Ann Arbor and Detroit

Friends from Toledo, Ohio and Birmingham, Michigan joined Ann Arbor Friends to hear Anne Bennett talk about some of her experiences working with Friends in Northern Ireland on peacebuilding and reconciliation. She decribed work done by Irish Friends at all levels from grass roots community work to strategic off-the-record meetings, and her own work with the latter.

With Anne's encouragement small groups considered issues in their locality and how they could make a difference where they are right now in reconciliation.

Next day, Anne spoke to the middle school students at Detroit Friends School. Thanks to Ann Arbor Friends for their gracious hospitality and a special thank you to Nancy and Thomas Taylor for hosting and planning - and for taking Anne to Indianapolis for her next Salt and Light event.

Safe travels, Anne, as you leave for Mexico City for the Casa de los Amigos.

Salt and Light in Illinois

Louise Salinas writes: A good-sized crowd from five nearby meetings showed up for the hearty potluck at Lake Forest Friends Meeting before Anne Bennett and Rachel Stacy spoke in what felt like an extended Meeting for Worship – intense, spiritual and moving.

In line with the bright sun streaming through the large windows at Downers Grove’s new meetinghouse, Saturday’s event was spent with cheery Friends who had more time to hear from Anne and Rachel. Here Friends talked about the issues of brokenness that are on their minds: access for all to resources such as water; the large number of incarcerated persons in the US, and understanding technology in our lives.

Kalamazoo

We lined up, from Britain, Indiana, Lake Erie and Philadelphia yearly meetings, around the table in Kalamazoo Friends meetinghouse. What a feast of autumn abundance. We talked, we ate, it was hard to herd us all upstairs for the program, but we went to hear Anne Bennett.

She told stories of people taking small steps where they were in situations of terrible loss and fear. Of men in Burundi trampling red mud and water to make bricks – almost dancing as they gave their time to re-house neighbors whose homes had been burnt. Everyone had lost family members in the slaughter, and there was always the possibility of more reprisal raids. She told us of women taking the practical steps of opening a laundry in a Balkan town where landmines were still hidden in side streets. It became a place to talk as well as to clean clothes, and is still a presence in the community. Just do what you can, where you are, was what I took away. Even if it doesn't make much sense at the time. Those small steps are part of the greater fabric of reconciliation.

She reminded us of our coping mechanisms. How we cope when we are with “others” – those with whose community we have historic issues or often recent grievances. – We navigate politely by talking about many topics except those touching on the things that separate us. How do we create the space, and time, and safety, to make possible those more difficult conversations, so critical for community and personal healing, possible?

I appreciated her accounts from long years of Quaker service, and I was happy that one of the things that we (FWCC) are doing is not only bringing speakers and programs to Friends communities, but also acting as a catalyst to bring those Friends together. As someone said last night: it takes outside visitors to get 35 Friends together on a Monday evening.

Dayton, Virginia

Tuesday evening found us at Valley Friends Meeting, part of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, in Dayton, VA, a few miles south of Harrisonburg. The event was jointly hosted by Rockingham Friends (Ohio YM) and Valley Friends. The meetinghouse is a former Presbyterian church, and comes with a nice kitchen, good classroom spaces, excellent acoustics and some historic stained glass windows.

Participants traveled from as far as Staunton and Charlottesville, but most were from the local area, including a couple of people who had discovered that they might be Friends after taking an online quiz on Beliefnet.com. We had a lively discussion and only drew things to a close because it was past 9:00 pm and most of us had to be up early the following morning. With thanks to Rockingham and Valley Friends for hospitality in many ways.

The pictures show Felicity unloading the car in the dusk, and Tom Hill, one of two Friends who drove over from Charlottesville to be with us.

Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg

Then it was back to Salt and Light. Sue Williams had arranged for Felicity to speak at a “brown bag lunch” at Eastern Mennonite University. It was actually a bring-your-tray-of-excellent-cafeteria-food-into-the-committee-room-lunch. Not a brown bag to be seen. As we all munched, Felicity spoke about the support that Mennonites had given Irish Friends during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, in exploring paths towards reconciliation.

Those attending were mostly Mennonites connected with the University, but Dona Boyce Manoukian, former FWCC representative from Baltimore Yearly Meeting, drove over to Harrisonburg for the event. Later that day, a number of us, including Faye Chapman and Dona, had afternoon tea at Mrs Hardesty’s tea room ‘quality cuisine in a traditional tearoom setting.’ It’s all about balance: attend many meetings and events, but have good fellowship along the way. The picture shows Dona and Felicity at EMU.

In the Shenandoah Valley

One of the great things about getting on the road and visiting Friends meetings is catching up with F/friends. Tuesday was busy, with two Salt and Light events, but we also found time for fellowship and exploration. While Felicity stayed with Sue Williams of Ireland Yearly Meeting, who now works at Eastern Mennonite University, I stayed with Jack and Susan Smith.

They took me to the Shenandoah Valley Produce Auction, a wholesale market that, twice-weekly, serves the predominantly Mennonite farming community in the area. Buyers come from a wide area, and schools, colleges and hospitals, as well as restaurants, are benefiting from being able to buy fresh food directly from the growers. Tractors with trailers loaded with boxes of produce, from pumpkins to peppers to potatoes, and a whole lot of other things, pulled up near the auctioneer. There were some very experienced buyers and agents who seemed to bid by merely twitching. I was careful to avoid brushing my hair out of my eyes in case I found I had bought some bushels of vegetables by mistake. What a great experience and thanks to my friends for suggesting the visit.

Salt and Light in Tennessee

My last Salt and Light posting was written while I was flying over the Alps, returning from Kenya, where I had been helping to plan the 2012 World Conference of Friends. Since only 1,000 people will be able to go to Kenya, it’s important to bring some of the spirit to local meetings and churches.

The first of these local events took place last weekend in the shade of deciduous trees in Tennessee, in a meetinghouse lined from ceiling to floor by windows. When the windows were open we could hear birds and the noise of huge acorns falling; we were truly in those woods.

Participants, hosted by West Knoxville Friends, came from eight yearly meetings: six in the USA and also from Ireland and Jamaica. Felicity McCartney, Ireland YM, and Sheila Hoyer, North Carolina YM (FUM), spoke of doing peace and reconciliation work in Northern Ireland and encouraged participants to consider ways to address conflict in their own lives and in the experience of their communities.

As with all FWCC events, we combined the worship styles of different traditions, singing hymns and having vocal prayer as well as waiting worship. We heard reports from all the yearly meetings, and were particularly interested to hear that Jamaica YM had used the text of being Salt and Light as the theme for its recent annual sessions. I am hoping that Jamaican Friends will host a local event next year.

Most of us were able to stay to be able to worship with West Knoxville Friends and we shared some of flavor of the weekend with them over potluck lunch. With thanks to all those Tennessee Friends who volunteered time and a host of skills to launch this program (we are looking forward to sixteen local events in just six weeks) I am now moving through the changing tree colors to our next stop: Harrisonburg, Virginia.