Please see more below for background on the Salt & Light event going on here and around the world. And please see here to register.
P R O G R A M for the WEEKEND OF OCTOBER 29-30
Saturday October 29th
9:30 a.m. – Registration
10:00 – Opening worship
- Welcome & Introductions – Andy Grannell, Portland Friends Meeting
- FWCC and the Sixth World Conference – Louise Salinas, Associate Secretary FWCC Section of the Americas
10:20 – What does it mean to be Salt and Light? – Valerie Joy
10:40 – Discussion in small groups
11:10 – Small groups report back
11:30 – Break
11:45 – The broken world: Stories of Burundian Friends in Tanzanian refugee camps. – Abel Sibonio
- Questions & reflection
12:30 p.m.1 – Lunch & fellowship
1:30 p.m – Re-gather & vocal prayer
- Discussion in small groups, reflecting on the Broken World
2:00 – Activity: How do our lives and actions contribute to the brokenness of the world?
2:30 – Small groups report back
2:50 – Friends in Asia & the West Pacific – Valerie Joy
3:10 – Living the kingdom – Valerie Joy and Abel Sibonio
- Discussion in small groups: World Conference Study Guide
3:40 – Small groups report back
4:00 – Break
4:15 – Caring for each other: Salt & Light in Portland. How can we be agents of God’s healing power? Facilitated discussion by Valerie & Abel
4:45 – Closing remarks
- Singing & closing prayer
5:00 p.m. – African-themed dinner
Sunday Morning October 30th
8:00 a.m. – Early unprogrammed worship
9:00 a.m. – Singing with International Song Book
9:30 a.m. – Intergenerational Unprogrammed worship:
- Opening query
- Scripture readings in Kirundi & English
- Children’s message
- Adult message, brought by guests from Australia
10:30 a.m. – Unprogrammed worship in the manner of Friends
Report from Released Friends Andy and Dorothy Grannell
October 2, 2011
The question being asked by Friends World Conference for Consultation is: “What does it mean to BE salt and light and to live the kingdom in a broken world?” It is being asked as the foundation for having the 6th World Conference of Friends, the first World conference since 1991. The theme is taken from Matthew 5:13 – 16. Salt flavors food, preserves food, cleans and heals wounds. Light allows us to see clearly, to be visible to others, and reflects back.
The world conference and the mini Salt & Light events occuring on October 29-30th are asking each Friend wherever he or she is located to discern what it means to BE Salt and Light in our meetings, in our faith lives, in our communities and in the world. What will it mean for Friends to take seriously being Salt and Light in dealing with issues of faith, poverty, justice, economics and the environment? What will each of us be called to do to Live the Kingdom and to Heal the Broken World? Can we do it together across the different forms of Quakerism? Will we gain more understanding of each other? Will the Society of Friends be changed and if so, how? We will as Friends internationally find effective ways to heal our broken world wherever we are located? The conference is a call to both discernment and action.
We will have opportunity to consider the questions on October 29 and 30. Abel Sibonio and Valerie Joy of Australia will be staying in local homes for 4 evenings and taking us through their experiences and drawing us in to consider these questions. We will listen, pray, sing, eat and share in much the same way that Andy and I will in Kenya. Our prayer is that as many members and attenders of this meeting as possible will set aside Oct 29th and the morning of Oct 30.
We need your help in making this event work. Overnight hospitality on Saturday for guests from afar, pre-program publicity, registrars, set up and clean up for meals, leaders for Sunday programmed worship and small group facilitators for Saturday will ensure the success of the event. Please either sign up online or take one of the paper forms that are hanging by the front door. Failing that, talk to, e-mail or phone Andy or I – we will have a task for you. A donation is requested to help defray the cost of the event and bringing the visitors from Australia. However, please do not let that keep you from attending.
The program is appropriate for those 10 and up, the tasks that need doing are also appropriate for those aged 10 and up. The online registration is open at www.fwccamericas.org or again, you can tell Andy or me that you are coming and whether it will be for Saturday or Sunday or both. Sunday morning is open to all because it will be a part of our regular extended worship for a Sunday that includes silent worship at 8, singing at 9, and programmed worship with our speakers at 9:30 and silent worship at 10:30.
This will be a rich experience for all of us. The motto of FWCC Section of the Americas is: “Connecting Friends, Crossing Cultures, Changing Lives”. At the event here on Oct.29 & 30 Portland, Friends will have the opportunity to live the motto. The meeting room holds up to 100 people. Our prayer is that it will be full. Please register and invite others you know who would like to participate from around New England.
Andy and I have just recently been blessed to have our applications to the Lyman fund approved. We have received a generous grant to support our travel as released Friends for the conference and to share what we learn after the conference. We still seek a portion of the travel funds and as well as support for the Salt & Light events here in New England so that all that want to may participate.
Andy and Dorothy Grannell
