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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 read about the devastation that occurred in Cuba due to Hurricane Ike (p. 10), my heart aches. In 2004, my father and I celebrated the New Year in Puerto Padre. It was also the centenary (el centenario) celebration of the meetinghouse. We danced and worshiped and had a food fight with cake and pink icing. My father and I were treated like celebrities because my great-aunt, Eva Terrell, taught in the Friends School and my great-grandfather, Clayton Terrell, helped construct the meetinghouse roof. Their names were still known 100 years later. I never met Eva or Clayton, but their names are legends in my family, as they are in Cuba. When I read the report that a tree had landed on the roof of the Puerto Padre meetinghouse, the roof that my great-grandfather helped construct, tears came to my eyes. That roof symbolized a partnership that my family had been part of, a partnership that Cuban Friends invited me into in 2004. Yet in the midst of my sadness, I am reminded that the church is not a building. Our Friends in Kenya worship under trees and in the desert. I too have worshiped out of doors, on the rim of the Grand Canyon, overlooking Old Faithful and at the outdoor amphitheater on the Friends United Meeting Richmond campus. Our partnerships are not with the buildings that our work teams help construct, the well projects we support or the scholarships our donations help fund. Our partnerships are with people, the people of Cuba, Kenya, Ramallah, Jamaica, Belize and the United States. The people are the church, and there is no better way to establish partnerships with the church than to go, or as Eden Grace (p. 15) will tell you, “just come!” Each of the articles contained in these pages are about global partnerships, partnerships established by visiting with people of other countries and cultures. We don’t always go willingly (David Johns, pp. 11-13); we should definitely go prayerfully (Tonda Rader, p. 2); and when we let go of our American standards of superiority (Minga Claggett-Borne, pp. 18-19) we might just be changed (Lisa Stewart, p. 50). Pat Shrock (p. 20) reminds us that partnership means sharing risks and profits. Terri Johns (p. 9) reminds us that partnership means combined decision making. Joyce Ajlouny (pp. 25-27) reminds us that partnership means sharing resources. And Jacob Asige (p. 14) reminds us of FUM’s mission statement which identifies partnerships as “fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved and obeyed as Teacher and Lord.” I invite you to travel the world with Friends United Meeting in the pages of this magazine. Traveling overseas may be the best way to establish global partnerships, but it isn’t the only way. Not all are called to go. Not all can afford to go, for health or financial reasons. But we can all learn from the voices of those who have gone before us, who live the partnerships and who are called to serve on our behalf. Let Quaker Life be your window into a world of global partnerships. |
From FUM Field Staff: 15 A Visitor is
a Blessing 21 Celebrating the 15-Year History 22 A Family’s
Call to Belize 25 Global Partnerships:
11 Building Partnerships 14 The Mind of Christ in Global Partnership 16 God’s Timing Hopes for the Future of FTC 17 The Church’s Response to HIV/AIDS 18 How I Discovered that Jesus Eats Ugali 28 USFWI Shares in Global Partnering 30 May Your Heart be Nourished: _______________________________ 6 Sacred Moments 7 News from Friends United Meeting 20 Scripture for Living 24 Inspirations 32 News 34 Peace Notes 36 Reviews 38 Booknotes 40 Passages 43 Classifieds 50 Perspectives _______________________________ Friends United Meeting staff members’ hands symbolize our response to Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) to reach out to his church — the people — as we go into all the world and join in global partnerships.
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