July 28,
2002
of the
Religious Society of Friends
Pyle
Center Box 1194 251 Ludovic St. Wilmington, Ohio 45177
2002
WILMINGTON YEARL Y MEETING EPISTLE
Greetings
to Friends Everywhere:
Friends
from Southwest Ohio and Eastern Tennessee, who comprise Wilmington Yearly
Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, met July 26-28; 2002, in
Wilmington, Ohio, for their 111th annual session.
The
general business sessions were held in the Wilmington Friends Meetinghouse. The
traditional USFW /Quaker Men banquet, that attracted 135 persons, was served at
the Senior Citizens Center. Sunday morning worship and the closing Yearly
Meeting session met in Boyd Auditorium on the Wilmington College campus. A
picnic lunch for nearly 130 persons at Quaker Knoll, the Yearly Meeting camp,
wrapped up the annual gathering. Wade and Velma Hickman of Maryville, Tenn.,
were honored at the picnic for their many years of service to Friends.
At the
banquet, eight Friends who had just returned from the FUM Triennial in Kenya,
reported on their experiences. Many of them were dressed in colorful costumes
that they brought home. They also displayed many pictures and souvenirs.
Tribute was paid at the banquet to Barbara and Sterling Olmsted of Campus
Meeting for their writings and work among Friends. The Olmsteds are moving to
New York state.
Lon
Fendall, of Newberg, Oregon, a GOOD NEWS associate and a dean at George Fox
College, presented the annual Peace Memorial Lecture on " A Tale of Two
Countries, Peace and Justice in Burundi and Haiti".
Nancy
tv1cCormick, co-pastor of Chester Friends Meeting, led the morning Bible
studies using the Yearly Meeting theme, "The Light Shineth in
Darkness". Her presentations were based on John 1: 1-14 and also John 5:
1-9. Nancy charged Friends to listen to God and do as He calls us to do. She
asked "Do we trust God enough to pick up our mats and walk?" Five
worship sharing: groups met each day to discuss the Bible studies.
Sunday
morning worship included a sermon by James Ellis, retired pastor and former
Yearly Meeting executive secretary, who is now also a published author with his
first book, "Blessed by Buzzards".
Gary
Farlow,
Presiding
Clerk,
Wilmington
Yearly Meeting OFFICE LOCATION Wilmington College
Thomas
Kelly Religious Center 937-382-2491 937-383-431