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of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) |
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Epistle of New York Yearly Meeting, July 2004To Friends Everywhere:We met for the 309th session of New York Yearly Meeting at Silver Bay on Lake George in the Adirondack Mountains, July 25–31, 2004, 637 strong, including 147 children. God is our refuge and strength. We gathered in the spirit of this conviction, in spite of the worldly shadows of competitive greed, imperial power, and military assertion. Pained by evils done in our name, our spirit remains one of faithfulness, hope, and renewal. Friend Shirley Way, incarcerated at Danbury Federal Prison Camp for her peace witness, wrote reminding us of the thousands who wept publicly at the gates of Fort Benning last November, mourning the hundreds of thousands victimized by those trained there by our government in torture and assassination. She calls on us to join in public weeping for the wasted lives and for other squandering of resources and opportunities. Daniel Snyder, our keynote speaker, introduced the theme of our sessions, "Transforming Hopelessness into Centered Peacemaking," reminding us of the hidden springs of love that fill our lives with Grace. It is from deep within ourselves that we are called to respond to the world's challenges. He urged us to respond to the nagging cynic inside us with confidence that true nonviolence is the greatest power on earth. To that end we must learn to absorb pain. Citing Simone Weil's remark that false gods turn suffering into violence, while the true God turns violence into redemptive suffering, he reminded us that the real enemy of love is indifference, the refusal to suffer. Part of our renewal and hope lies in reinstating, after several years, the position of general secretary. This appointment comes at a time when New York Yearly Meeting has already both deepened its spiritual roots and strengthened its focused peace-making. The new general secretary, Christopher Sammond, noted with appreciation the years of careful discernment, searching, and hard work that have led the yearly meeting and himself to this time. Like the harrow that breaks down the earth to ready it for seeding, we together will be able to deepen our roots in God's love, so that new life can emerge. We are being called into deeper relationship to God in order to strengthen our witness in this world. In this light, the Meeting minuted support for the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund Bill (HR 2037), endorsing New York City Council Resolution #367 and urging Friends to contact their Congressional Representatives in support of this effort. We were especially inspired by a report from the Worship and Action Working Group, which during the past year has continued to write periodic letters that remind us how Friends and others are expressing their faith. The query "What measure of growth have you experienced as you have been guided by the Spirit this past year?" elicited 68 thoughtful responses from our meetings. The reports showed that preparing responses had deepened the sense of community within meetings, as Friends expressed not only their distress about the war in Iraq, HIV/AIDS in the world, and growing unrest in many places, but also joys in each other and in the springs of love that refresh us during worship. We were moved by the contributions of young Friends through reporting their experiences at YouthQuake 2003, and in bringing to us a memorial minute for one of their own. In response to concerns of young Friends, we approved a minute calling on the YouthQuake planning committee to invite gifted Friends as leaders and presenters without regard to their sexual orientation. At programmed worship Carol Holmes brought a message about the power of the tiny: the small things we do, often unaware of their import and their power to change the world. Our gathering was blessed by the presence of numerous visiting Friends, from Africa, other yearly meetings, and Quaker organizations. At the end of the week we rejoiced in recording the gifts in the ministry of two pastors, Ruth Ann Bradley and Janice Ninan. In Bible study this year Steven Davison focused on the social context and import of the Gospel, a message to oppressed people living under the yoke of imperial Rome. This context leaves little room to suppose that one might enjoy even the relative wealth of middle-class comforts and still enter the kingdom that God has prepared for us. Salvation comes through recognizing the power and strength and redemption that can come through suffering and release of worldly goods. We pray that you will all be blessed with refreshment from the deep wells of love, be faithful to God's leadings, and be bathed in the joys that belong to the realm of divine fellowship. Signed for and behalf of New York Yearly Meeting Linda B. Chidsey, Clerk
Attachments: Report of the Worship and Action Working Group | |||||||||||||||||||||