 MARCH/APRIL 2003 (XXXXI 2) |
"No Person is Our Enemy" is the theme to be addressed by Mary Ellen McNish, General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), at the opening session of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 27. Mary Ellen, a member of Byberry Meeting (PA), is deeply grounded in her Quaker faith and manifests a coherence between the inward and the outward as she puts her faith into action.
Those who invited Mary Ellen McNish are particularly pleased that she is willing to offer her reflections on "No Person is Our Enemy," since the topic embraces dilemmas faced by many Friends throughout our Yearly Meeting. How do we resist what seems not to be grounded in the Spirit, whether it be in our day-to-day lives, our communities or our nation, yet not demonize those whose actions we are trying to affect? How do we ground ourselves in a faith which liberates us to speak out of a place of love and healing even when forces around us seem to conspire against the building of a peaceful and just community and world?
Mary Ellen's speaking to us in our opening session is a wonderful opportunity to open our hearts and minds to the work which lies ahead of us in our Yearly Meeting and to prepare ourselves to enter faithfully into that work. Also, as many Friends and Monthly Meetings have partnered with the AFSC in efforts to be responsive to the crises of our times, we can celebrate the intersection of our work and our faith journeys. We look forward, eagerly, to this Session.
Arlene Kelly
Central Philadelphia Meeting
Clerk of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM