FUM News

Friends and the U.S. Election

I have looked, listened, discerned, and cast my vote for who I would like to be the next president of the United States of America. I imagine most of you have done something similar. For me the decision was not difficult. The candidates present clear distinctions. I hope you have done the same. I hope you have voted with the fullness of your heart, soul, mind, and body. I also know we have not all come to the same conclusion. I know we have all been invited to the party. Sunday will come around and we will gather for worship in our places with folks who saw the choice differently and voted according to their conscience. It’s not a new reality. My mind has been made up for months. So, likely you were in worship this past Sunday with those same folks. This is the work of loving community.

Letter from Belize

Oscar Mmbali writes:‍We are spending a vacation at Miriam’s sisters cabin out on their farm. It’s located in the countryside in the south of Sweden, surrounded by meadows and forest. We enjoy the quietness and stillness of this place, and how we can meet with God and let him fill us again. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. It’s a place that the whole family has come to treasure.Noa has been enjoying time with family. Especially a party for her second birthday together with her cousins.Thank you to all our supporters who make it possible for us to visit with family and friends in Sweden, and for us to get this rest.

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FUM Journal

Unlovable

When Kevin’s mother called me to tell me he had run away from home, she was crying. Anger, fear, and exhaustion poured out of her through the phone. She wept as she explained how her son told her he would rather live on the streets of Portland, Oregon, than stay one more day with her and his younger brother. He didn’t need them or want them—and at fifteen years old, he was perfectly able to fend for himself.

Ask Tom: How were children expected to behave in traditional Quaker worship?

My sense is that one of the major changes in Quaker worship over the past century-and-a-half, aside from the introduction of programmed worship (definitely a biggie!), has been the growing sense that young children should not be present for the whole period.

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An Enduring Truth

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.