FWCC, Section of the Americas Meeting

from Adrian

On March 23-26, I attended the Americas Section meeting of Friends World Committee on Consultation (FWCC) held at Haw River State Park, in Greensboro, NC. I was there as a representative from SAYMA along with several other SAYMA Friends....

As I drove to Greensboro, I connected with other Friends that I haven’t physically seen in many years... I was also able stop in Cherokee ,NC, to work on my own family history and connect with Friends in Greensboro, NC and Greenville, SC.

FWCC “fosters fellowship among all the branches of the Religious Society of Friends. In the Americas, the Quaker community extends from the Arctic to the Andes. FWCC brings together Friends of varying traditions and cultures in worship, communication.”

We had many conversations around a table, usually outside enjoying the weather and the variety of wild life. My view of Quakerism was really broadened. Very early on I realized that, other than an occasional wedding or funeral, I had not been to any kind of programmed religious service in at least 15 years. Here I found a varied rotation of different worship styles, all in both English and Spanish, which required me to slow down in order to process all the information.

The workshop I was able to attend was: “Conflict in Your Quaker Congregation: Releasing ‘Winning’ and Embracing Quaker Process”, with a keynote speaker posing the query of “what are the Quakers that the world needs?” in the fashion of a Quaker query, our responses set us on a path of continued discernment.