Every year, Friends World Committee for Consultation hosts World Quaker Day! This year, it was held on 01 October, with the theme of “Gathering in Worship Around the World.”
Quakers throughout the beloved community of Friends United Meeting joined together with our fellow Friends around the world in celebrating this day. Here are a few examples:
The Nairobi Young Adults of Friends Program (NYAFP) Missioners is a group of young adults under the Nairobi Yearly Meeting of Friends Church Quakers who are determined to carry on the great commission as enshrined in Mathew 28:19.
This year, they decided to celebrate World Quaker Day by visiting the Children’s Garden Home in the Kawangware area of Nairobi, which falls under the Kawangware Monthly Meeting jurisdiction. The home was started in 2001, and at present they serve over 200 children ranging from 0 months to 25 years.
The home has its own school, and a high school that caters to children in need. Students from the school who qualify for college after their O level education usually come back to teach at the school as a form of assisting their brothers and sisters, and also as a way of giving back to the community.
Our World Quaker Day at the Children’s Garden Home was very successful. We prepared food for the children, cleaned their stuff, and had a church service with them which was led by our Pastor Jane Mutoro, who shared on “The Lord being our shepherd,” drawn from Psalm 23:1.
After the sermon and meals, we had a talent show where the children showcased their talent in modeling, rapping, dancing, poetry, and plaiting.
At the end of the day, we gave items donated by our youth to the Children’s Home which included sanitary towels, a bundle of wheat flour, a bundle of corn flour, clothes, tissue papers, shoes, washing soap, and juice.
The management thanked the team for visiting and promised us that any other time we would be free to visit them.
We agreed that we will plan to buy them plates and paint the residential areas where they live.
We give God all the glory for the well-spent Quaker World Day.
From Highgate Monthly Meeting in Jamaica:
Today in our gathering for worship we focused on those whom God has prepared ahead of time to be receptive to Friends as messengers bringing the Gospel—the Good News of Jesus Christ—to their communities. Many individuals identify by us, welcome us as messengers that God sends their way, and they try to serve and assist us in our outreach efforts as we spread the message to children in particular. Some are not yet believers, young people amongst them, but they all have great potential to be used in furthering the mission of Quakers and ultimately God’s kingdom on earth. We thank God for the good qualities we see in them. They are well-known people in their communities, they are willing to connect us to others and they are receptive to us as messengers. We likened these individuals to Bible characters like: 1. The woman at the well 2. Cornelius 3. Rahab 4. The Philippian Jailer, etc.
As we look around us in the world today such a community of Persons of Peace seems far distant from actual realization. However, here in Highgate, Jamaica, we are determined to try everything possible within our means, to make such community a reality. Pictures showing Persons of Peace working with us in community outreach projects such as Vocational Bible School and school holiday youth camps were displayed on this day.
We thank God for prayers and donations from Friends as we continue to search for Persons of Peace to strengthen our mission here. We seek resources and guidance to teach others about Persons of Peace. We seek help to train the young Persons of Peace we are now working with, to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with friends, family, and neighbours.
Edwin (Bobby) Coleman
Presiding Clerk
Highgate Monthly Meeting
From Belize:
Last Sunday was World Quaker Day, but here in Belize we don’t mind being a little late to things so we celebrated it today.
We have begun an inter-generational Sunday (First Day) School. Miriam Loh, on the right, led the class in an art activity centered on Psalm 119:89-90:
Forever, O LORD, your word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
.png){kind=small}
