EMES Annual Meeting 2025 Epistle
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Epistle from the FWCC Europe and Middle East Section Annual Meeting held
30 April and 8-11 May 2025
How do we live together as a community of Friends in Europe & the Middle East?
It seemed good to us, having come to one accord. Acts 15:25 (ESV)
To Friends everywhere, greetings:
Dear friends, annwyl cyfeillion, kjære venner, chers amis, liebe Freunde, lieve vrienden, queridos amigos, cari amici, kära vänner, kære venner, rakkaat ystävät, kallid sõbrad, drazí přátelé, dārgie draugi, dragi prijatelji, дорогі друзі, дорогие друзья, kedves barátaim, drodzy przyjaciele, Shanovni Droozi, a chairde, Salamaat Asdiqa, ძვირფასო მეგობრებო!
The Annual Meeting of the Europe and Middle East Section of the Friends World Committee for Consultation sends you our greetings, light and love.
At the wonderful assembly in Warsaw and online, nearly 80 Friends gathered from the diverse FWCC EMES area from Austria, Belgium, Britain, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Ukraine, along with Friends from Kenya and the USA.
We come together as Friends, as individuals and as bridges. Our own histories and those of our countries and people live through us as we gather together to create a community for this weekend and for time to come. We are living in times of crisis and uncertainty in many parts of the world, yet we create together a model for how community can still thrive.
Emily Provance enlightened and moved us, speaking about Acts 15 as a story about discernment, and inspired us to look at what it means for a community to experience spiritual unity in the presence of big cultural and theological differences. We experience unity of purpose when we allow ourselves to be changed through listening for points of connection rather than for points of disagreement. Through this we can connect to that of God in everyone, get acquainted better, and encourage the inward light that could overcome even the deep darkness of suffering.
The wars in Ukraine and in Palestine have provided a heavy backdrop for our gathering; we feel deep grief for those who suffer, and we feel hope listening to stories of courage. We have heard of Friends within our section working to maintain the dignity and humanity of all people affected by war: those who fight and those who refuse; those free to stay true to their conscience and those persecuted; those who stay and those who flee; those welcomed in new countries and those who are turned away. Our peace testimony requires us to act. We ask all Friends to lend their support in whatever way they can.
Many of our meetings are young with few Friends. As we heard about the Council of Jerusalem, following the leadings of our faith sometimes requires us to reconsider our customs – maintaining traditions of the past while also welcoming and accepting the new. In light of our commitment to simplicity, what accessible modern ways can we adopt to take care of proper Quaker process digitally and online?
Communication within any group of people is essential to establish strong relationships and we continue to explore how we can do that better to include more people. During many occasions of worship, we were asked to talk slowly and make pauses, that was helpful for deep and inspiring ministries, and we are grateful to our faithful interpreters for their help in understanding each other.
God speaks through every community and there is always a sense of the meeting. How do we listen and follow the leadings of the spirit? The bells ringing in the stillness, like the heavenly ringtone, call us to connect more deeply with the Divine and with each other.
In Friendship, mewn cyfeillgarwch, i vennskap, i vänskap, i venskab, ystävyydessä, bien amicalement, in Freundschaft, in Vriendschap, en amistad, in amicizia, v přátelství, u prijateljstvu, draudzībā, baráti üdvözlettel, sõpruses, w przyjaźni, Zi Droozhnim privitom, в дружбi, в дружбе, le cairdeas, fi alsadaqa, მეგობრული მოკითხვით.
Signed on behalf of FWCC Europe & Middle East Section
Ethel Livermore
Clerk FWCC-EMES
