The Seventy-Eighth and Seventy-Ninth Commencement exercises of Friends Theological College—Kaimosi, celebrating the graduations of the 2020 and 2021 classes, took place in a combined in-person ceremony on Friday, 29 October 2021. Commencement ceremonies and graduation celebratory activities are a culmination of all the hard work, personal sacrifice, and determination manifested by FTC’s students and faculty. But with the Covid-19 pandemic putting every academic institution in limbo, difficult decisions were made in an effort to keep our communities safe. In 2020, FTC, like many other schools, was faced with the decision to cancel or postpone their in-person commencement ceremony due to the worldwide pandemic, leading the celebration to be re-scheduled for later dates in 2021.
Read MoreAlthough Shawn and Katrina McConaughey will not leave their positions as Programme Officers in Friends United Meeting’s Africa Ministries Office until March 2022, work is already beginning in the AMO transition plan. As outlined in an E-news story on October 6, the interim plan to cover some of the McConaugheys’ responsibilities after their departure is to distribute them among the AMO staff and to bring on Friends Church Peace Team Coordinator Getry Agizah in a new role as Programme Manager, in which she will coordinate the activities of the Friends Church Peace Teams and Girl Child Education Programme, while also working with the Global Ministries department and the AMO to oversee FUM’s relationships with Samburu Friends Mission and Turkana Friends Mission, including serving on both boards.
Read MoreAbout a year ago my wife, daughter, and I visited the Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County just north of San Francisco. It’s a beautiful experience walking among the majestic Redwood trees. Even more powerful, though, is the invitation to silence and quiet. In order to provide a hospitable space for the wildlife, no dumpsters or garbage cans are found along the trails. Maintenance vehicles powered by electricity glide silently by and emergency vehicles do not idle their engines while resolving whatever problems brought them to the park. At one point along the trail, there is a sign posted along the trail as you enter the section called Cathedral Grove inviting visitors to be silent. It truly is a place of “...peaceful habitation”.
Read MoreThe word abide means ‘hanging in there’, ‘tarrying’, ‘dwelling’ or ‘continuing’. There are many benefits that we get in life as a result of abiding in Jesus. In this reflection I will share 3 benefits; Firstly, Fruitfulness: God’s desire is that our lives will be fruitful. Our fruitfulness depends on us remaining or continuing or dwelling in Christ Jesus. As a Christian I know and have experienced the fruitfulness of God in many areas of my life. When we are in Christ we are fruitful in relationships, business, ministry and even just in social life (V 5). abide in Him and in His word.
Read MoreThroughout our history, the people known as Friends (or Quakers) keep rediscovering an essential and enduring truth: There is one who speaks to our most basic needs and most significant hopes—Christ Jesus the Lord. Both individually and communally, we are learning to know and follow the Voice that guides us in the way we should go. Together, we seek to understand and obey that truth which sets us free. As a people, we share in the experience of that powerful life which makes all things new. Maybe you are searching for an authentic and transforming faith and community to call home—if so, come in and join us as we seek to know and follow Christ.
Friends United Meeting commits itself to energize and equip Friends through the power of the Holy Spirit to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved, and obeyed as Teacher and Lord.