CANADIAN YEARLY MEETING
of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
91A Fourth Avenue
Ottawa ON K1 S 2L1

Phone: (613) 235-8553 or (888) 296-3222 - Fax: (613) 235-1753 cym-office@quaker.ca / www.quaker.ca

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Friends United Meeting
101 Quaker Hill Drive
Richmond, Indiana USA 47374-1926

Attn: Retha McCutchen, General Secretary

Dear Friends,

The policy of Friends United Meeting with regard to issues of sexuality in the appointment of staff and volunteers was brought to our attention by Baltimore Yearly Meeting and also by concerned Friends within our own yearly meeting. We are not in unity with this policy. Our Yearly Meeting has minuted a very clear policy in support of same-sex marriages and understands that such marriages are as much a leading of the Spirit as for heterosexual couples. We also understand and support those couples who are living within a committed relationship but who do not wish to marry.

As a member of Friends United Meeting we are troubled by policies that do not reflect this understanding of God's leading. We are very aware that if such a policy was accepted by our Yearly Meeting there are many Friends currently serving who would be excluded from service. We value the contributions of all Friends equally and do not place conditions on service other than that there be a true leading of the Spirit.

We are committed to our affiliation with FUM. We are concerned that this historic relationship is being damaged by a policy of discrimination that is unacceptable to us.

We agree with the statement that your General Board has made to Baltimore Yearly Meeting: "We are committed to listening deeply together, to sharing openly together and waiting together until such time as way opens to move us forward in community." We need to find a practical way to exercise this commitment. We hope that members of the FUM General Board can work with members of those Yearly Meetings who are similarly troubled by this policy. We are convinced that the Spirit that guides us all will bring us to unity on this matter before too long.

In Friendship,

Rick McCutcheon
Presiding Clerk

cc: Signy Fridriksson
Keith Maddock
Baltimore YM
Friends General Conference

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