How can local Quaker meetings and churches support the Friends called to ministry among them? How can the Religious Society of Friends transcend our internal differences to seek broader unity?

The Friends World Committee in the Americas is responding to these concerns. Six members of the FWCC Traveling Ministry Corps will share their stories, hopes, and advices with you.

Moderator:

Robin Mohr, Executive Secretary FWCC Americas. Robin has served as Executive Secretary of the Friends World Committee for Consultation Section of the Americas since 2011. In 2015, the Section adopted a new strategic plan, “Weaving the Tapestry 2015-2023,” available at www.fwccamericas.org. She and her husband Christopher are members of Green Street Monthly Meeting in Philadelphia YM and they have two children, now in high school and college. She writes for Quaker magazines, books and her own blog, What Canst Thou Say?

Panelists:

Debbie Humphries, New England YM. Debbie grew up Mormon and came to Quakerism in the early 1990s. Since then she has been a member of Ithaca (NY) Monthly Meeting, Charleston (WV) Monthly Meeting; and currently Hartford (CT) Monthly Meeting. She is currently clerk of the Ministry and Counsel Committee of New England Yearly Meeting. Debbie teaches at the Yale School of Public Health and conducts research on public health nutrition and community health, both in the US and internationally.

Geeta Jyothi McGahey, SAYMA. Geeta is a member of Celo (NC) Monthly Meeting. Coming from a Jewish, Advaita Vedanta background, Geeta was moved by the depth of the Christian message taught by early Quakers. Her prayer is that, with the spiritual grounding of early friends, hearts will be transformed to care more about creation, to care more about the poor threatened by climate disruption, to care more about each other, and to care more about the stranger. Her hope is that Friends can come together across divisions, go deeper into Truth and then work for the Kabarak Call and Sustainability with Climate Justice. Geeta is an experienced presenter and loves leading workshops and planning interactive activities. She is a semi-retired medical doctor, now working with opiate addicts.

Julie Peyton, Sierra Cascades YM. Julie is a member of West Hills Friends in Portland, OR, where she clerks the EarthCare Committee, and in the past has served as presiding clerk and recording clerk. In Northwest Yearly Meeting, she has served on the Epistle Committee, Nominating, and as an FWCC rep. She cares deeply about a core belief of Friends: that we all have access to the same Spirit, the Spirit who was there at the beginning of creation, and the Spirit that gave forth the Scriptures; thus we can listen together and be led together. She teaches chemistry at the college level.

Chuck Schobert, Northern YM. Chuck is a member of Madison (WI) Monthly Meeting, an unprogrammed congregation within Northern Yearly Meeting. He is a member of the FWCC Representative Engagement Committee, which engages Friends about the work of FWCC. In his ministry, God has called him to travel across the diverse branches of Friends, listening with his heart, seeking common ground and sharing the joy of spiritual transformation. He works as a veterinarian, which is one of the sources of his ministry.

Bill Smith, Philadelphia YM. Bill was raised in a Quaker family; his father was a Friends Pastor and his family lived in Ohio, Indiana, and Jamaica. Bill attended Earlham College and majored in Biology while taking several Religion Courses. In his senior year he served as an interim Pastor in Western Yearly Meeting and was recorded by Center Friends Meeting and West Branch Quarterly Meeting. As Bill and his wife, Marty, moved in the next 15 years they became part of UCC and Methodist churches, where they were known as the “local Quakers.” When they moved to New Jersey they became involved with unprogrammed Friends. Bill has taught Quakerism 101 and given workshops on Quakerism and the Bible for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Currently he is clerk of Moorestown meeting’s Worship & Ministry Committee.

Marty Smith, Philadelphia YM. Marty became a Quaker as a teenager after attending a Quaker camp in Indiana. After marriage and completing college, she moved with her family to New Jersey to teach Middle School math and science at Moorestown Friends School. As a classroom teacher, teacher educator, and religious educator, Marty has a passion for education and teacher support. While living in Kenya in 1972, the Smiths attended Nairobi Meeting and sessions of East Africa YM with their toddler in tow. In 1985 Marty became a member of Moorestown Meeting, where she has twice clerked the Meeting, been a FDS teacher, youth leader, facilitator of Quaker Parenting classes, and clerk of Religious Education (RE) and Pastoral Care Committees. During the 1990’s Marty served as Director of RE for Philadelphia YM, visiting many meetings in the Delaware Valley to help teachers create programs for children and youth during YM sessions. As a sojourning member of Honolulu Friends Meeting 2012-14, Marty was clerk of the RE Committee, taught Quaker Parenting, and helped create a Child Abuse Prevention policy.

Travel directions to Pendle Hill. Click view the flyer.