Christine Sine, who will be joining us on May 1st for her “Spirituality of Gardening” seminar (more info on that later), has written up a Lenten Guide that is worth downloading and following throughout the Lenten season.
Camas Friends Church: A Quaker Meeting
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. (1 Th 5:16–22 NRSV)
“Complete knowledge is always beyond us, and a recognition of this fact carries with it a demand that we ‘prove all thing; hold fast that which is good.’ It is by this method that Christian thinkers in the past have advanced towards a more perfect understanding of the ways of God. This suggests on the one hand that even those ideas which we now see to be incomplete or erroneous often contained for those who first held them vital expression of truth, and were in their time only gained as the result of painful strivings of heart and mind, and, on the other hand, that the ideas of God and man which have been held in the past much be re-expressed in the light of our own experience and further knowledge.” (Excerpt from William Penn and Benjamin Cole)
In today’s sermon I talk about Alexie Torres-Fleming from Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice. You can hear her talk at the Historic Peace Church gathering last year in Philadelphia, the talk is both inspiring and challenge, by clicking on this link (or you can download it by right clicking on the link and selecting “save as”). You can also see YouTube:
A couple weeks ago I preached on “Making Peace with the Earth.” For that service I prepared a handout with a variety of quotes and statements about Creation, or Earth care from Quaker meetings and yearly meetings around the world. I hope you find it helpful in thinking through this huge issue.
Here’s the link to download the .pdf http://www.box.net/shared/ecrs5736lx
This past Sunday we watched two short films on human trafficking, both of which are available to borrow from our meeting’s library (check the foyer). We also had a guest come and share with us about her personal experience of working with victims of human trafficking. If you’re interested in contacting her for more information please contact the office and we will put you in touch with Candice.
I mentioned that I would post information on our website with links to organizations doing work and places where you can find more details. So here is a rough list I’ve compiled.
Human Trafficking Defined
The TVPA defines “severe forms of trafficking” as:
A victim need not be physically transported from one location to another in order for the crime to fall within these definitions. (Trafficking Report)
27 million are estimated to be trafficked world-wide and an estimated 2 million women and children are held in sexual servitude throughout the world.
There between 50, 000 and 100, 000 in the US (depending on whose statistics you check). I have also heard that 1 and 3 runaways in the US are trafficked. Trafficking is especially a problem for immigrants who are vulnerable because of language and legal disadvantages. Continue reading
