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Friends United
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March/April 2008
Sacred Moments by Sylvia Graves, FUM General Secretary
FTC Opens Amidst Turmoil
Special Delivery: VBS
Heartbroken in Kenya
FUM General Board Meeting, February 7-9, 2008
Mary Lord and Oliver Kisaka Address Kenyan National Quaker Peace Conference
Seven Themes of the Kenya Peace Conference
What can we do to help with the situation in Kenya?
2007 Friends Pastors Conference: A Spirit-Filled Conference
2007 Friends Pastors Conference: A True Kenyan Quakerism Emerges
Sacred
Moments
By Sylvia Graves, General Secretary
As teacher of a high school Sunday school class, I assigned my six “pupils” to two teams. One team was to argue that the Quaker testimony of simplicity is outdated and might as well be taken out of our book on Faith and Practice. The other team was to back the position that in this materialistic world such a testimony is more important than ever. They were allowed 20 minutes to check the reference materials I provided and then 20 minutes for the debate. These youngsters were from privileged but not wealthy families. A couple of them were accomplished scholars. A couple of them were third or fourth generation Quakers.
The debate turned out to be an excellent exercise as one team did a quick study on what Jesus said about being rich and having many possessions. They found an abundance of evidence that Jesus taught his followers to focus on building loving relationships and not on acquiring wealth. “Yet,” the other team argued, “There are many valued and respected world leaders who do not live out any such testimony on simplicity. Look at the Quakers in our own meeting!” they said. “Roy has four cars, the Roberts raise thoroughbred horses for show and the Milhouse family lives in a half-million dollar home!” (Names are changed to protect the accused.) “We think most everyone in this meeting have whatever they want and can afford.”
Oh, my! Our young people are not seeing, and certainly are not convinced, that our Quaker elders believe in simple and frugal lives in which the messages of Jesus to “sell your possessions and give to the poor” (Matthew 19:21) and “you cannot serve two masters: God and money” (Matthew 6:24) are taken seriously. I knew otherwise about a few people in our meeting who had lived very frugally, donated huge amounts of money and worked diligently for worthy causes, but decided not to enter the debate.
That experience was 20 years ago when our own two children were in college. At the time, Dale and I didn’t have to TRY to look the part of being simple people. It comes naturally when you have kids in college. But now that the college bills are long since paid, our house is owned by us and not the bank and our automobiles are paid for, we are facing some big questions. How much is enough? Do we really trust God to take care of our future? When have we really denied ourselves something we wanted to see that others have something they really need?
I say I believe that every moment is a sacred moment. I say that I believe God wants us to use all of our time, talent and resources to benefit his Kingdom. I say I believe that the money I have is a gift from God and needs to be used in a way pleasing to him. And then I remember that one of my favorite college professors often reminded our class, “If you don’t do it, you don’t believe it.” It’s a constant struggle.
Prayer: Create in me a generous and trusting heart, oh Lord. Open
my eyes to see what I have that you want me to share, for you know I have
a lot of stuff. Nudge me when I forget to invite you to go shopping with
me. Help me know the right place between looking respectable and buying
clothes I don’t need. Help me remember when I rationalize that I need
a dependable car; other people need dependable cars, too. Please forgive
my delight in new things. Remind me that friendship and entertainment
don’t have to cost money. Father, even though these aren’t my words they
speak my desire. I ask you to teach me “the joy of living simply so that
others may simply live.” Amen.
FTC
Opens Amidst Turmoil
By Ben and Jody Richmond, FUM Field Staff
After delaying the scheduled opening for a week, Friends Theological College opened for the second semester on Tuesday, January 22, with a day devoted to sharing and prayer because of the political crisis in Kenya. Those students who had been able to travel to the college, together with faculty and staff, gathered in the dining hall, and for three hours recounted the impact of the clashes in personal stories. Some had experienced terrifying moments at roadblocks. Others told of neighbors’ houses burned or people killed. Several pastors recounted how they had given refuge to members of targeted tribes. Still others recounted how family members had had to flee from their homes in the face of threats. One mentioned that gunshots in his vicinity became so common that they almost began to seem normal. Others reported that calm prevailed in their areas, but all were affected by seeing “a Kenya they had never seen before in their lives.”
Classes began with only half of the student body in attendance. Students report that the cost of transportation is about double what they consider “normal.” In addition, many believe it is not yet safe to travel from their homes, as their routes take them through some of the areas hardest hit with violence. Our students will be very grateful for prayers for safety in travel, as well as the ability to pay for the transport. The situation has also interrupted many students’ efforts to raise their school fees, as their families and churches have been hard hit by the disruption in Kenya’s economic life in recent weeks. Your support for FUM’s emergency appeal for Kenya is urgently needed.
The situation changes daily, so the conditions we are reporting may have changed by the time you read this, but the prayers of friends for peace and justice — undergirded by a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit — will always be highly appreciated!
Special Delivery: VBS
Grab your mail pouch and help us deliver books and supplies to a different mission site of FUM each day of Vacation Bible School! We have accumulated quite a collection of books and supplies generously given by donors over the years. Without funding to ship all of these items, some of our partners have had to rely on travelers to act as couriers. This year we are asking children to donate money and basic supplies to ship to the various locations around the globe. We challenge the adults to match the funds raised by the children within their meeting so all the donations can make it to their final destinations. In exchange, your children will learn about the different missions of Friends United Meeting. VBS packets will be available late April.
Heartbroken
in Kenya
By Eden Grace, FUM Field Staff
I don’t have a brilliant analysis to offer you about what’s happened in Kenya. But it feels to me that I’m holding together some very contradictory truths in my heart right now. Kenya is a peace-loving country that is sinking into base and senseless violence. Kenya is a mature democracy (certainly by African standards) where politicians somehow believe they can get away with blatant rigging. Kenyans hold fiercely to their national values of unity and peace, yet they are suddenly aware of the deep divisions among them. Kenya is an economic “success story” where huge segments of the population have been excluded from the rewards of development. Kenya is 80% Christian, yet church-going people are now burning their neighbors’ homes. For every story we hear about hatred and destruction, there are a hundred stories about kindness and courage which are not being told. All these things are true, and have been true all along. The election pulled the veil away. It unleashed a level of emotion that has surprised everyone. We, like everyone in Kenya right now, are confused and heartbroken.
FUM
General Board Meeting, February 7-9, 2008
By Sylvia Graves
Over a year has passed since the General Board last met at the Richmond offices, so it was good to be “back home.” With the bookstore converted to the Welcome Center, minor renovations to the kitchen and staff providing hospitality, conditions were right for a good meeting. Committees came early to conduct business so that by the time the Board convened on Friday evening, much of the work had been accomplished. The Triennial Planning committee met to finalize details for the July 2008 sessions. Trustees discussed property sales and the Finance committee was quick to recommend funds from those sales be used to pay off loans to make FUM debt-free by July! Other business included the launch of a committee to study the meaning and responsibilities of FUM membership, a report of the Kaimosi Hospital Task Force recommending another $30,000 be raised to complete the roofing/renovation project, as well as $4,000 per month to assist the hospital in regular financial demands, and approval for further investigation into development of a commercial area at Ramallah Friends Boys School.
Mary
Lord and Oliver Kisaka address Kenyan National Quaker Peace Conference
By Eden Grace, FUM Field Staff
Approximately 60 Friends from all Quaker organizations and yearly meetings in Kenya gathered in Kakamega for a three-day conference, January 24–26, 2008, to focus on responses to the social and political crisis currently unfolding in Kenya.
The opening session was devoted to listening to personal stories of how the violence has touched conference participants, and to praying together. Recognizing that Kenyan society is on the brink of chaos, it was movingly stated by one participant, “We are praying that this cup may pass us by, may pass Kenya by. Yet even Jesus bore the cup and went to the cross, but in a way that broke the cycle of violence and transformed all creation.” Another Friend reminded the conference of 2 Corinthians 4:8–10, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.”
The conference heard inspiring and informative keynote messages from Mary Lord, recently retired assistant general secretary for peace and conflict resolution at American Friends Service Committee, and Oliver Kisaka, deputy general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya.
Mary Lord spoke about the biblical basis and practical application of the Friends peace testimony. She emphasized that the peace testimony arises from the direct experience of God in each person’s life, as an expression of faith rather than as a rule to follow. Early Friends considered that Jesus meant what he said in the Sermon on the Mount. Mary reflected on her early years among Friends, when she felt that the ethic of the Sermon on the Mount was unrealistic and not likely to result in successful movements for social change. She eventually realized that she had been assuming that she herself understood human nature better than Jesus did, and was able to embrace the teachings of Jesus as a matter of faith. She decided that “Jesus wouldn’t have told us to live in a way that wasn’t possible.”
Implied in the affirmation of peace as a matter of faith is the realization that, it is not by our own power or knowledge that we make peace. It is the power of the love of God, of Jesus, of the Holy Spirit. Mary stated that if we do not begin from faith, our peace work will not be effective. If we do begin from a life-changing faith, then we have no other option but to be peacemakers.
Mary closed by remarking that, although we often despair that we are not making a difference, the reality is that the world is a more peaceful place because of the work of Friends.
In the discussion which followed, participants spoke of reaching out to the youth, offering meaningful activities to counteract the temptation to violence. They spoke of reintegration of displaced people, and of creating centers for dialogue without fear. They urged Friends to take action “on the ground” and to persist in prayer.
In his message, Oliver Kisaka gave an analysis of the post-election disturbances and their root causes, and helped to put them in a Christian perspective. He started by recalling Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,” and challenged us to believe that this is true, that now is an opportunity for God to do a powerful work for the good of Kenya.
Oliver spoke movingly about the breakdown in the electoral process and the seeming betrayal by the Electoral Commission of the trust placed in them by Kenyans. After working for years on civic education, and seeing the positive results of such efforts, he felt deeply disappointed by the performance of the Electoral Commission. He also reflected that many young people who engaged in the election with enthusiasm, now feel bitter and disillusioned.
Oliver praised Friends for gathering in this conference to ask what our responsibility is, and encouraged us that “the Quaker light should shine!” He reflected that Friends have strengths to offer at this time. Our testimonies are a strength to guide us. We have strong capacities in non-violence training, and we should broaden these to look also at training for business and entrepreneurial participation. Finally, Oliver challenged Friends to engage in advocacy on behalf of those who are suffering and oppressed.
Oliver concluded his message by remarking on the deep cleavages in Kenyan society which underlie the current crisis — cleavages of religion, ethnicity, class, gender and age. These divisions threaten the unity and peace of Kenya, and directly contradict the Christian ethic of love of neighbor. He said: “We will be divided as long as we focus our eyes on men rather than God. To stay in unity with other people, we must look to the God who created us all, rather than the differences between us. None of our leaders and politicians are saviours. We have one Saviour, Jesus Christ. If this is true, we will forgive each other unconditionally. If Christ is Lord, then the things he taught are practical — we can turn the other cheek, forgive and love our enemies. These are not suggestions, they are requirements. In all things, God works together for good, even if we don’t see and understand it. If we have faith in God, there is no alternative.”
Seven Themes of the Kenya Peace Conference
1. Peace and non-violence as central to the gospel.
2. Trauma healing and post-conflict ministries.
3. Humanitarian needs, internally displaced people and vulnerable populations.
4. Ethnic conflict and reconciliation toward a harmonious society.
5. Preaching and evangelism in the present context.
6. The mission of our institutions of education and healthcare.
7. Global partnership and the role of our international/ ecumenical partners.
The 60 delegates to the peace conference worked in small groups exploring these themes in order to develop an action plan. Two important facets of the current Kenyan crisis were not specifically listed in the group topics, namely economic injustice/disparities of wealth and poverty, and youth disaffection/ hopelessness, but they were raised by every group in their reports. Conference participants have recognized that these two factors are largely responsible for the incredible explosion of anger witnessed in Kenya since the election. In discerning long-term action toward a culture of peace in Kenya, these will inevitably form two crucial areas of focus for the work.
What can we do to help the situation in Kenya?
• Remind Friends that over half the world's Quakers live in Kenya (about 150,000 or more), and most are very poor — the current situation is placing extra strain on families and institutions that were already struggling.
• Encourage Friends to visit the Friends United Meeting (FUM) home page: http://www.fum.org/ and the Kenya news blog regularly: http://www.updatesonkenya.blogspot.com/
• Contribute to FUM's Kenya Relief Fund to assist the projects chafing under rising prices due to shortages of essentials (like Friends Theological College, Kaimosi and Lugulu hospitals, Samburu and Turkana missions), and to help the yearly meetings that are providing shelter and assistance to the needy refugees in their area.
• Contribute to AGLI (African Great Lakes Initiative) to meet the huge demand for Alternatives to Violence Project workshops and peace skills trainings in Kenya by contributing online: http://aglionline.org/sub/donate.htm
• Feature Quaker service and ministry projects in Kenya: make a posterboard or use a bulletin board to illustrate the work of FUM, AGLI and Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR). This could be a project for the Peace and Social Concerns committee, the First Day school children or an intergenerational meeting activity.
• Look for American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) article about peacemaking efforts by Friends in Kenya and encourage them to continue to support those efforts: http://www.afsc.org/news/newsletr.htm. • Plan a fundraiser: a simple meal, a concert, a tag sale or a silent auction to raise funds for either FUM and/or AGLI.
• Invite a speaker: Patrick Nugent, former FUM Field Staff; Friends Theological College faculty member Benson Khamasi (currently an ESR student in Richmond, Indiana); an FUM staff member; AGLI supporters; or RSWR are available to speak to your monthly, quarterly or yearly meeting about Kenya’s post-election crisis and the ways the crisis may impact Friends ministry and Quaker service in Kenya.
• Pray for peace and unity to prevail in Kenya.
Developed by Mary Kay Rehard, former FUM Field Staff to Friends Theological College in Kenya.
2007
Friends Pastors Conference: A Spirit-Filled Conference
By John Muhanji, Africa Ministries Representative
The 2007 pastors’ conference that was held in Kenya December 12–16 was marked by a higher level of spirituality than ever before. The conference came at a time when Kenyans were preparing for both parliamentary and Presidential elections. The previous three years, the conference has been held with only Kenyan pastors attending, and thus was called the National Friends Pastors conference. The 2007 conference was different in the sense that it experienced an attendance of nearly all the FUM constituent meetings from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Congo. The conference recorded more than 450 Friends pastors as participants, with Kenya recording the highest registration. There were four pastors from Tanzania; seven from Uganda; three from Congo and the rest from Kenya. The conference has always been fortunate to receive guest speakers from the Friends churches in the United States.
In 1997 the first-ever pastors’ conference was held in Africa where all the FUM and EFI pastors from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Congo participated, and the keynote speaker was Dave Philips from Wabash Friends Church, Indiana. This conference was called the African Friends Pastors conference. In 1999 the first National Friends Pastors conference, with only Kenyan pastors represented, was held in Malava Yearly Meeting with David Brock, then the general superintendent of Indiana Yearly Meeting, as the keynote speaker. In 2002 the second National Friends Pastors conference was held in Kabuyefwe High School where both Elgon East and East Africa Yearly Meeting (EAYM)-North hosted the conference. In 2005 the third National Pastors conference was held in Bware Yearly Meeting where Colin South, former FUM Director of Global Ministries, and Ron Brian of Iowa Yearly Meeting were the keynote speakers.
In the year 2007 the fourth National Pastors conference was held in Vihiga Yearly Meeting at Vihiga Friends High School. The conference theme was “Walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). This theme was addressed by the keynote speaker Steve Pedigo, the general superintendent of Western Yearly Meeting. Steve Pedigo in his submission as he addressed a fullycharged pastors’ conference was equally spirit-filled and led many pastors through reconciliation, repentance and renewal of their call in the ministry. The conference also experienced spiritual revelations and healing among the delegates. Besides the keynote speaker, we also had other speakers like Kevin Mortimer from Iowa Yearly Meeting. Kevin was well-used by the Holy Spirit when he spoke on the “pastor’s excellency and integrity.” The conference was also blessed to have Victor White from Iowa Yearly Meeting, the first and only Native American Director of the Mesquakie Friends Center. Victor made the day for many Kenyans who have only read in history books about these groups of people who are known to Kenyans as the “Red Indians.” He talked on the topic of evangelism and the pastor’s role. Phil Baisley, professor at Earlham School of Religion and pastor in Indiana Yearly Meeting, also blessed the conference when he shared about the joys and challenges of being a pastor. These pastors from the USA were as if they had arrived fresh from the oven where God had just given them anointing to speak to the people. I have never witnessed such a spiritual pastors’ conference like the one we had in Vihiga in 2007. We also had other speakers from Kenya who spoke as if both speakers had been together preparing their messages. Their messages blended so well that what was witnessed was the working of the Holy Spirit among the speakers. Elizabeth Malesi spoke on the Quaker peace testimony and its impact on the community; Oliver Kisaka, deputy general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, spoke on resource mobilization and accountability.
A week before the pastors’ conference our Friends from the USA arrived and were kept busy in a youth camp where I was the keynote speaker. Kevin, Steve and Victor were very much engaged in the youth camp that was held in Bungoma at Nzioa Sugar Company primary school in EAYM-North. The youth camp was held in an environment surrounded by sugarcane plantations and was nicknamed the “sweet grounds.” The youth camp was held December 5–9, leaving us only a few days to travel the 200km to be in Vihiga for the pastors’ conference on December 12. Upon arriving in Kenya, our USA Friends had no time to rest, but they did a lot of good work, especially in building the Kingdom of God among the youth and the pastors. I can bear witness that by the time the conference ended, we were exhausted, but happy that the Kingdom of God had been built among the youth and the pastors.
I would like to express my appreciation for the good work done by all the Kenyan Yearly Meeting general superintendents who planned the conference under the chairmanship of Solomon Nyongesa. They showed high integrity in their management of such a magnitude of a conference. I also appreciate the local planning committee of Vihiga Yearly Meeting for the good and committed work that was experienced in the conference and how they coordinated the whole event under their general superintendents.
2007
Friends Pastors Conference: A Spirit-Filled Conference
By Phil Baisley
When I returned from Kenya on Christmas Eve, I was eager to write an article about the changes I’d observed since my last trip to Kenya in 1993. Three days later such an article seemed pointless. There had been talk amongst Kenyans while I was there of civil unrest if elections did not prove acceptable to a very vocal majority. Or did it only seem like a majority? I only know what I was hearing. The reality was even worse than the expectations. We’ve heard about the murders and destruction as Kenyans saw the veneer ripped off an underlying hopelessness that is more than political, tribal or economic.
So how does one write about positive changes among Kenyan Friends when there seems to be nothing positive happening in Kenya? Maybe I should start by recalling my first experience in 1993. In November-December of 1993, I was part of a team that included David and Linda Brock and Mary Glenn Hadley. We went to Kenya to conduct a series of training workshops for Sunday school teachers and children’s workers. Over 700 teachers, pastors and yearly meeting leaders attended the seminars in six different locations.
One of the most significant things that happened during that 1993 trip occurred in the seminar attended by about 80 Friends in the offices of East Africa Yearly Meeting (EAYM) North. There was trouble between certain yearly meetings at that time. “Ecclesiastical unrest,” the news people might have called it. I remember writing about it in the March 1994 issue of Quaker Life. This was the first paragraph of that article:
Ananias cautiously approached the kneeling Saul. Little did we know that the scene unfolding in the third floor offices of East Africa Yearly Meeting (North) was no mere Sunday school drama. “Ananias” was in reality a Bible Institute graduate who had been evicted from his place of service two years earlier by “Saul,” a leader in a rival yearly meeting. As he tentatively placed his hands on Saul’s head, Ananias spoke the words from Acts chapter 9, “Brother Saul….” A smile crept across Saul’s face. A cheer erupted from the audience, and everyone knew that this simple play was signaling the beginning of a reconciliation between groups too long in conflict.
The meetings in 1993 were the beginning of a movement toward unity among Kenyan Friends. There was cooperation in the writing of a Sunday school curriculum for Friends churches in Kenya that was to be a joint venture of all yearly meetings. At least it was a start.
Back to mid-December 2007. Over 450 pastors and church leaders attended the National Friends Pastors conference. They came from every Kenyan yearly meeting and from Uganda, Congo and Tanzania. Next year, when the conference is held again, it will be called the East African Friends Pastors conference. That could not have happened 15 years ago. Where once it was earth-shattering to find people from two yearly meetings getting together, now they regularly come from every yearly meeting to worship and learn together. And a newly formed Quaker Men’s organization has emerged. Kenya is growing stronger and looking for ways to serve their yearly meetings alongside the longstanding Kenyan chapters of the United Society of Friends Women.
Unity among yearly meetings was not the only difference I witnessed. In 1993 the big issue, particularly for young Friends, was worship forms. Friends in Kenya had been worshiping pretty much the same way the Quaker missionaries had instructed them at the beginning of the 20th century. This included a ban on drums and at least the virtual prohibition of demonstrations of emotion in worship services. Young friends were restless in 1993, wanting a more exuberant form of worship and not understanding why their churches rejected the ways that to them seemed so Christian and so Kenyan.
At the December 2007 pastors’ conference, worship was joyous, free-spirited and passionate. The best part was that everyone — young and old, men and women — joined in the celebration.
What I see as encouraging about 21st century Kenyan Quakers is that a true Kenyan form of Quakerism is emerging. The curriculum project so many years ago may have helped spur it on. The annual pastors conferences are visible demonstrations of it. The discussions on sacramental living and peacemaking and other Quaker testimonies reflect it. And the pure joy of worship convinces me that the best years of Quakerism in Kenya are yet to come.
And then came Election Day, December 27, 2007. I feel helpless here on the west side of the Atlantic, as if anything I can do would matter. I didn’t want to write this article with things being what they are in Kenya. Still, where there are movements toward reconciliation among political and tribal factions in Kenya, there you are finding Kenyan Friends. If there is work being done on behalf of economic justice in Kenya, there you are finding Friends. I don’t think you would have found that 15 years ago. The recent elections shed uncomfortable light on the brokenness that already existed in Kenya. Perhaps the unity I experienced at the 2007 National Friends Pastors conference foreshadows a future of wholeness.
Phil Baisley is professor of pastoral studies at Earlham School of Religion, pastor of Williamsburg Friends Meeting and president of Quaker Men International.