Friends General Conference

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For Earthcare, with Love Foremost

INVITATION FOR MIAMI FRIENDS MEETING, for 10/02/2016 at 9:30am, to attend a Meeting for Learning facilitated by Warren Hoskins, Jane Westberg and Brad Stocker (continuing the series provided by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee for the first Firstday of each month). 

For Earthcare, with love foremost

     We continue to bring forward our concern for having a habitable Earth for our children and grandchildren, and the generations after them. We seek to hold this concern higher in our awareness. We feel it pressing urgently. We feel the need of constant productive attention to this concern. Increasingly, we feel called to hear and observe more, to reflect more in group worship, and to seek leadings. Questions arise: What is our way forward? What actions do we discern as necessary and timely now? Who will provide the informed leadership?

Quakers are known to say often, "Way will open." In experience, it is usually addressed to individual struggles. Much less often do we say that we perceive the opening before us as a body, on large matters, and it may be time to prepare to make such corporate discernments on climate issues, for all Friends everywhere. 

Come share with us what we’ve been learning about the leadership of indigenous peoples in confronting destruction of habitat, devastation of land and the spreading contamination of our shared air and water. See a short video on the Standing Rock Sioux and their confrontation with authorities resulting in a partial and perhaps temporary halt to the construction of the North Dakota Access Pipeline Hear short updates on this “#NoDAPL” movement which Quakers across the continent are turning their attention to. Learn of ways Friends are becoming supportive, becoming receptive to understanding the spiritual basis of indigenous actions to preserve and protect our Earth in a livable state.

Minute of Quaker Earthcare Witness in Support of the Tribal Nations in Their Efforts to Halt the Pipeline

Quaker Earthcare Witness is a network of Friends (Quakers) in North America and other like-minded people, who see the ecological and social crises of our times as matters of deep spiritual concern.

We are called to support the voices and actions of the more than 150 Tribal Nations at Sacred Stones Camp in North Dakota, and of others who have come forward to join them in peaceful protest, in protection of the water of the Missouri from the danger of contamination from a fossil fuel pipeline.

We see in the events at Sacred Stones Camp a clear example of how ecological and social concerns are blended in real life, when people take a stand to protect the Earth and themselves.

We are aware that the indigenous peoples of this continent have suffered greatly from the incursions of those bent on extracting resources, particularly fossil fuels, without regard for the life-ways and well-being of those peoples.  We see in this practice a directly connected disregard for the healthy functioning of the planetary systems on which we all depend.

We decry the use of violence against the protesters by private security forces, and we urge local civil authorities to protect the people from such violence, as they are sworn to do.

We endorse the August 30, 2016 minute of the Indian Affairs Committee of New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, [appended to original QEW minute], and stand in solidarity with and gratitude to the Tribes and their supporters as they protest against the construction of the pipeline.

We encourage others to take non-violent action to oppose incursions on the lives and well-being of indigenous peoples and of our planet Earth, wherever they occur.

QEW, Sept. 8, 2016.

[This invitation announcement prepared by Warren, open to improvement as discerned, as we go forward.]
Warren Hoskins
Cel. 786.~ 253.~6997 
Sharing the Peace Page of the Southeastern Yearly Meeting of Friends - 
http://seymquakers.org/faith-in-action/peace-social-concerns/
Sunday, October 2, 2016 - 9:30am to 10:30am
Miami Friends Meetinghouse
United States
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