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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 Wonsik, Editor “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:15-20 (RSV) The above passage from Scripture offers a guide for the way we conduct business together. In my position as editor I am blessed to experience this passage put in to action on frequent occasions. Our themes of late have been controversial and you, our readers, have not been shy about coming to me, “your brother,” to share your concerns. Sometimes we are able to resolve your concerns with a conversation. Jeremy, from Virginia, was concerned after our November/December “controversies” issue that if FUM were to split, the Christ-centered Friends in dually-affiliated yearly meetings would become “homeless.” He reminded me that “we weren’t founded on theology, we were founded on discerning God’s will,” and I shared with him that the General Board is committed to working together and discerning God’s will for FUM. Often times our conversations lead to other action. David, from North Carolina, was concerned about the January/February article listing 10 characteristics of a “New Kind of Quaker.” After our conversation he realized I wasn’t the “brother” he needed to speak to first, and he went directly to the author of the article to have a conversation about his concerns. Occasionally our magazine leads a meeting to include us on their agenda for Meeting for Business. Friends come together in a worshipful manner to discern how they are called to respond to an article or issue. Responses vary from writing a letter to the editor signed by the monthly meeting, to canceling their subscription, to forming discussion groups to learn more about the issue and our response to it as Friends. I feel encouraged by these responses. While I don’t want any one of you to cancel your subscription, I do hope you will dialogue with your brothers (me included!), to gather together and invite the Presence in to our midst and listen for God’s will. |
14 Gospel
Order and Accountability 18 Doing
Business Bilingually 20 Practicing Discernment Together 23 The Delightful Inheritance of Friends 26 On Faith and Practice... _______________________________ 4 Letters to the Editor 9 Sacred Moments 10 News from Friends United Meeting 19 Inspirations 28 Ask Tom 20 Reviews 32 Passages 40 Classifieds
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