Racism Hurts and Challenges Everyone
Challenging Racism This resource is an article by Vanessa Julye Files Racism Hurts and Challenges EveryoneDownload…
Friends General Conference Publication Connects with Russian Youth
Janet N. Riley MEMBER: CENTRAL PHILADELPHIA MONTHLY MEETINGATTENDER: ATASCADERO, CALIFORNIA WORSHIP GROUP In 1993 I lived in Novgorod, Russia, a charming town dotted with ancient Russian Orthodox churches on either side of the Volkov River. Working under the care of my meeting, I held English conversation classes with two groups of Russian youth in the…
Growth and Change in FGC Staff
by Bruce Birchard FGC is completing the process of hiring four new program directors. This unusually large number (we have the equivalent of 13.5 full time employees) is due both to expansion of our services to Friends and to the departure of two valued colleagues.Evelyn Whitbeck-Poorbaugh, our skilled FGC Bookstore manager, left FGC at the…
Using Worship in Song: A Friends Hymnal
The title Worship in Song was revealed to the Hymnal Oversight Committee as it considered the purpose of this hymnal. For many Friends, music is an important component of individual and corporate worship. Here are some suggestions to make Worship in Song a valuable part of your spiritual life: We hope that Friends will find many opportunities for deepening…
FGC Adopts Minute of Purpose & Goals
In the context of worship and after a two year discernment process, FGC’s Central Committee (our “board of directors”) adopted the following “Minute of Purpose” and four major goals at its October, 1995, meeting. Minute of Purpose Friends General Conference is a Quaker organization in the unprogrammed tradition of the Religious Society of Friends which…
New Friends, New Meetings, New Challenges
by Bruce Birchard Thousands of people are attending and joining unprogrammed Quaker meetings across North America, fueling growth in the number of meetings and worship groups. In 1956 the Friends World Committee for Consultation’s Directory listed approximately 400 unprogrammed meetings in North America (not including Conservative Friends’ meetings.) By 1996 that number had almost doubled…
A Seeker Finds Welcome
by Vanesa Julye I have been a member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting (CPMM) for three years. When I walked into the Race Street Meetinghouse after a 15 year absence from Quaker worship, I felt as if I were returning home. I was warmly received and immediately comfortable. I chose to serve on the First…
Making the Stranger Welcome
by Liz Yeats When Friends across the continent look back on the 1990’s will they say, “We were blessed with an influx of newcomers, seekers from other traditions, who found an openness in Quaker worship and a faith community in Friends meetings, both small and large?” Or will they say, “we had many visitors, but…