“Friends, meet together and know one another in that which is eternal, which was before the world was.” —George Fox, 1657 (Britain Yearly Meeting Faith & Practice) In the mid-1990s, during our Mennonite Central Committee assignment in Uganda, Pam and I got invited to a Thanksgiving dinner at the home of an American couple who worked for another Christian agency in Kampala. We found a dozen people there waiting to dig into a meal that looked amazingly like Thanksgiving feasts we had enjoyed at Grandma’s house back home. The hosts had somehow come up with a turkey in a country where we’d never seen one before. We were able to imagine for a couple of hours that we were in the U.S. celebrating with family. Before praying to start the feasting, the host did the “American thing” and asked everyone around the table to name a blessing for which they were thankful. The guests did the “American thing” by telling mostly about new vehicles or computer equipment they had obtained with great difficulty, care packages recently received from family, or other material things which made their lives a bit easier in a place still mostly foreign to them. There was no football on TV, but the afternoon was a nice “taste of home.”
Read MoreA large group of USFW and Quaker Men representatives from North Yearly Meeting recently made a visit to Samburu Friends Mission that marked an important milestone for the Samburu community and Friends alike, as it fostered unity, understanding, and collaboration. Samburu Friends Mission is a ministry under North Yearly Meeting but it is very far away and often feels isolated. The Samburu people deeply appreciated the time, care, and fellowship extended to them during this visit. This connection has initiated a promising journey toward a stronger bond in evangelism, service, and spiritual growth. Together, we are now even more determined to support and strengthen one another in our faith and mission work. With gratitude and anticipation for our continued journey together, Felix Lekuyie Samburu Friends Mission Director
Read MoreOne of the conversations we have had this year at Belize Friends Church is about creating multiple sacred spaces for people with various needs within the church. I find that the Spirit is in this conversation. . . . Creating multiple sacred spaces can be an alternative to, or can supplement, the more traditional mobilizing of people to know and experience God by focusing on a sermon.
Read MoreAfrica Programme Officer Shawn McConaughey writes about the multiple benefits of an entrepreneurial ministry training with pastors from the Samburu mission and some leadership from members of the Turkana mission who went through the same training several years ago.
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.