|
Friends United
Meeting |
 |
November/December 2007
Sacred Moments by Sylvia Graves, FUM General Secretary
FUM General Board Meeting at Woolman Hill
Kaimosi Challenge
FUM Welcome Center Grand Opening
Community-building with Cuban Friends
The Impact of Work Teams on Cuban Friends
Long Patience: Work Team Experiences Quaker Impact in Ramallah
Benefit Concert for Ramallah Friends Schools
Sacred
Moments
By Sylvia Graves, General Secretary
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40)
Dear Lord,
Do you really mean for me to love my neighbor as myself? Well, I am really having trouble with that. I tried it the other day. I mean I tried to duplicate everything I did for myself by also doing it for someone else. When I went to the grocery I bought two of everything so that I could take whatever was on my grocery list to the local food pantry. I sent in a donation to Habitat for Humanity equal to the amount we spent at the home improvement store to buy a new screen door. Then I cleaned out my closet and took a whole bag of clothes to Goodwill so I’d have room for a couple of new pairs of slacks. Oh, and my neighbor’s wife died, so I invited him over for dinner that evening to keep him from being quite so lonely. But that is just a start isn’t it?
What I didn’t do that day was to see that the little girl across town who can’t afford dental care had her teeth fixed when I got mine cleaned. Also, there was a car broken down at the side of the road with an elderly woman in it and I didn’t call my husband to come help get her car started. I changed the sheets on all three of the extra beds in our house, and cleaned all three bathrooms. That sounds like it’s way beyond the basic needs of the two of us, doesn’t it — even though it’s nice to have accommodations for company at times. Oh, if I just knew how to provide some clean running water for that lady from Kenya I met the other day.
Father, there are so many ways I care for my own needs on a daily basis that I can’t possibly do the same for my neighbor. It would be really expensive and there isn’t enough time. Lord, I am so self-centered. There is so much need in this world and I hardly know where to start loving my neighbor as myself.
Once a day? Is that what you said? Well, maybe I could do that. If I just found some small thing every day, I’d be on the right track? Maybe if I did that I’d start paying more attention, and maybe I would even decide I could do without some of my stuff so others could have what they need. Father, please help me know who my neighbor is every day so I can love him or her the way I love me. It’s so different from what I am used to.
In the name of the One who knows how to do that,
Amen.
General
Board Meeing at Woolman Hill
By Sylvia Graves, FUM General Secretary
With a chill in the autumn air but warmth in the welcome, the Friends United Meeting North American General Board was hosted by New England Friends at Woolman Hill, just outside Deerfield, Massachusetts, October 11–13, 2007. Besides the wonderful meals the Woolman Hill staff provided, Friends from local meetings brought food from their gardens and prepared some delectable New England recipes. The business sessions were held in the 1850s meetinghouse that had been moved from North Dartmouth to Woolman Hill in the late 1990s.
Representatives from the yearly meetings shared news, celebrations and special concerns that had arisen from their annual sessions. The information was so interesting that someone suggested such reports should be featured in Quaker Life. Then it was time to address the agenda items. The following is a summary of reports and/or action taken.
• In personnel items, Paul Smith has announced his plans to retire at the end of the triennial as Operations and Finance Director. Trish Edwards-Konic has resigned as Quaker Life editor and manager of Friends United Press, effective November 16. An Advisory Committee will be appointed, as directed in the Strategic Plan, to work with the editing staff for both Quaker Life and Friends United Press.
• The treasurer reported that the organization is operating within its financial means and there is a small but positive balance in the general fund, due to the reduced number of staff members. A trend analysis of finances in the past six years shows significant improvement in the state of finances for FUM. Donations from individuals are down from those of last year.
• Plans for the 2008 triennial sessions of Friends United Meeting to be held July 9–12 at High Point, North Carolina were presented. The program and registration forms will be available on the FUM website and in the January/February 2008 issue of Quaker Life.
• A detailed report of each of the overseas ministries was presented. These are the points that were especially noted:
1. Mike and Kay Cain will be retiring from being directors of the Belize Friends School in summer of 2008. The position is being advertised and board members were asked to send names for possible candidates to the FUM office.
2. News was received that the historic Swift-Purscell building housing the offices, classrooms and dining hall in Jamaica burned beyond salvage on October 10. Also, Jamaica Yearly Meeting requests that FUM provide a pastor for Worthington Friends as well as leadership training among Friends in Jamaica. The Vacation Bible School special project for Jamaica currently totals just over $4,000 which is about half of the targeted amount. Thanks to the immediate response of several Friends, including USFWI, the Lyndale Home was able to address hurricane damage in a timely manner.
3. Ben and Jody Richmond are doing good work at Friends Theological College (Kenya) in their interim positions. The search is on for a more permanent principal to begin next summer.
4. Donations to support the Kenyan missions at Samburu and Turkana have been coming in far below the goal of $2000 per month. Replacement vehicles are needed in both areas as well.
5. Eden Grace is working hard to purchase the equipment that is being provided by a USAid/ASHA grant for the Lugulu Hospital. A medical work team that had been tentatively scheduled for November has now been scheduled for March 2008.
6. USAid/ASHA grants continue to provide funding for renovations and additions to the Ramallah Friends Boys School. The renovation of the auditorium is nearly complete, and a new classroom building is under construction. Other grant sources and donations are contributing to a new kindergarten center and auditorium at the elementary school.
7. Joyce Ajlouny is directing by long distance this school year as she is in the USA with her family to do graduate work toward a degree in organizational management. Some new teachers and an ESR student are providing a renewed Quaker presence on campus this fall.
8. The Adopt-a-Nurse initiative has resulted in a very helpful source of funds to pay salaries at the Kaimosi Hospital. More information about the Kaimosi Hospital is described below.
• The Kaimosi Hospital Task Force that was appointed at the July meeting proposed extending the agreement with East Africa Yearly Meeting to manage the Hospital and work toward restoring its healthy community image and function. The current agreement ends in January 2008. The presiding clerk and general secretary will be traveling to Kenya in January to attend the meeting of the Africa General Board and to work out the new agreement if it is desired by EAYM. Funds collected so far toward the repairs and/or replacement of the roof are to be forwarded as a new board is put in place for the hospital. The Board approved the extension of the agreement and for the Task Force to remain active to oversee the situation as it develops.
• A minute affirming the confidence of Friends United Meeting in the staff of the Africa Ministries Office will be sent to all African yearly meetings to dissuade rumors to the contrary.
• A minute stating that Friends United Meeting North American board does not condone violence to any person will also be circulated. (These minutes can be viewed on the FUM website.)
The next meeting of the General Board will be held in Richmond, Indiana, February 7–9, 2008.
Kaimosi
Challenge
By Ron Bryan
We are very pleased to announce to the members of FUM that Iowa Yearly Meeting has met and surpassed the challenge received from John Muhanji on August 2, 2007. John was speaking during the Annual Sessions and challenged us to raising $5,000 to be used by the Kaimosi Hospital to purchase medicines for a three-month period. This money is to be used as a cushion to allow the hospital to spend other income from patient care for other pressing and overdue needs. Perhaps it should be labeled a “catch up” fund, that gives the hospital the opportunity to build some reserves for a normal daily cash flow operation.
On August 2 we received the challenge from John and by August 4 we had received over $4,500. In the following three weeks members returned to their homes and their churches and raised the additional funds. The total received by August 27 was $5,689.63.
John asked that if we exceeded the original goal of $5,000, any overage be used to help meet the three-month salary challenge that he also delivered to the North American Yearly Meetings. In addition to this challenge, many members of our Yearly Meeting have been working diligently to raise support for the Adopt-A-Nurse program.
FUM
Welcome Center Grand Opening
The FUM Welcome Center was dedicated on September 15 with a ribbon cutting and Open House. The Richmond Chamber of Commerce was well represented. FUM staff members welcomed visitors with a tour of the building and the facilities available for rent. Door prizes were given away every half-hour while employees and guests visited over coffee and snacks. The Welcome Center contains Quaker books and resources for f/Friends to stop by and make use of during business hours. Tables and chairs to comfortably accommodate 50 people make this a great space to rent for reunions, church groups, meetings, anniversary/birthday parties, etc. Reduced prices are available for meetings/churches. Call Yvonne for more details: (765) 962-7573.
Community-building
with Cuban Friends
By Linda Garrison
Bell-hanging, brick-carrying, bunk-painting, concrete-leveling, roof-laying Friends have been working alongside Cuban Friends for years. Of course, none of the travelers have listed any of these occupations on visa applications; they were opportunities that arose for people traveling with the FUM work teams to Cuba. In recent years, a second story has been added to the meetinghouse in Gibara, Cuba, where dormitory and dining facilities enable large-group gatherings for Cuba Yearly Meeting and other fellowships. This addition also eases crowding caused when visiting groups are on site at the same time as regular meetings being held at Gibara Monthly Meeting, the site of the first Quaker work in Cuba.
FUM participants include travelers from North America as well as Cuban brothers and sisters who join in at various spots where meetings and missions are located. These opportunities to share the workload open up possibilities for friendships and this community-building is more important than completing construction projects. The friendships are not just those between Cubans and American Quakers, but also between the Americans from (seemingly) different and differing Yearly Meetings.
Along with the clang and clatter of projects, the Cuban voice is also quite memorable. Often in church, frequently over food and drink (hot, sweet coffee), sometimes strolling through the towns and tiny villages where the work takes place, these voices are lifted in song, prayer, joke-telling and conversation. The vagaries of governmental regulations on both sides of the water means that it is a challenge to position one’s self to hear the Cuban voice. In spite of those challenges, the continued vision of FUM is to share the workload of a partner yearly meeting, appreciate this beautiful voice, improve facilities and help travelers yearning to be bell-hangers, brick-carriers, bunk-painters, concrete-levelers and/or roof-layers.
The
Impact of Work Teams on Cuban Friends
By Ramon Gonzales
We have received the visit of many FUM work teams and I have had the privilege to work with all of them. We can see it from two different ways: the material and the spiritual.
From one side, these groups have contributed with the necessary funds, tools and hours, days of intense work in the reconstruction of meetinghouses, chapels, pastoral houses and our national center. Without them, many of these projects would not have begun because we have not the resources. Some of them would be useless or run-down. These have been a blessing for the Cuban Quakers and other religious groups that have used some of the buildings. The work teams have worked on everything from the footings (foundation) to painting, in reconstruction, new buildings or extensions of them, in difficult conditions and in a climate very hot, including the winter months (in our area it’s true that “Cuba is an eternal summer”). For example, the reconstruction of our center in Gibara with room for 124 people in two levels, bathrooms including one for handicapped people, meeting rooms, etc, have been used in many activities of our Yearly Meeting, as a Seminary and for meetings for other Christian and ecumenical groups from all over our country. In this moment, the center is an important income for our YM budget.
For the other part, the spiritual blessings are bigger than the material. They have made it possible to remain open and continue evangelizing, proclaiming the Good News of salvation and giving joy and hope to the depressed hearts. These groups have strengthened the tie of love among us, the MMs and YMs. When you see the love, the solidarity, the dedication of these sisters and brothers, you must say: “Thank God for your love through these wonderful people.” They created and are creating bridges of love, friendship in Christ that is the Light which lighted every person and moves us to serve one another. The times when we share our experiences of faith, in personal ways or in a meeting, are very deep and support our testimony in this world.
As we are isolated, these visits connecting us with the international Quaker family help to deepen our roots, testimonies and increase our meaning of pertinence to this great community of experience, faith, hope and over all, love (1 Corinthians 13). If you have not this experience, you cannot understand completely. It is a marvelous gift of God for us.
Thanks, FUM. Thanks to the MMs and YMs who support it. Thanks to all the people that coordinate these encounters to work and share our faith. Thanks God for your love and for this Quaker family.
Long-Patience:
Work Team Experiences Quaker Impact in Ramallah
By Jane and Max Carter
Eli and Sybil Jones’ legacy continues in Ramallah, Occupied Palestinian Territory. From their initial visit to Palestine in the 1860s has sprung one of the most influential institutions associated with Friends United Meeting: the Ramallah Friends Schools, and a continuing Quaker presence in the Holy Land. In a July 15 Philadelphia Inquirer article about the Palestinian Quaker community, Bernard Sabella, a sociologist at Bethlehem University, is quoted as saying: “The impact of the Quakers through the years is hard to overestimate. They were the first to start a school for Palestinian girls. They were the first to try coeducation among Palestinians. They were the first to offer Palestinians a middle ground between collective Palestinian culture and individualistic Western culture. They’ve created a leadership group among the Palestinians. And by developing women, they have radically changed people’s view of society.”
This impact was readily apparent to us as we volunteered at the Friends Schools during our FUM-sponsored work/study trip to Israel and Palestine June 27–July 18, 2007. Most visible was the excellent leadership provided by Friends Schools Director Joyce Ajlouny, a Friends Schools graduate and member of the Ramallah Friends Meeting. The principals of the Boys and Girls Schools, Mahmoud Amra and Diana Abdel Nur, are also alumni and have seen the Schools grow to a combined enrollment of 1,100 under their tenure, with graduates attending the most challenging colleges and universities around the world.
Many of those recent graduates were back home in Ramallah during our visit and worked beside us painting at the Girls School and landscaping and washing windows at the meetinghouse, or hosted us in a seemingly endless feast of Palestinian foods in their homes. Maisa has a prestigious psychology internship in Philadelphia after graduating at the top of her class in college; Samer is a rising star in his New York high tech company; Usama is on a U.S. tour of campuses promoting multicultural understanding; Khalaf is beginning a new position as head resident of a college residence hall; Ya’coub, similarly, is a deeply respected residence hall adviser at his college.
Defying the stereotype of Palestinian youth as alienated, violent threats to civil society, Ramallah Friends Schools graduates have taken to heart the Quaker principles of equality, peace, integrity and inward spirituality. We thrilled to the performance at the Cultural Arts Palace in Ramallah by Sharaf, another graduate who has been dubbed “the flying Palestinian” for his gravity-defying expertise at the Debke, the Palestinian folkloric dance. A child of refugees whose ancestral lands in Lydda are now covered by Israel’s sprawling Ben Gurion International Airport complex, Sharaf has rejected violence in favor of resistance to Occupation through celebration of the art and culture of his people.
This attitude was consistent with our experience of the contributions of other Friends Schools alumni, and the influence didn’t stop there. Through nonviolence training at the Schools, the influence of the moderate stances of Friends Schools graduates in government and civil society, and the work of the Friends International Center in Ramallah (FICR) — housed in the newly renovated 1910 meetinghouse — ideas of nonviolent resistance have spread.
On one memorable day on the main street of Ramallah, our group stopped to view a makeshift memorial erected on the site where a young Palestinian man was assassinated by Israeli undercover agents just the month before. A member of President Abbas’s security force, “Tiger” was eating lunch at a nearby restaurant when the Israelis arrived to kill two other suspects. When the targets escaped, “Tiger” was shot in the leg and, crippled on the ground, was shot in the head. A Palestinian man stopped to explain the memorial to us, giving the details that we had heard many times before, both in the international news and from local sources. But rather than vent anger and vengeance, he noted that he promoted nonviolence and worked for the progressive presidential candidate and physician Mustafa Barghouti — himself connected with the Friends Schools.
We felt this attitude of peace in the midst of violence also at the Friends Play Center, tucked away near the new United Nations Girls School in the Al-Amari refugee camp. A program for five-year-olds started by the Ramallah Friends Meeting in the 1980s and lovingly nurtured by the late Violet Zarou over many years, the Play Center offers more than 40 children an opportunity to experience God’s love along with the usual lessons of numbers, colors and nursery school songs. Wafia, the conservatively dressed Muslim head teacher, quietly leads the children through the daily activities, modeling “that of God in everyone” and carrying on Violet’s emphasis that God alone is our security.
Through stories and contact with Quakers from other parts of the world, the children learn that people they don’t even know care for them enough to see that they get a sandwich and a cup of milk each day or that they have a boom box that allows them to listen to music. On the day we visited, the children were attending the first summer school ever offered. As we played with the children, we recognized games, crafts and equipment that we played with at home. We sang “head, shoulders, knees and toes,” danced the chicken dance and one of our students taught them a new game. Such activities cross cultures and even difficult living situations. The small seeds of human connection and love germinate and grow as these children grow and seek a way to exist in this troubled corner of the world.
This, too, is the legacy of Eli and Sybil Jones — and of the continuing presence of the Palestinian Quaker community.
Spending half of our three weeks in Israel and elsewhere in the West Bank, we were gratified to see that Ramallah and moderate Palestinians were not the only bright spots in a bleak landscape of violence. We met with many Israelis who were also working for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. One, Ada, our guide at the Southern Wall in Jerusalem, proudly showed us pictures of her son Anner, asleep on his Merkava tank just minutes before he lost 10 close friends in the last day of fighting in the Lebanon war. She explained that he was named after the gentile who welcomed Abraham into Canaan. “I pray every day that there should be more welcoming hands extended between Jews and non-Jews in Canaan.”
This is the prayer of far more people in the region than we in the West tend to realize. And it is a prayer that is maintained in the face of very little hope for an immediate end to the situation which has created the heart of the conflict. Yet the people with whom we were privileged to share their lives are blessed with a “long patience,” an ability to maintain hope even when the occasion would seem to warrant only despair.
Perhaps this is another result of the long Quaker presence and the knowledge that over nearly 140 years of work, the arc of influence of only a few Friends has been inexorably upwards.
In our final meeting for worship in the historic Ramallah Friends Meeting, Ibrahim Salahmeh, a 1944 graduate of the Friends Boys School visiting from San Diego, spoke out of the silence of the deep influence of the hymns he learned as a boarding student attending Meeting, of the love and care he received from Mildred White and Rolla Foley and of the enduring impact of his Quaker education.
We left Ramallah blessed ourselves. It will take a “long patience” on our own part to wait until we can return once more.
Benefit Concert for Ramallah Friends Schools
A benefit concert for Ramallah Friends Schools on January 12, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in Goddard Auditorium, Earlham College features Quaker singer/songwriter Susan Stark and friends. Ramallah Friends Schools in Palestine’s West Bank offer international Quaker education to Muslim and Christian students, many of whom need scholarships. Tickets $5.00 (donations appreciated). Sponsored by the Newlin Center for Quaker Thought & Practice at Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana.