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Friends United Meeting |
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November 1999
News from Friends United Meeting
Youth to Address Peace Issues in Washington, D.C.
International War Tax Conference
First Tenants Move into Turkana Rental Housing
Celebration of Quakers in Cuba Begins; January Workteam Planned
Register by November 8 for 2000 “Chain of Prayer“
Three New Titles from Friends United Press
Youth to Address Peace Issues in Washington, D.C.
Thirty-nine Quaker youth will be in Washington, D.C., November 5-9 for the 1999 Ambassadors for Christ seminar: “A Peacemaker’s Response to Violence and Conflict.” In addition to hearing speakers and discussing the seminar theme, the group of high school sophomores through college sophomores will tour the city, including the White House, the Capitol, monuments, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Newseum Interactive Museum.
Darlene Pittman and Ray Luther of North Carolina Yearly Meeting are coordinating the 1999 Ambassadors for Christ seminar.
International War Tax Conference
The Eighth International Conference on War Tax Resistance and Peace Tax Campaigns will be held July 6-9, 2000, in Washington, DC. The event will be co-hosted by the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee and the educational arm of the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund. Conscientious objectors to participating in paying for war, and their supporters from around the world, will be attending. For information, contact the Peace Tax Fund, 2121 Decatur Place, NW, Washington, DC; phone 202-483-3751. Registration must be made by the end of 1999 to be guaranteed a place at the conference. Friends United Meeting is an endorsing organization.
First Tenants Move into Turkana Rental Housing
In August, three families moved into newly constructed rental housing units in the central Turkana town of Lodwar. The units were built by the Turkana Friends Mission, with the support of a grant received from the Anna H. and Elizabeth M. Chace Fund.
Designed to help local school teachers find affordable housing, as well as to help the Friends Mission reduce its dependence on outside income, the rental housing initiative also served as a successful ‘pilot’ project between FUM and Turkana Friends. FUM provided consultation and training throughout the grant, in an effort to help strengthen local skills.
“Turkana Friends implemented the grant with the utmost integrity” said Matthew Keller, FUM’s Project Development Officer. As funds began to run low near the end of the project, Turkana staff volunteered their time and labor to help complete the painting and final touches.
Turkana Friends hope to secure funding to construct additional units. In an interview at the beginning of the project, pastor-in-charge Herman Jaika Otioko noted: “the housing units can be a great help to the community, as well as a great help to the Friends Mission and its ministries.”
Celebration of Quakers in Cuba Begins
January Workteam Planned
Cuba Yearly Meeting [La Junta Anual de la Iglesia de los Amigos (Cuáqueros) en Cuba] is planning a year-long celebration of the arrival of Quaker missionaries to Cuba on November 14, 1900. The Centennial will be observed from November 14, 1999 to November 14, 2000, with the focus of the celebration being November 11-14, 2000. The theme of the celebration will be based on Exodus 18:19-20: “And now show us the path we are to walk and what we must do.”
In response to an offer by Lorenzo Baker of the United Fruit Company, the American Friends’ Board of Foreign Missions reorganized and incorporated in 1900 and chose Eastern Cuba as the field for Friends work. The area included the districts of Gibara, Banes, Holguín and Puerto Padre. Gibara, a flourishing seaport, was selected as the place to begin the new work, intentionally removed from the direct influence of United Fruit.
Today, Cuban Friends are actively engaged in serving Christ. Evidence is seen in their enthusiastic singing, their heartfelt personal testimonies and their generosity to others. FUM continues to support their ministries by making pastoral visits to the five monthly meetings, sending representatives to their yearly meeting sessions, organizing work teams to support their building projects, supplementing pastors’ salaries, and assisting in the financing of meetinghouse reconstruction.
In January/February, 2000, an FUM-sponsored work team will be in Cuba to work on replacing the roof of the meetinghouse at Velasco where Alma Ajo is the pastor. Team leaders are Judy Maurer and John Myers. Please join in praying for the safety of team members while working and traveling. Also, pray that our Christian witness will be effective.
If God is nudging you to contribute financially to the Centennial Celebration expenses or to our support of Cuba Yearly Meeting and their projects, please earmark your gift and send it to: Friends United Meeting, 101 Quaker Hill Drive, Richmond, IN 47374.
Register by November 8 for 2000 “Chain of Prayer“
“Called By My Name” is the theme of the Friends United Meeting 2000 Chain of Prayer. The theme is drawn from 2 Chronicles 7:14: “…if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
Individuals and meetings are encouraged to select a time period between January 1 through Pentecost on June 11, 2000 to participate in corporate prayer for our shared ministries through Friends United Meeting. The annual Chain of Prayer offers a rich opportunity to pray corporately for the work we do together. The power of focused prayer is, in fact, one of our greatest resources. We hope to complete the prayer chain by filling each day with individual and group prayer commitments.
Meetings are asked to register for the 2000 Chain of Prayer by November 8. Packets with a poster, sign-up sheet, a bulletin cover, lessons on prayer for children and youth, a suggested guide for individual prayer, and specific prayer concerns for Friends United Meeting ministries are available to meetings at cost. Special resources will be available to meetings observing Friends United Sunday on Pentecost, June 11.
Three New Titles from Friends United Press
Friends United Press offers variety in its list of new titles at year end.
A Clouded Quaker Star: James Nayler by Vera Massey will be available in November. Co-published with Sessions Book Trust of York, England, this new biography follows the drama of Nayler’s life and the clash of character involved in his relationship with George Fox.
Life-Work: A Career Guide for Idealists offers a look at the history, meaning, and current trends in our working lives. Author Bill Charland draws on his experience as a Quaker and as a career counselor in this guide to finding meaningful work—at any time in our lives.
A Winding Road to Freedom by Randall Wisehart is a sequel to Luke’s Summer Secret. This new tale focuses on Cassie’s attempts to rescue the young son she left behind when she escaped from slavery on a Kentucky plantation and the help she receives from Levi Coffin and the Underground Railroad.
Copyright (c) 1999 Friends United Meeting
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