Greetings in the Spirit of Friends everywhere.

We have gathered this week on the peaceful campus of George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon, to center our thoughts upon the theme, "Act in the Truth." Uniting under that broad banner, we have experienced a rich array of presentations. As we have done so, we have become more conscious of both the theological and practical differences that shape our members individually and our Friends’ institutions corporately, as well as more blessedly, the broad strains of hope and feeling we cherish in common.

The diversity found here has focused us upon the task of pulling together the connection of truth as not in the head or in the heart, but of the two in tandem. We have been blessed with a rich panoply of plenary sessions: Arthur Roberts’ "epistle to his fellow academicians to be "bold Christian scholars" who dare to "accept cruciform logic" in revealing truth to students; David Rawson’s unstinting analysis of the problems of truth telling as related to the Rwandan genocide of the last decade; panel discussions on building intentional community and remaining truthful to our institutional mission in our Quaker colleges. We have been admonished to resist the allure of "market-tool community" (Gregg Lamm) and to remember that "support follows vision" (Paul Anderson).

Our presentations and workshops have formed a kaleidoscope view of the problems and promise of truth, focusing on the practical (administrative mechanisms for helping students face the truth of their academic situations and the perennial issues of grading), the philosophical/theological (the functions of faith and critical reasoning in seeking the truth), the historical (the history of Quaker Colleges and the history of an avenue that borders one of our colleges), the economic (Quakers and the global economy), and the technical (sharing portions of the conference with others in England, Australia, and the east coast – and doing it in real time).

We have gathered in worship together, planned and spontaneous, enriched by a deep silence from which arose the spirit-fed response to an earlier plenary session and by prepared reflections on the meaning of partnership. We have renewed friendships and made new ones, welcoming everyone from college presidents to program coordinators into our gathered community. We celebrated pie and ice cream, Earl’s birthday, Taariq’s first steps.

We have been especially grateful to George Fox University, including President David Brandt, and to the members of the local arrangements committee, for their infectious hospitality – and we have been blessed with beautiful weather.

The reconnecting made possible by the conference provides both the tools and renewed energy for continuing commitments to maintain our identity both in Quaker institutions and in non-Quaker institutions. The reconnecting reminds us that we honor our commitment to scholarship and to relationships. We left feeling energized for what is to come.

We look forward to next year’s conference at Haverford College as well as to the conversations and connections among us as we continue to Act in the Truth.