QWI News & Views Churches Are Burning! Current Projects How to Help Volunteer for a Workcamp

What is QWI? Quaker Workcamps International (QWI) is an organization dedicated to practical peacemaking in the Quaker tradition. We affirm the intrinsic worth of all people by providing volunteers to communities with building needs, not only to build physical structures, but to affirm God's love and caring for all people. Through workcamping side by side, we experience the interrelatedness of the human community and our interconnection to the natural world. What is a workcamp? A workcamp is a voluntary coming together of people to accomplish a task, usually involving construction or renovation. Quakers have been workcamping since World War I. Workcamps have involved war relief, work in soup kitchens or shelters, and recently, rebuilding arson-burned churches. History of Quaker Workcamps QWI was born to fulfill the ministry to burned churches in 1997. This ministry has been going on under Friends' care since 1996 (originally under the auspices of Washington Quaker Workcamps). If we step back further in history we may see this witness as an extension of 33 Mississippi churches rebuilt by a joint committee of New York and Philadelphia Yearly Meetings in 1964. Current Projects How Can I Help? How Can I Volunteer for a Workcamp?

News On September 7th, 2000, the Rapture Church Center in Aberdeen, Maryland burned down. We're helping the congregation rebuild this summer. See Current Projects for details. Past News: In the spring of 2000 the congregation of the Community Baptist Church in Cedar Heights Maryland returned to their rebuilt church. Read Harold Confer's description of the joyous event. Reflections on Evil and Good on the Occasion of the Ground Breaking of Community Baptist Church, 6/26/99. Churches Continue to Burn- Five over the Christmas Holidays in Georgia National Church Arson Task Force makes Second Report to the President Two Love Stories Come Out of the First Community Baptist Workcamp First Full Year: A Roller coaster Ride Call our main office to subscribe to the QWI (paper) newsletter, which is printed approximately quarterly.

Quaker Workcamps International 1225 Geranium St., NW Washington, DC 20012 (202) 722-1461 Office (202) 723-5376 Fax Director: Harold Confer website maintained by: Larry Clarkberg last updated 10/3/00