FUM News

A Visit to Samburu Friends Mission

A large group of USFW and Quaker Men representatives from North Yearly Meeting recently made a visit to Samburu Friends Mission that marked an important milestone for the Samburu community and Friends alike, as it fostered unity, understanding, and collaboration. Samburu Friends Mission is a ministry under North Yearly Meeting but it is very far away and often feels isolated. The Samburu people deeply appreciated the time, care, and fellowship extended to them during this visit. This connection has initiated a promising journey toward a stronger bond in evangelism, service, and spiritual growth. Together, we are now even more determined to support and strengthen one another in our faith and mission work. With gratitude and anticipation for our continued journey together, Felix Lekuyie Samburu Friends Mission Director

Spring FUM Board Meetings Scheduled at Quaker Hill - March and June 2025

The clerk of the FUM Board (Sarah Lookabill) has decided that the North American and Caribbean Region of the Board will meet in Richmond from March 6-8, 2025. Rania Maayeh, RFS Head of School and and Kelly Kellum, General Secretary have advised Sarah Lookabill that it is not advisable for the General Board to continue plans to host our Spring meeting in Ramallah, she approved. We did not decide to cancel the planned trip to Ramallah lightly, especially considering the tradition of hosting a General Board meeting at one of our field sites every triennium. The clerk has decided that the North American and Caribbean Region of the Board will meet in Richmond from March 6-8, 2025. Kelly Kellum is currently making arrangements to visit with a much smaller group on a pastoral care and solidarity trip to Ramallah during the first week of April.

Crossing a Border with Gratitude

As 2024 winds down it is important to reflect on the year that is passing. Friends United Meeting has invited a variety of Friends to share their thoughts on gratitude. As David Steindl-Rast the Catholic theologian said “It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful,” so we too shall take time to be grateful. This week's reflection is from Margaret Fraser, who served as executive secretary of Friends World Committee for Consultation, Section of the Americas. She now lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland. On a Saturday in mid-November, eighteen Quakers from Frederick Street Meeting in Belfast took the cross-border Enterprise train to Connolly Station, Dublin, two hours away. At Connolly we were greeted by two members of Eustace Street Meeting and guided on the light rail and on foot to the Eustace Street meetinghouse in Dublin.

For more news, click here.

To sign up for our weekly e-mail newsletter, click here.

Who We Are and What We Do

Find Out About. . .

FUM Journal

Thirty Days of Prayer - Day Twelve

We are the inheritors of the disciples being sent to share the love of God made known through Jesus' life, teachings, death, and resurrection. Emory Rees, a distant cousin, was one who went to Kenya in 1903. Assisted by Kenyans, he made a verbal, tribal language into a written one and translated the New Testament. Many others have been called and have responded by going as led to provide education, technical help, and medical services....

Thirty Days of Prayer - Day Eleven

John 15:1-4 (NIV)15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. When I read about pruning it reminds me of a time when my grandfather would send us to his coffee farm to help him prune the coffee bushes. In preparation, would sharpen the pruning saw and the pruning shears and head to the farm...

Thirty Days of Prayer - Day Ten

“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15: 7 ESV) My father depended on a small-scale farm he owned to provide for his family. As a child, I saw how he struggled to plough, plant, tend and harvest his maize crop amidst constantly changing weather patterns. Each year, he trusted in God to get just the right kind of harvest to feed and clothe his family, keep his five children in school and sustain his calling as a Quaker pastor. Every evening before we read scriptures and prayed, Dad impressed on us to trust in God and focus on our education in order to change our family’s fortune...

For more reflections, click here.

An Enduring Truth

Throughout our history, the people known as Friends (or Quakers) keep rediscovering an essential and enduring truth: There is one who speaks to our most basic needs and most significant hopes—Christ Jesus the Lord. Both individually and communally, we are learning to know and follow the Voice that guides us in the way we should go. Together, we seek to understand and obey that truth which sets us free. As a people, we share in the experience of that powerful life which makes all things new. Maybe you are searching for an authentic and transforming faith and community to call home—if so, come in and join us as we seek to know and follow Christ.