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of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) |
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Epistle of New York Yearly Meeting, Seventh Month 26 - Eighth Month 1, 1998691 attending, including 188 children and over 50 young adultsTo Friends Everywhere:The theme of New York Yearly Meeting's 303rd session was "Telling Our Stories," and stories did abound: adults told their life stories to children; and the children shared their hopes, dreams, and fears through a pageant of giant puppets created by our Junior Yearly Meeting. We added music to our worship. We sang hymns, we received meditative piano music, and we shared a message chanted by a member in worship. Friends from unprogrammed meetings were enriched and moved by programmed choral worship. God inspired us with a ministry rich in creative expression. This year marks the fiftieth consecutive year that our summer sessions have been hosted by the Silver Bay Association. One evening, Friends were given the opportunity to hear about this relationship from the perspective of our host, Mark Johnson, Executive Director. He used the analogy of an echo to describe ways in which Friends' continued presence has created changes at Silver Bay, both physical and spiritual. Seasoned Friends shared stories of their experiences here, and we became aware of our passages through time connected with this space. Bible study was led by Maria Crosman, the Silver Bay chaplain and a recorded minister in our Yearly Meeting. She used an interactive format to encourage participation. This led to a heightened enthusiasm for Bible study and a desire to learn more. By invitation from our Latin American Concerns Committee, Sister Florencia visited us from the San Carlos Hospital in Chiapas, Mexico. She brought testimony about the struggle for survival of the indigenous peoples of that region and expressed her gratitude for our efforts to help keep this important facility open. In the aftermath of the first death sentence handed down in New York State since 1963, a task group to abolish the death penalty strengthened our resolve to end this inhumane practice which is contrary to our deepest testimonies. A memorial minute was read for our dear friend, Larry Apsey, one of the founders of the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP), and Friends remembered his vigor, his commitment, and his good cheer. Our witness to his legacy and the workings of Transforming Power are evident in our midst. The Junior Yearly Meeting Staff uses AVP exercises and ground rules for organizing our children's activities. In an interest group, Eddie Ellis, Director of the Community Justice Center in New York City, described his transformation through meeting Larry Apsey in a New York State prison in the 1970's. Seeking acceptance and respect within our Society reflects our ideal vision of peace in the world. An ad hoc Committee on Special Ministry labored for two years on a controversy surrounding the Friends World College/Program. In special Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business, Friends struggled with the Committee's report, its recommendations, and issues which remain. We can say to God, as did Jonah, one subject of our Bible study, "Thy waters have passed over me." We have been in troubled waters, and we are not out of them yet. Our prayer is that together with you, dear Friends, we may realize the message of one Friend in worship. He said that we need to have hope in God and to learn peace, poise and power: the peace of deep water, flowing quiet and cool; the poise of an oak, deeply rooted, storm-strengthened and free; and the power of a quickened seed stretching toward infinite light. In the Light of Transforming Power,
Victoria B. Cooley |