Envisioning 2014

- Posted by Publications Committee in Resources,  | 2 min read
By Shelley Tanenbaum, QEW General Secretary

What is in store for QEW in the coming year? As I begin my new job as your General Secretary, I’ve been thinking about new directions, areas that need shoring up and existing strong programs that we want to maintain and grow.

NEW DIRECTIONS

  • It was very exciting to see the excellent Nov/Dec themed issue of Befriending Creation on divestment. Our Sustainability Faith and Action working group decided in October to take on this issue along with re-investment and building a sustainable economy. We are also exploring ways to join in coalition with groups working on these concerns, such as 350.org and Green Faith.
  • We are exploring ways we can work in collaboration with other Quaker and like-minded organizations.

ENHANCING EXISTING PROGRAMS

  • QEW has an extensive network of Friends throughout North America. We will be providing information to this network regularly (beyond our regular publications) and strategizing about how to enlarge the network to include more Yearly Meetings.
  • Your Clerk, Roy Taylor, and I are both committed to visiting Monthly and Yearly Meetings. Let us know if you would like one of us to conduct an interest group, speak, or otherwise engage Friends in your area.
  • The publication of our most recent tri-fold, Contemplative Action in the Time of Climate Change, marks a recognition that our work needs to proceed on both programmatic and spiritual paths and that these are interlinked. We are exploring what this means in collaboration with other Quaker organizations.

KEEPING IT GOING

  • Through our website, BeFriending Creation, and our electronic newsletter, we will continue to spread information and keep in touch with our network. Please send us stories from your Monthly and Yearly Meetings and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.
  • We have an excellent working relationship with the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and our UN working group is actively following and reporting on UN and related international meetings, conferences, and agreements. We applaud QUNO for launching a program this past year to work on climate change; we will continue to support their work and report on their activities.
  • Our Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) working group continues to support FCNL’s policies and programs on Energy and the Environment and provide commentary on FCNL’s work.
  • We will continue to support the Young Adult Friends conferences at Pendle Hill and we will continue to provide scholarship funds for YAFs to attend QEW sessions.

What is the leading edge for your Monthly and Yearly Meeting, and what directions would you like to see QEW follow in 2014?

READ THE QEW ANNUAL REPORT

You can review and download the 2013 QEW Annual Report on the QEW website at www.quakerearthcare.org. You’ll find the report in web format in the Engage & Connect section of our site. We’ve also included a PDF version so that you can download the report to review as it is convenient for you.

Thanks, Friends!

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