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Friends United
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Quaker Life
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| Between Friends | Contents |
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By Katie Terrell, Editor As I write this, nearly two months has passed since the FUM Triennial and I still feel like I’m catching up on sleep, e-mails, committee meetings and book proposals. It was amazing to witness all of the hard work — put forth by the Triennial planning committee, the North Carolina local planning committee, the FUM General Board, FUM staff and field staff — come together to create one exciting week. Lois Hackney, clerk of Wilmington Yearly Meeting, in her invitation to host the 2011 FUM Triennial (p. 25) quoted a Friend who described Quaker gatherings as “family reunions.” A resounding murmur of agreement permeated the worship room following this comment. At a Terrell family reunion I run into Terrells, Rains’, Hinshaws and Coffins, among others. At an FUM family reunion there are Midwesterners, Southeasterners, Canadians, those from the East coast and the West coast, from the Great Plains, as well as Africans, Belizeans, Palestinians, Cubans and Jamaicans. We are all so different — the way we worship, what we believe, the language we use — yet a common denominator makes us family. Included in the following pages are highlights from the FUM family reunion: the general secretary’s keynote address (pp. 8-13), the peace lecture (pp. 14-15), John Punshon’s reasons for hope (pp. 16-19) and a report of where the young Friends were going each time they hopped in and out of the North Carolina Yearly Meeting vans (pp. 20-22). Because there are so many differences within our family, not everyone had the same reaction coming away from the Triennial. David Mercadante felt a “renewed sense of community” (p. 23) while Micah Bales was disappointed by the absence of open worship (p. 42). I myself was overwhelmed by how many familiar faces I came across. Ray Luther approached me the first evening and said, “You probably don’t remember me, but I led the young Friends group to New York when you went.” That was in 1995. Other conversations ranged from: “We’ve been in contact through e-mail,” to “Are you related to …,” to “So you’re the new Quaker Life editor!” Invariably these led to further conversations and getting to know my “family” members more deeply. Much of the business sessions were spent hearing from our field staff about the good work going on thanks to FUM’s presence in the world. While this was definitely a highlight for many Triennial attendees, there wasn’t space in this issue for everything, so our November/December issue will be devoted to “Global Partnerships.” The theme of the 2008 Triennial sessions was Jeremiah 29:11: Hope and a Future. So the question is: what did we discover? Does FUM have a hope and a future? FUM is YOUR ministry. It’s up to you to decide. |
9 The Hope and Future of Friends United Meeting* 14 Renewing the Quaker Testimony on Peace* 16 Living in a New World* 19 Punshon's Reasons for Hope 20 FUM Young Friends Triennial 23 A New Monday Morning *Read Triennial Messages on the 2008
FUM Triennial page. _______________________________ 6 Sacred Moments 24 News from Friends United Meeting 30 Reviews 32 Passages 36 Classifieds 42 Perspectives _______________________________ Friends from 33 yearly meetings, representing North America, East Africa, Ramallah, Jamaica, Britain and Belize, gathered together in fellowship for the 2008 FUM Triennial hosted by High Point Friends Meeting, North Carolina Yearly Meeting. Friends are pictured singing, “It is well with my soul.” Triennial photos courtesy of Darrin Allen, Dale Graves and Shari Veach.
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