders of today too and stepped up to their word
to lead most consultations at the conference. We need to equip them for now and
the future to ensure that the Society of Friends continues. We have come a long
ways and we are not stopping here.
For
those who have a call to Travelling Ministry and can make a two year
commitment, arrange for discernment process in your home Meeting and apply. Travelling costs only will be met
by FWCC. Applications deadline is September 30, 2017. Application forms and forms for requesting a
Travelling Minister and other details are available at the WWW.FWCCAMERICAS.ORG
Report
from the new member of the FWCC representative team
by Emelyn Buskirk, Live Oak
Meeting
It is always a joy
to be in a multi-cultural gathering of Friends. That's what made the
gathering at Stony Point significant for me. Some were from as far away
as Bolivia, including the presiding clerk of INELA (National Evangelical
Friends Church). We gathered both in small groups and plenary
sessions. The small groups were conducted as worship sharing sessions,
and included members from all the four branches of Friends: Liberal,
Conservative, Friends Church and Evangelical. Much time was devoted to these
groups, four sessions over all four days of the conference. This
concentration on personal connections flowered in our worship together. For
me, the high point of the event took place during unprogrammed worship.
Out of the silence someone began singing "How Great Thou Art."
As some of us joined in I noticed that the Cuban lady next to me was singing in
Spanish. Someone asked that we sing it in Spanish, which we did. It
was a time of sweet unity in song.
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