Yearly Meeting 2005
Guarding our Hearts...the wellspring of life

Epistle of the 193rd Annual Meeting of
Evangelical Friends Church - Eastern Region

It is in the name of Jesus Christ that we cordially greet Friends around the world from our gathering in Canton, Ohio.

Our tradition of beginning Yearly meeting with two identical missionary banquet sessions (to accommodate the numbers) continued in 2005. Approximately 500 people greeted nearly 30 active and retired missionaries gathered at Malone College, representing mission fields in Nepal, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Taiwan, Rwanda, Hungary, China, and Hispanics in the U.S. Russell and Esther Zinn were honored at their retirement for more than 40 years of ministry in Taiwan. Jacelyn Jones reported on her ministry to Filipina and Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong. Attendees were serenaded by a chorus of over 100 Spanish-speaking members of Hispanic Friends churches from Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Massachusetts, New York, and Toronto, and Virginia.

The Sunday evening worship service at host church Canton First Friends concluded with a message by General Superintendent Dr. John Williams, Jr. Speaking on the conference theme “Guarding Our Hearts... The Wellspring of Life,” (based on Proverbs 4:23). Williams spoke of God as “the ultimate cardiologist,” since He looks into our heart with love. He said Jesus calls us to guard our hearts against callousness with compassion, against materialism with the eyes of faith, and against a slow hardening by giving God what we have.

A two-hour “concert of worship, praise and prayer” served as prelude to the two days of meetings for business. The concert was held in the First Christian Church, a property adjacent to Malone College and soon-to-be-acquired by that Friends educational institution. Dr. Williams then provided his annual report to the delegates, highlighting in recent years: 16 consecutive years of attendance growth, three new churches planted in Albania, our Friends Disaster Service/s efforts in hurricane relief efforts, three physicians now on the mission field (Rwanda, India, China), 13 Hispanic congregations now meeting, eight new church plants with about 2500 average attendance, and fund raising in progress for support of missions, camping and assistance for Malone College’s purchase of First Christian Church, which will include a “Friends Chapel” sanctuary.

Friends Action Board is positioned to assist congregations develop ministries in such areas as abstinence, drug and alcohol abuse, gambling, homosexuality, prison ministries, pornography, right-to-life, and identity theft. they showed a EFC-ER -prepared video on the dilemmas of abortion, stem-cell research, and cloning. The board will do a survey of EFC-ER churches to identify specific areas of need for ministries to our broader society.

The Friends Disaster Service built two houses in Gloucester County, VA for victims of Hurricane Isabel, did hurricane clean up and rebuilds in Ohio and New Jersey (including a new house in Neffs, Ohio), teamed with Mid-America Yearly Meeting for a house rebuild in Palacios, TX and provided new generators and emergency food supplies for Florida hurricane victims.

The Missionary Board reported on the activities and growth in EFC-ER mission efforts in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Rwanda, Nepal, Hungary, Albania, Romania, Haiti and Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and India. Vicki Hinshaw, Evangelical Friends Missions Assistant Executive Director, highlighted mission efforts under the EFM banner.

Our Yearly Meeting’s Camp Gideon reported a camp attendance record in 2004 of 538 campers with registrations running a bit behind this summer. By Yearly Meeting time, 18 campers had made first time commitments to Jesus Christ. The fund raising campaign has received about a quarter of the goal.

On Monday evening Ted Haggard, senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs and president of the National Association of Evangelicals, addressed the gathering with the theme of developing a worldview which allows a return to the innocence lost in The Fall (preaching from the first two chapters of Genesis.) He said, as in The Garden, God seeks out those living in sin, those who have lost their innocence. Haggard stated his purpose was helping us grow “life-giving churches,” and wanting to help us “Make it hard to go to Hell from our city, but easy to go to Heaven.”

Malone College President Ron Johnson reported on the 113th year of the Friends-founded institution. The fall 2004 record enrollment of 2,253 highlighted a school year which included completion of a Wellness Center, groundbreaking for both a new School of Nursing building and an expansion of the Brehme Centennial Center.

The Christian Education Board will convene district C.E. “Think Groups” in 2006 to create and launch new education programs in local churches, will lead leadership training seminars in local churches as requested, and will continue the C.E. -mailed newsletter titled “E-Quip.”

Ministerial Accreditation Board has 22 candidates in the recording process and recommended John Pierce, Zach Rambaud, and Randy Thornburg for recording at this Yearly meeting.

The Communication Board continues to develop and promote new ways for our churches to communicate the Good News. Our Yearly Meeting website saw over 85,000 unique visitors in 2004 (including visitors from 12 other countries), with an average of 306 visitors each day. EFC-ER winners in this year’s EFI essay contest (“Just As I Am: Finding Acceptance in Christ”) were Devin Spain (Marysville, OH) Alix Bohler (Broadview Heights, OH), and Dusty Jenkins (Water of Life Church, Columbus, OH).

The Evangelistic Pastoral and Extension Board reported that 17 people are participating in various Yearly Meeting sponsored leadership training scholarships and internships. Responsibilities in assisting church plants, refocus projects, ethnic ministries, and congregation pastoral needs were exercised in 11 of our 94 churches. Special projects included formulating minimum pastor salaries, assisting in health care insurance needs, and participating in the development of the 2006 National Friends Pastors Conference in San Antonio.

The Youth Board hosted the annual “S.O.Y.” retreat for youth leaders, with Dr. John Geib as speaker. The 2005 Friends Youth Camp attracted 275 campers. This year’s senior high Yearly Meeting program was Crossing the Borders,” preparing our youth to reach out across cultural lines.

In Christ’s Service,

Wayne Ickes, Presiding Clerk.