16th
April 2012
BY: Alex Chepkoit & Bonface Njogu
Over one thousand Friends from parts of Asia, Africa, the Middle East,
Europe, Latin America and North America are gathering at Kabarak University-main
campus for the Largest Worldwide Conference of Friends.
The conference which will run from April 17 to 25th will provide
opportunities for discussions, worship sharing and prayer for the participants.
The conference is set to explore the
theme Being Salt and Light. It will
be explored through worship, small group discussions, by speakers from across
the globe and in working groups, looking at areas such as peace work, poverty
and the environment
According to Nancy Irving, the Friends World
Conference Secretary General, the conference shall seek to unite the spiritual
foundation of their faith with their understanding of the basis of the work in
the world.
In deciding the theme, the International Planning
Committee (IPC) drew inspiration from several Bible passages, including Matthew
5:13 (“You are the salt of the earth...”), Matthew 5:14-16 (“You are the light
of the world...”), Matthew 6:33 (“Seek ye first the Kingdom of God...”),
Matthew 6:9-13 (the Lord’s Prayer), Micah 4:4 (“They shall sit under their own
vines and fig trees and no one shall make them afraid.”), and Micah 6:8 (“...
And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”).
The theme is supplemented by a passage from Luke,
17:20-21. “The Kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed …
the Kingdom of God is among you.”
The second supporting quote for the theme is from
the eighteenth century American Friend John Woolman: “We have the prospect of
one common interest from which our own is inseparable, to turn all we possess
into the channel of universal love becomes the business of our lives.”
“This theme unites the spiritual foundation of our
faith with our understanding of the basis of our work in the world in all its
diversity,” said Irving.
For the seven days of the conference, worship will
underpin the participants’ time together and each day there will be
opportunities for stillness, prayer, singing and experiencing the diversity of
Friends' worship.
Participants will be assigned a home group - small
groups which will meet daily with more time for discussion, worship sharing and
to get to know other Friends on a deep level.
During the first three days of the conference,
working groups look at how Friends can respond to aspects of the theme. They
will be offered on around 40 different topics, or threads, and the insights
which emerge will be woven together later in the conference.
