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Friends United Meeting |
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November 1998
Core Values
The core values listed for Indiana
and Western Yearly Meetings:
1) God is the foundation around which Friends organize their lives. A
personal commitment to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our Savior, Lord,
and Teacher, is essential to daily living. The indwelling of God's Holy
Spirit strengthens, convicts, saves, guides and comforts believers.
2) The scriptures are inspired by God, a valid truth source and a guide
for daily living. Other valid sources of truth (scientific inquiry, personal
experience) are checked against Scripture for discernment. Since all truth
is God's truth, truth from different sources will not be in conflict but
can be integrated.
3) Corporate, prayer-based discernment is an essential aspect for decision
making and seeking God's will.
4) There is an urgency and priority in sharing the Gospel of Jesus to
non-believers both near and far.
5) It is vital to meet regularly together for worship, fellowship, and
instruction. God calls all believers to be ministers of Christ, supporting
each other in living out their ministries. The role of gifted pastoral
leadership is recognized.
6) There are absolutes in family and sexual behavior. These absolutes
include abstinence outside of marriage. Marriage is understood as a monogamous
relationship between one man and one woman.
7) Life is sacred. Among the implications are that Friends corporately
do not approve of abortion, violence, and war.
8) Faith manifests itself through compassionate works and actions. Each
individual is of supreme worth; therefore Friends seek equal justice for
all.
9) Friends value integrity in speech and action.
The values of Earlham College identified by the combined committees:
1) Earlham is Committed to the pursuit of truth, wherever it may lead.
All people, believers and non-believers, are capable of finding and declaring
truth. Scientific inquiry, personal experience, and scripture are valid
paths to truth. Non coercion and academic freedom are essential to this
pursuit. The pursuit of truth is fully compatible with religious belief,
since, for believers, all truth is God's truth.
2) Earlham is committed to rigorous academic standards, resulting in its
deserved reputation as a distinctive and highly selective liberal arts
institution. The teaching-learning process at Earlham is shaped by a view
of education as a process of awakening the "teacher within,' so that
students will become lifelong learners, educating the whole person, spiritually,
intellectually, and physically. This education includes among its distinctive
features, but is not limited to, global education, experiential education,
integrative education, and collaborative and cooperative learning among
faculty and students.
3) Earlham has a strong sense of community as evidenced by a compelling
sense of collective responsibility, enthusiasm for and devotion to the
institution, and the expression of a unique. shared experience. Consensus
decision-making and peaceful resolution of conflicts are also important
aspects of this sense of community.
4) Earlham values a community in which individuals seek to find mutual
respect and accountability in their relationships with others. Each person
is worthy because of the inner spirit of truth available to everyone.
This necessitates respect for conscience, both one's own and that of others.
Earlham recognizes and seeks to reconcile the tensions among expressing
individual freedom, meeting the needs of the community, and maintaining
its Quaker identity.
5) Earlham highly values diversity. Intercultural, interfaith, and international
experiences are important parts of this. Members of the community lead
their lives in such a way as to be agents of the creation of community
from diverse peoples and outlooks, on campus, locally, and globally.
6) Earlham is committed to service to others; involvement in volunteerism
is one manifestation. We apply the results of an Earlham education to
the improvement of the world. Peace, justice, and reconciliation are among
the results we hope to achieve.
7) Earlham values simplicity, both inward and outward.
8) Earlham believes in nurturing integrity: personal, academic, and corporate.
revised 8/98