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Friends United Meeting |
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November 2000
News from Friends United Meeting
Valiant for Truth
By Trish Edwards-Konic
Among Friends, we want to be known like the early Christians as people who are known by our love. Known by our truthfulness. Known by our living witness to be like Jesus.
Yearly Meetings have mostly concluded with many membership figures continuing to drop. Are Friends a dying faith community? Do we have a faith that can speak to our world today?
Among Friends today are we known as a people who are experiencing the life and fire of a personal encounter with Christ? Are we a people who are sharing our experiences of "Primitive Christianity Revived?"
Yes, among Friends are found people who love God, who desire to follow Jesus, who work hard not to quench the Living Spirit. Only as we stop hiding our Light under a bushel and begin letting our Light shine from the top of the hill will our numbers reverse. And so, as Margaret Fell concluded, "A True Testimony," I too would like to say, "From a true lover of the souls of all people who desires the good of all, so that all might come to the knowledge of the truth."
New Manager for Quaker Hill Bookstore
Sue Gongwer, new Quaker Hill Bookstore manager, comes with 22 years of experience as the Manager of the IU East Bookstore in Richmond, Indiana. She grew that bookstore from one small room to a modern, streamlined operation with an auxiliary store in Connersville, Indiana. Sue has earned a B.S. in Business Management from Indiana University.
Her goals for QHB are twofold. First, she wants to ensure that QHB continues to provide the best possible service for customers including having current releases on hand. Secondly, she intends to refine the accounting system between FUM and QHB.
As a child, she attended New Castle Friends with her grandfather and her first camp experience was at Quaker Haven Camp. As a teenager, she joined the active Presbyterian youth group and continues this heritage as a member of First Presbyterian Church, Richmond. She serves as a Stephen Minister, is church treasurer and is active with the women's society.
In her spare time, she can be found playing golf or bridge or enjoying her family. She and her husband Howard have six children and 11 grandchildren.
New Title From Friends United Press
Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh: Stories by Louise Richardson Rorke
The latest title from Friends United Press, Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh: Stories by Louise Richardson Rorke, pays tribute to the life and work of a gifted Canadian writer, Louise Richardson Rorke (1878-1949). A teacher and active Quaker throughout her life, Louise was editor of The Canadian Friend from 1936 until shortly before her death and a longtime editor of Canadian Teacher.
Kyle Jolliffe, editor of the collection, says that "recovering the lost stories of Louise Rorke and writing about her life has been a wonderful treasure hunt and a fitting way to honor an extraordinary storyteller."
Although the title story in this collection of writings is a Christmas story, this is not a Christmas book. Selections span Louise Rorke's writing career--beginning with a journal entry at age 11 foreshadowing her talent. In her stories, Louise Rorke takes us to the Canadian frontier and into the hearts of the people who tamed it. She invites us into the heart of a soldier on the front in World War I, or to share the love of a young boy for his dog. In all, Louise Rorke's abiding faith in God and in people permeates her work.
Louise Richardson Rorke's literary work appeared in the Canadian Magazine, Courier, Maclean's, Canada Monthly, The Home Journal, and The Canadian Countryman. Her greatest success was a children's adventure story, Lefty: A Story of a Boy and a Dog (Thomas Nelson and Sons, 1931).
In his response to this collection of stories, Canadian author Michael Bedard writes: "If there is a thread that runs through these piecesÉit is the sympathy one shows for those who suffer that begins to heal the broken world."
Kyle Jolliffe is a member of the Canadian Friends Historical Association. He has published articles in Canadian Quaker History Journal and Nova Scotia Historical Review. His book, Seeking the Blessed Community: A History of Canadian Young Friends, 1875-1996 (1997) is the first history of Canadian Quakerism.
Friends United Press News: Revolving Publishing Fund
Friends United Press received $1,500 toward a "revolving publishing fund." "For the present, this gift has made it possible for the Press to address an immediate crisis," says Press editor Barbara Bennett Mays.
"This summer we learned that one of our area printers had destroyed films for several of our strong backlist titles. This gift made it possible to move ahead with pre-press work on those books--new covers and design--without drawing on FUM's general operating budget.
"In the long run, the "revolving publishing fund" will help the Press become self-sustaining, a goal set by the Friends United Meeting board for the Press by year-end, 2001. "Book publishing requires significant capital up front, and often in specialty markets (such as the Quaker niche in which print runs are small and unit costs high), it takes a while to recover those costs," says Mays. "We will replenish the fund at a steady rate from income on each project to help cover printing costs of future books."
"The key to a well-capitalized Press, however, will be additional gifts to the revolving fund," she adds. "A larger fund will give FUM's book publishing arm the capital to maintain a strong list of new titles, as well as a strong backlist. The goal of the Press is to move to a position of positive cash flow for the general operating budget."
Friends who would like to help move Friends United Press toward its goal of self-sufficiency may contribute to the "revolving publishing fund" by earmarking contributions for that purpose.
Field Staff Share Their Spiritual Journeys
Life as a Road Trip
By Maia Carter
I think of my "spiritual journey" as a road trip. A journey seems formal and well-planned, whereas on a road trip one has a general idea of where one's hoping to go, but the focus is on experiences along the way, rather than the estimated arrival time.
I can never anticipate where the spirit may lead me, or what road blocks I might encounter on my path toward spiritual fulfillment. My understanding of being connected with the Light Within has evolved with my experiences, and thus my understanding of my "destination" has changed. Therefore, I try to see opportunities for spiritual growth when I hit construction sites, rather than fume impatiently at the stalled traffic around me as the minutes tick by.
My own road trip began before I can remember, having been strapped into a carseat for long trips from infancy. Sunday meeting was mandatory, and we regularly read the Bible together on Saturday nights in preparation for First Day. Additionally, being exposed to a wide variety of religious traditions strengthened my convictions and stretched my conceptualization of God and the mysteries of the Spirit. Looking back, I see these encounters as a key stage in my spiritual development and formation of belief.
Even the detours and wrong turns I have taken along the way have made me stronger and surer of my faith. The upheaval and destruction of my high school years eventually led to new, smoother roads through prettier countryside.
Friends, family, meeting members--all have contributed to my spiritual development in countless ways, by serving as role models, encouraging me to continue driving, and offering suggestions on possible routes. Youth programs at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and in North Carolina also helped me define myself as a "young Friend" and take pride in that identity.
Most recently, my experience in Ramallah had a dramatic impact on who I am as a person and as a spiritual being. One cannot live near Jerusalem without regularly thinking about religion, faith, and all of its consequences. Examples of faith, perseverance, and trust in God abound, as do instances of the manipulation of religion for personal or political motives. What sometimes occurs in the name of God is a tragedy, and provides fuel for reflection and growth.
My challenges as an "Ajnabia" (foreigner) living in another culture with a faith experience different from the Muslims and Orthodox Catholics around me, forced me to put my faith into terms others could understand, an exercise which helped me clarify the guiding principles of my life.
When the guard at the school learned I was living by myself on campus, he laughed and said, "inti wa Allah" (you and God). Living alone, one has much time for reflection and self-discovery. After two years I feel I know myself and what I stand for. I have deepened my commitment to look for that of God within the people around me, and within my daily encounters. Although I may not know exactly what is in store for me at the end of my travels, I know that with my inner compass, the road maps provided by role models, and signs provided along the way, I will arrive eventually. Until then, I am trying to fully appreciate the scenery.
Waifs and Strays in the Spirit
By Colin and Kathy South
We were fortunate to grow up in loving families who took their Christianity seriously and who laid solid faith foundations for us. Colin's father was a Methodist local preacher; his mother, a Seventh Day Adventist. Kathy's father was a Presbyterian pastor; her mother a Congregationalist.
We met while Colin was teaching in a boy's Roman Catholic Seminary and College in Ghana, West Africa, in 1969. Kathy was a Peace Corps Volunteer and Colin had been to the same school as a British Volunteer when he was 18. Kathy had also been a Junior Year Abroad student in Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone, so neither of us was new to West Africa.
As the youngest in both of our families, we have had to make our own statement of independence. Together, we have strengths gained by experience. Colin was a Christian in England in a society where Christianity was not popular or common; he had the challenge of being a Science and Philosophy student in an atheistic department in Bristol, England. Kathy, as a younger child, wrestled with the illness of a wonderfully creative mother who often was hospitalized away from her family for extended periods. These challenges could be considered as chance events or the making of character which could complement each other's lives in times of isolation, change and development.
It seems strange we found each other, but not so strange, perhaps, that we found our spiritual home together among the Religious Society of Friends in Jamaica where Colin next worked as a teacher. While there, Kathy began the role of bringing up their family with Matthew newly born in Ghana. Andrew joined our family in March, 1974.
We became members of London Yearly Meeting in 1976. All kinds of responsibility came our way as Friends, and we deepened our understanding of Quaker Faith and Practice. In 1986, Colin became the Director of an ecumenical charity, Christians Abroad, an agency of the Council of Churches for Britain and Ireland. The impact of this experience was to deepen and enrich his experience of spirituality across an amazing spectrum of Christian belief and tradition. Kathy faced the secular experience of a large college for older teenagers and adults grown from a rich multi-cultural experience in the East End of London. Here her Quaker faith was tested, and respected, in an environment offering many challenges to her energy and strength of character.
And so, with these gifts which God has given us, we find ourselves now in Palestine and feel we are here for a reason. We bring an interest in people, in religion and in challenging situations, offering openings for growth and development. We know we are nothing if we are not tools in God's hands and pray we may continue to have that privilege.
God's Ever Present Faithfulness To Me
By Steve Pedigo
Although I attended church when I was young, it wasn't until I met the living Christ for myself that my spiritual journey began. I hadn't responded to the promptings of the Holy Spirit early in my life but I knew that God was there and was revealing Himself to me.
I was a city boy growing up in a neighborhood on the lower east side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the turbulent sixties when Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement captured the headlines of every newspaper. More questions were raised than were answered. I was searching for what was real in all of this and explored every world religion and philosophy. My search finally ended in Jesus.
In August of 1970, I went on a trip with a college-aged group from the coffee house, My Brother's Place, in Milwaukee. We enjoyed the trip as we visited the Grand Canyon and Disneyland. Unknown to me, the destination was Campus Crusade For Christ Headquarters, Arrrowhead Springs, California. During this conference, I heard Josh McDowell speak on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and there I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ. I was looking for something lasting in my life and something that was real. I found all of that in Jesus Christ.
Three weeks after returning from this trip, I left home to attend William Penn College, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. During those four years at Penn, I met some very loving Quakers and became convinced that their faith in Christ was what I wanted and needed in my life as well. I had the privilege of serving as student pastor, my senior year, for Hopewell Friends Church, Iowa Yearly Meeting, where I was greatly encouraged and loved.
Many of my college peers were Quakers. Actively involved in a revival that swept over the campus during a 4-6 year period, many of us who were a part of Penn Christian Fellowship entered ministry of one form or another. This group was instrumental in my spiritual formation, as well as providing clearness in my call to ministry. God was calling me back into the city.
It was through Penn Christian Fellowship that Marlene and I met. The weekend of graduation, we were married in a double wedding with Lloyd and Charlotte Stangeland, our respective roommates, as well as fellow members of Penn Christian Fellowship. Little did Marlene know her rural lifestyle would make a radical change to an urban experience.
We attended Asbury Seminary, in Lexington, Kentucky, for a year and a half, in an effort to get Bible and theological classes. During my time at Asbury, the Lord's call to go into the city was confirmed but I did not see any urban ministry that existed among Friends. My heart was bound to Friends but my vision for urban ministry was not clear. In pursuit of this vision I began to talk and inquire with others to receive clearness.
In this process, I received a call to come to Chicago to help start a Young Life club at LaSalle Street Church. In January, 1976, Marlene and I moved to Chicago where I started classes at North Park Seminary. A month later, we started the ministry in Cabrini Green. When we came to Chicago, my heart for Friends and the vision God had given me for urban ministry came together. I was at peace. From 1976-1980, we ministered in Cabrini Green through LaSalle Street Church Young Life. In 1980, the ministry was transformed from a youth ministry to a church plant through Friends United Meeting.
Over these twenty-five years, I have served in the roles of youth worker, street worker, basketball coach, social worker, probation officer, pastor, teacher, preacher, community activist and organizer, evangelist, camp counselor, consultant, friend, parent, and brother. I have seen the power of God manifested in my life through all of this and even to this day God continues to reveal Himself in new and refreshing ways. He gives me peace, healing, love and joy. I am thankful for God's faithfulness throughout the years. I am excited about what He is doing now. I look to the future with much expectancy for what He is going to do in the future.
Praise to the Living God!
Copyright (c) 2000 Friends United Meeting
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