Many members of the Friends United Meeting community in both Africa and North America have been moved by the recent deaths of David Zarembka, on April 1, and his wife Gladys Kamonya, on March 25. David and Gladys were well-known for their peace work in East Africa, and for their work for Friends, which brought them into partnership with FUM in various ways.David worked closely with FUM as an FCPT leader, as a member of the Kaimosi Hospital board, and as an FUM General Board member and triennial representative. In addition to the many remembrances that can be found online, FUM staff and representatives who worked closely with David have shared these memories with us.
Read More
During the first week of March, 1.02 million doses of the Astra-Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Nairobi. These doses were earmarked first for health care workers, with other recipients being added rapidly. This was the first shipment of the 3.56 million dose allotment designated for Kenya through the World Health Organization’s COVAX collaboration. (Read more about COVAX here.) Because Kenya has a population of 52.5 million people, officials feel it might take years to reach herd immunity to Covid-19.
Read More
I served as a pastoral minister among Friends for most of my adult life. In preparation for a recent move, I sorted through twenty-three years of sermon files, notes, and manuscripts. This revealed a lot about me and the kind of messages I like to preach—and the kind of messages I avoid.
Read More
The Fall 2019 issue of Quaker Life, on justice, is in the mail and on shelves now. In the Bible, justice has to do with land and labor and family structures; with ownership and employment; with widows, orphans, and immigrants; with food and water and housing; with access to God at the Temple—with everything, material or spiritual, that is required for a human being to thrive. God cares for ALL of what God has created, and therefore shows a special regard for the weak and the marginalized for whom society cares less. And since God shows a special regard for the weak and the poor, a corresponding quality is required of God’s people. God’s people must also be especially concerned with equity and fairness in society and economy, with guaranteeing every creature’s access to the necessities of life: to water, food, health, respect, attention, kindness, helpful community, and the opportunity to draw near to God. As a foundation for life together, justice is a vast and widening gyre, and our authors in this issue explore the theme from many angles.
Read More
Throughout 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.
.png){kind=small}
