18/08/2026
Now appeal to the 39th NYM AGC delegates. //long post alert.
FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL CENTRE MEETING – NGONG ROAD
THE STORY WITHIN THE FIC STORY
A Substantive Response to SECTION 3A on Page 48 under Elders’ Committee Report
Presented to the 39th Nairobi Yearly Meeting Annual Delegates Conference
Vikwatani, Kilifi County | 19–21 August 2026
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Distinguished Delegates,
Friends International Centre Meeting (FIC), Ngong Road, is a constituent Meeting of Nairobi Yearly Meeting (NYM), through NRMM.
We come before this 39th Annual Delegates Conference not to attack Nairobi Yearly Meeting, but because we are part of Nairobi Yearly Meeting and care deeply about its integrity, unity and future.
We respectfully contest significant portions of Section 3A on Page 48 under Elders’ Committee Report of the Elders Committee Report appearing on page 14 of the 39th Annual Delegates Conference booklet.
Our concern is not simply that we disagree with its conclusions.
Our concern is more fundamental.
We contend that the report is procedurally defective, materially incomplete, factually disputed and incapable, in its present form, of providing this Conference with a sufficiently balanced basis upon which to make a fair determination concerning FIC.
The report does not adequately address the long-running questions surrounding: -
1. Repeated interference with FIC nomination processes;
2. Removal and replacement of nominated leadership;
3. Appointment and accountability of caretaker arrangements;
4. The constitutional autonomy and responsibility of the Local Meeting;
5. The prolonged closure of the FIC Sanctuary;
6. Interference with pastoral offices and employment relationships;
7. Recurring concerns regarding payment of pastors and church workers;
8. Petitions submitted by FIC members but not substantively determined;
9. The absence of an independent reconciliation process;
10. Disputed allegations of violence, bloodshed and gender-based violence;
11. The impact of the dispute on children, teenagers, youth, families and ministries;
12. Concerns about stewardship and the increasingly commercial orientation of the Centre; and
13. Active court proceedings and orders affecting some of the matters now being presented to this conference.
14. Procedural take over of FIC centre by QICL
15. Damage of the borehole sunk from contribution of the members
These matters cannot fairly be reduced to the labels of "disobedience" or "violence."
There is a deeper governance crisis that this Conference must confront.
At stake is not merely who occupies leadership positions at FIC.
At stake is whether the Church will consistently uphold its own Constitution, Quaker processes of discernment, principles of natural justice, responsible stewardship, the dignity of its workers, and the right of its members to worship.
We therefore respectfully ask this Conference not merely to receive SECTION 3A on Page 48 under Elders’ Committee Report, but to interrogate it.
Ask what evidence supports it.
Ask what evidence was omitted.
Ask whether every affected party was heard.
Ask whether those investigating the dispute were sufficiently independent from the decisions being challenged.
Ask whether the constitutional structures of Local Meeting, Monthly Meeting and Yearly Meeting were respected.
And above all, ask whether the continued closure of a place of worship is a proportionate or spiritually defensible response to a leadership dispute.
Our prayer is therefore for truth before judgment, hearing before condemnation, reconciliation before punishment, and constitutional order before administrative convenience.
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1. THE CENTRAL QUESTION BEFORE THIS CONFERENCE
Distinguished Delegates,
It would be easy to frame FIC as a story about difficult members, disobedient leaders or resistance to authority.
That framing is incomplete.
The real question is:
«What happens when members believe that the very structures entrusted with safeguarding constitutional order have themselves departed from that order?»
Obedience is important within the Church.
But Christian obedience cannot mean unquestioning submission to every administrative decision irrespective of procedure.
Authority and accountability must coexist.
The NYM Constitution exists precisely because even legitimate authority requires boundaries, procedures and safeguards.
Quaker governance is also not built upon command alone.
It rests upon discernment, consultation, collective responsibility, truth, equality, integrity and peaceful resolution of differences.
Consequently, the proper question is not simply:
"Did FIC obey NYM?"
The Conference must also ask:
"Did every organ of NYM and FIC act within its constitutional mandate and according to proper procedure?"
That is the more difficult question.
It is also the fairer one.
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2. SECTION 3A ON PAGE 48 UNDER ELDERS’ COMMITTEE REPORT SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS AN INDEPENDENT FINDING
Our first substantive objection concerns the process through which the Elders Committee Report was produced.
Where a dispute involves allegations against particular organs or officials of NYM, elementary fairness requires that the body investigating those allegations should be sufficiently independent from the parties whose conduct is being questioned.
FIC members contend that this safeguard was absent.
The Committee was constituted within a structure that was itself involved in the underlying dispute.
The fundamental problem is therefore not necessarily the character or integrity of individual Committee members.
The problem is institutional independence.
Even well-intentioned people can produce an unfair outcome where the process itself does not adequately protect impartiality.
The composition and findings also bear substantial similarities to an earlier process undertaken in July 2022.
This raises an important question:
Was the Committee genuinely reconsidering the dispute afresh, or effectively validating a position that had already been reached?
The Conference should therefore resist treating SECTION 3A on Page 48 under Elders’ Committee Report as an independent judicial determination.
It is one account of a disputed situation.
FIC is presenting another.
The responsibility of this Conference is to establish a process through which the truth can be fairly determined.
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3. MATERIAL PETITIONS HAVE NOT BEEN FAIRLY DETERMINED
FIC members have raised substantive petitions concerning interference in nominations, governance, employment, stewardship and the closure of the Meeting.
Those petitions deserved a clear institutional response.
A petition is not answered merely because its receipt has been acknowledged.
A meaningful response requires:
- Acknowledgement of the issues raised;
- Examination of the supporting evidence;
- An opportunity for affected persons to be heard;
- Disclosure of the decision reached;
- Reasons for that decision; and
- An opportunity for review or reconciliation where disagreement persists.
Where members raise complaints against a structure, those complaints should not simply be returned to substantially the same structure for determination.
That creates an obvious perception of conflict.
No party should effectively investigate itself and then present its own findings as conclusive.
This Conference therefore has an opportunity to correct the institutional weakness by establishing an independent mechanism.
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4. THE MATTERS BEFORE THE COURTS CANNOT BE IGNORED
Distinguished Delegates,
Some of the issues discussed in SECTION 3A on Page 48 under Elders’ Committee Report are currently before competent courts.
There are presently two active matters of particular relevance.
A. High Court – Constitutional and Human Rights Division
HCCHRPET No. 594 of 2025
This matter concerns, among other issues, the attempted removal of the then nominated FIC leadership.
Orders maintaining the status quo were issued pending further orders of the Court.
B. Employment and Labor Relations Court
ELRC Petition No. 271 of 2025
This matter concerns, among other things, alleged constructive dismissal and interference with FIC employment relationships.
Orders maintaining the status quo were also issued.
Other proceedings had previously been withdrawn to create an opportunity for dialogue and internal resolution.
One matter was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds after being filed before the wrong court.
The important point is this:
A dismissal on jurisdictional grounds is not necessarily a determination of the underlying merits of the dispute.
Neither should the withdrawal of proceedings intended to create space for dialogue be subsequently portrayed as proof that the grievances were baseless.
FIC members contend that despite opportunities for dialogue, a genuine structured reconciliation process did not follow.
Meanwhile, actions affecting nominated leadership, pastoral offices and access to the Sanctuary continued.
This Conference must therefore exercise great caution before endorsing disputed factual conclusions while related matters remain under judicial consideration.
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5. THE QUESTION OF COMPLIANCE WITH COURT ORDERS
This issue deserves particular seriousness.
FIC members contend that actions were taken affecting the nominated leadership, pastors' offices and access to the Sanctuary despite subsisting status quo orders.
Whether particular actions amounted legally to a breach of those orders is ultimately a matter for the courts to determine.
We therefore do not ask this Conference to assume the role of the Court.
However, this Conference is entitled to ask:
What were the orders?
When were they issued?
Who was aware of them?
What actions were subsequently taken?
Were legal opinions obtained before those actions were undertaken?
Were those actions consistent with both the letter and spirit of the orders?
A Church that expects its members to respect lawful authority must itself demonstrate the highest respect for lawful authority.
The integrity of the Church requires nothing less.
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6. THE TRUE CAUSE OF THE DISPUTE IS CONTESTED
SECTION 3A on Page 48 under Elders’ Committee Report reportedly attributes the conflict to "disobedience and violence."
FIC strongly disputes that characterization.
The dispute did not begin with the closure of the Sanctuary.
The closure is a consequence of a much longer governance conflict.
At the heart of that conflict are questions concerning:
- Nomination of FIC leaders;
- Dissolution of nomination structures;
- Removal of nominated leadership;
- Appointment of caretaker arrangements;
- Interference in Local Meeting administration;
- Employment and pastoral relationships;
- The boundaries of NYM authority;
- The constitutional role of the Monthly Meeting; and
- The autonomy and responsibilities of FIC as a Local Meeting.
In April 2023, the FIC nomination process was disrupted.
The then Nominations Committee was disbanded and a Caretaker Committee installed.
Members questioned both the constitutional basis of that intervention and the accountability of the resulting structure.
A subsequent leadership arrangement, including a Presiding Clerk whom members contend had been forced upon the Meeting, was itself later terminated before completing its full term.
A further leadership arrangement followed.
This means FIC has experienced three major disruptions to nominated leadership in less than three years.
That cannot simply be dismissed as coincidence.
It requires examination.
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7. THREE LEADERSHIP DISRUPTIONS IN LESS THAN THREE YEARS
Distinguished Delegates,
Quaker nomination is supposed to be an exercise in discernment.
It cannot become meaningful only when the outcome is acceptable to a superior administrative structure.
Where nominated leadership is repeatedly dissolved, replaced or prevented from completing its term, the integrity of the nomination process itself is endangered.
Members begin asking:
Why nominate leaders if the nomination can subsequently be overridden?
Why discern collectively if an administrative decision can replace the outcome?
Why establish constitutional structures if they can be bypassed whenever disagreement occurs?
This is why FIC maintains that the issue is not simply personalities.
The issue is institutional precedent.
Whatever this Conference permits at FIC today could become the precedent applied to another Local Meeting tomorrow.
That is why every delegate—not merely delegates sympathetic to FIC—has an interest in resolving this question properly.
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8. LOCAL MEETING AUTONOMY DOES NOT MEAN INDEPENDENCE FROM NYM
We wish to be absolutely clear.
FIC does not claim to be independent of Nairobi Yearly Meeting.
FIC belongs to the wider Quaker structure and accepts legitimate constitutional accountability.
But there is a difference between oversight and takeover.
There is a difference between guidance and command.
There is a difference between constitutional intervention and administrative convenience.
The Quaker structure recognizes Local Meetings, Monthly Meetings and the Yearly Meeting for a reason.
Each has functions and responsibilities.
Reporting and accountability must follow the constitutional chain and established structures.
If every Local Meeting can simply be directly administered from headquarters whenever disagreement occurs, the constitutional role of Local and Monthly Meetings becomes largely meaningless.
The issue before us is therefore not whether NYM has authority.
The question is the extent of that authority, the procedure through which it is exercised, and the safeguards against its misuse.
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9. NATURAL JUSTICE: HEAR THE OTHER SIDE
One of the oldest principles of justice is simple:
Hear the other side.
No person should be condemned without being given an adequate opportunity to know the allegations against them and respond.
FIC members contend that leaders and members of the Nominations Committee were removed without a proper hearing.
If this is disputed, the solution is straightforward.
Produce:
- Notices calling the affected persons to a hearing;
- The allegations presented to them;
- Minutes of the hearing;
- Their responses;
- Findings of the responsible body;
- Constitutional provisions relied upon;
- Reasons for removal; and
- Records showing how any appeal or review was handled.
These are not unreasonable demands.
They are the documentary trail that should accompany any serious institutional decision.
Where the procedure was proper, the records should demonstrate it.
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10. SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS REQUIRE SERIOUS EVIDENCE
Allegations of violence, bloodshed and gender-based violence are extremely serious.
Precisely because they are serious, they should never be used rhetorically.
They must be proved.
FIC members dispute those allegations.
Police were present during relevant events.
We therefore respectfully invite the Conference to request objective evidence:
- The relevant Police Occurrence Book entries;
- Statements made to police;
- P3 forms;
- Medical reports;
- Investigation reports;
- Photographs or other independently verified evidence;
- Criminal charges, if any;
- Identities of alleged victims, appropriately protected where required; and
- Findings of any competent investigative authority.
To our knowledge, no such body of evidence establishing the allegations has been presented to FIC members.
Members have also sworn affidavits giving their accounts of the events and these can be produced when required.
The Conference should therefore distinguish carefully between:
an allegation,
an investigation,
and
an established fact.
They are not the same thing.
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11. THE CHURCH MUST NOT WEAPONISE SERIOUS SOCIAL HARMS
Gender-based violence is a grave problem in society.
The Church should be among the institutions most committed to protecting victims.
That is precisely why the term GBV should never be casually attached to an institutional disagreement without evidence.
Doing so has two damaging consequences.
First, it may unjustly stigmatize persons against whom the allegation is made.
Second, it trivializes the experiences of genuine victims of gender-based violence.
If GBV occurred, it should be investigated properly and perpetrators held accountable.
If it did not occur, the allegation should not be allowed to remain permanently attached to FIC merely because it is rhetorically powerful.
Truth protects both victims and the wrongly accused.
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12. THE CLAIM THAT FIC REFUSED RECONCILIATION MUST BE TESTED
FIC disputes the suggestion that it rejected reconciliation.
From the earliest litigation in 2023, opportunities for mediation and dialogue have repeatedly arisen.
Some proceedings were withdrawn precisely to create room for internal dialogue.
Concerned elders have also attempted to encourage reconciliation.
Yet FIC members are not aware of a properly constituted, independent mediation process that was formally offered to them and subsequently rejected.
This can be established objectively.
Let the Conference ask for:
- Letters inviting FIC to mediation;
- Names of proposed mediators;
- Dates and venues;
- Terms of reference;
- Minutes recording attendance;
- Correspondence in which FIC allegedly refused; and
- Recommendations arising from the process.
If those documents exist, let them be produced.
If they do not, then the allegation that FIC "refused reconciliation" should not be repeated as fact.
You cannot refuse a process that was never genuinely offered.
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13. FIC IS OFFERING MEDIATION NOW
To remove all doubt, let this Conference record the following:
FIC publicly offers itself for genuine mediation.
Not mediation controlled by either side.
Not a committee appointed solely by one of the disputing parties.
Not a process whose conclusion has already been determined.
We propose an independent panel comprising respected Quaker elders who have not previously participated in the dispute and, where appropriate, independent professional mediators.
Both FIC and NYM should agree upon the process.
Both should submit evidence.
Both should be heard.
Both should undertake to respect the outcome or recommendations arising from the process, subject to the Constitution and applicable law.
If reconciliation is genuinely our objective, there should be no reason to fear an independent table.
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14. THE CLOSURE OF THE SANCTUARY REQUIRES SEPARATE JUSTIFICATION
Whatever the merits of the leadership dispute, an entirely separate question must be answered:
Why must the Sanctuary remain closed?
Leadership disputes occur in churches.
Employment disputes occur.
Governance disputes occur.
But closing a Sanctuary to an entire congregation is an extraordinary measure.
Extraordinary measures require extraordinary justification.
FIC members have been substantially denied their ordinary worship environment for approximately six months.
The closure has affected far more people than those involved in the dispute.
It has affected:
- Children;
- Teenagers;
- Youth;
- Families;
- Elderly Friends;
- Ordinary worshippers;
- Sunday School;
- Bible study;
- Fellowship;
- Pastoral care;
- Ministry activities; and
- The spiritual life of the Meeting.
The Conference must therefore distinguish between managing disputed leadership and denying a congregation access to worship.
They are not the same issue.
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15. MORE THAN 300 MEMBERS PETITIONED FOR REOPENING
More than 300 concerned FIC members petitioned the NYM Presiding Clerk requesting reopening of the Sanctuary for physical worship and fellowship.
A reminder was subsequently sent.
NYM acknowledged receipt.
Yet approximately six months later, according to the information available to FIC members, no substantive determination has been communicated and the Sanctuary remains closed.
This raises another governance question.
What mechanism exists for ordinary members to seek redress when more than 300 members petition the Church leadership and receive no substantive determination?
The right to petition leadership becomes meaningless if petitions can simply be received and indefinitely left unanswered.
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16. CHILDREN SHOULD NOT BECOME COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Perhaps the most painful consequence of this dispute concerns those who had nothing to do with creating it.
Our children did not participate in leadership nominations.
Our teenagers did not appoint committees.
Our young people did not initiate court proceedings.
They did not write disputed reports.
They did not create the governance conflict.
Yet they are among those bearing its consequences.
For months, normal Sunday School, Bible study, youth interaction and physical fellowship have been disrupted.
Children grow quickly.
Six months in the life of a Church institution may appear temporary.
Six months in the spiritual formation of a child is significant.
If leadership disagrees, let leadership resolve its disagreements.
But do not make children serve the sentence for an offence they did not commit.
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17. PASTORS AND CHURCH WORKERS ARE ALSO PART OF THE CHURCH
The dispute has another dimension that must not disappear from the record: the treatment of pastors and church workers.
Concerns have previously been raised regarding late or non-payment of pastors and other workers, alongside interference with pastoral and employment relationships.
A Church cannot preach dignity on Sunday and disregard the dignity of its workers from Monday to Saturday.
Where salaries, allowances or other contractual obligations are outstanding, those matters should be transparently established and resolved.
This is not merely an administrative matter.
It is a question of justice.
The Constitution of Kenya recognizes fair labor practices under Article 41.
The Church's responsibility should go further than the minimum demanded by secular law.
Our testimony should require us to treat workers with fairness, honesty and dignity.
We therefore request:
1. Disclosure of any outstanding salary or employment obligations relating to affected FIC pastors and workers;
2. Reconciliation of amounts paid and amounts outstanding;
3. Settlement of legitimate arrears;
4. A transparent framework for timely future payment; and
5. Cessation of any conduct amounting to unlawful or constructive interference with employment relationships.
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18. THE PASTORAL DISMISSAL AND SUBSEQUENT RESTORATION
The pastor reportedly dismissed in 2023 was subsequently restored in 2024.
That history is important.
FIC members contend that the original removal did not follow the procedural requirements contemplated by the NYM Constitution and applicable employment principles.
The subsequent restoration raises an obvious question:
If the original process was unquestionably proper, why was restoration subsequently necessary?
We do not raise this to reopen old wounds.
We raise it because institutional learning requires honest examination of previous decisions.
A Church that cannot acknowledge procedural mistakes is likely to repeat them.
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19. FAIR ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION IS ALSO A CHRISTIAN VALUE
Kenya's constitutional framework provides useful safeguards against arbitrary institutional power.
Relevant principles include:
- Article 27 – Equality and freedom from discrimination;
- Article 32 – Freedom of conscience, religion, belief and opinion;
- Article 36 – Freedom of association;
- Article 41 – Fair labor practices;
- Article 47 – Fair administrative action; and
- Article 50 – Fair hearing.
We recognize that the precise legal application of these provisions depends upon the circumstances and is ultimately a matter for competent courts.
But the moral principles behind them should not be foreign to Friends.
They reflect values that Quakers themselves have historically defended:
equality, conscience, fairness, accountability and justice.
The Church should aspire not merely to comply with the minimum requirements of law.
It should model something better.
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20. QUAKER TESTIMONIES MUST APPLY WHEN THEY ARE DIFFICULT
We frequently speak of Quaker testimonies.
But testimonies mean little if they are invoked only when convenient.
Truth and Integrity
If allegations are made, they must be truthful and supported by evidence.
Equality
Senior officials and ordinary members must be subject to the same standards of accountability.
Peace
Conflict should be resolved through genuine reconciliation rather than escalating administrative confrontation.
Community
No institutional dispute should unnecessarily destroy fellowship or isolate members from worship.
Simplicity
Church structures should serve ministry rather than becoming instruments of excessive bureaucracy or control.
Stewardship
Property, finances and institutional authority should be exercised for the mission of the Church and transparently accounted for.
These testimonies should provide the moral framework within which the FIC dispute is resolved.
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21. FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP AND TRANSPARENCY REQUIRE ATTENTION
FIC occupies a unique position because it hosts NYM headquarters and also contains commercially utilized spaces.
This creates legitimate questions about stewardship.
Commercial activity is not inherently wrong.
Indeed, properly managed income-generating activity can support ministry.
The danger arises when commercial considerations begin competing with—or appearing to displace—the spiritual purpose of the Centre.
Members have raised concerns regarding financial stewardship, management arrangements and accountability.
These concerns deserve an independent response rather than speculation from either side.
Where necessary, an independent financial and governance review should establish:
- Income generated from FIC property;
- Expenditure attributable to FIC;
- Responsibility for financial decisions;
- Treatment of income from commercial tenants;
- Outstanding obligations to pastors and workers;
- Approval procedures for major financial decisions;
- Audit arrangements; and
- Whether governance and financial responsibilities are being exercised in accordance with the Constitution.
Transparency would protect both FIC and NYM.
If everything is properly managed, an independent review will demonstrate that.
If weaknesses exist, they can then be corrected.
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22. INDEPENDENCE OF AUDIT AND OVERSIGHT
Any audit or governance review arising from this dispute must itself be independent.
The credibility of an audit depends not merely on professional qualifications but also on independence from the matters being examined.
Concerns previously raised regarding appointments to audit or oversight roles—including questions surrounding the suitability and independence should therefore be addressed transparently rather than personalized.
The correct question is not whether an individual is "for FIC" or "for NYM."
The correct question is:
Can the person or institution reasonably be regarded by all sides as independent, competent and free from conflicts that could undermine confidence in the process?
That standard protects everybody.
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23. CONCERN OVER COMMERCIALISATION OF THE CENTRE
FIC members have expressed concern that hosting NYM headquarters has gradually exposed the Centre to increasing administrative and commercial control.
At one stage, the name "Rafiki Centre" was reportedly promoted, reinforcing concerns about a shift in institutional identity.
We should be careful here.
FIC does not claim that commercial activity itself proves improper motive.
That would require evidence.
Our concern is instead one of institutional direction.
The Conference should establish:
What is the primary purpose of Friends International Centre?
Is it principally:
- A worship center;
- A spiritual and ministry center;
- NYM headquarters;
- A commercial property;
- Or some combination of these?
If it is a combination, which purpose takes priority when the interests conflict?
The fact that commercial tenants may continue operating while worshippers cannot access their Sanctuary naturally creates concern.
That concern deserves a reasoned answer.
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24. THE CONTRADICTION OF AN OPEN COMMERCIAL CENTRE AND A CLOSED SANCTUARY
This Conference should reflect carefully upon the symbolism of the present situation.
Businesses may access their premises.
Commercial activity may continue.
Yet Friends cannot freely gather in their own Sanctuary.
Whatever administrative explanation exists, the spiritual message communicated by that arrangement is troubling.
A Church property must never appear more accessible for commerce than for worship.
This Conference has the authority and moral responsibility to correct that perception.
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25. SELECTIVE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CLOSURE
Many of those participating in decisions affecting FIC are themselves able to attend physical worship in their respective Local Meetings.
Their children can attend Sunday School.
Their youth can fellowship.
Their families can gather for worship.
FIC members do not presently enjoy the same normal access to their own Sanctuary.
That disparity deserves consideration.
Leadership decisions should not impose prolonged spiritual consequences upon one congregation where less restrictive alternatives exist.
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26. REOPENING DOES NOT REQUIRE SETTLING EVERY DISPUTE FIRST
This is an important distinction.
The Conference does not have to resolve every leadership, constitutional, employment and legal dispute before reopening the Sanctuary.
Those matters can proceed separately.
A temporary worship arrangement can be established immediately.
For example, the Conference can direct that:
- The Sanctuary reopen solely for worship and ministry;
- Agreed neutral Friends maintain order;
- Disputed leadership questions remain without prejudice;
- No party use worship services to campaign or provoke confrontation;
- All parties respect existing court orders;
- Pastors and worshippers be allowed reasonable access;
- Commercial and worship operations remain clearly separated; and
- Independent mediation commence immediately.
This is the practical middle path.
It protects worship without prejudging the litigation or leadership dispute.
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27. WHAT FIC IS NOT ASKING FOR
For avoidance of doubt, FIC is not asking this Conference to declare FIC automatically right and NYM automatically wrong.
That would reproduce precisely the problem we are complaining about.
We ask instead for a fair process.
If FIC members have acted wrongly, let evidence establish it and let appropriate constitutional measures follow.
If NYM officials have acted wrongly, let the same standard apply.
If both sides have made mistakes—as often occurs in prolonged conflicts—let both acknowledge them.
Reconciliation requires accountability from everyone.
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28. WHAT FIC IS ASKING THIS CONFERENCE TO DO
We respectfully request the 39th Annual Delegates Conference to resolve as follows:
1. SECTION 3A ON PAGE 48 UNDER ELDERS’ COMMITTE REPORT
That SECTION 3A on Page 48 under Elders’ Committee Report be expunged, suspended from adoption, or expressly marked as contested pending an independent process.
2. INDEPENDENT FACT-FINDING
That an independent and mutually acceptable team be appointed to establish the relevant chronology, evidence and constitutional issues.
3. IMMEDIATE REOPENING OF THE SANCTUARY
That the FIC Sanctuary be reopened for peaceful worship under temporary agreed guidelines, without determining the merits of pending litigation.
4. INDEPENDENT MEDIATION
That a mediation team comprising neutral Quaker elders and, where necessary, independent professional mediators be constituted within a defined timeframe.
5. PRESERVATION OF THE STATUS QUO
That all parties respect existing court orders and refrain from actions that could prejudice pending proceedings.
6. GOVERNANCE REVIEW
That the nomination and leadership interventions affecting FIC since 2022/2023 be independently reviewed against the NYM Constitution and established Quaker procedure.
7. DOCUMENTARY DISCLOSURE
That relevant minutes, appointment letters, committee mandates, disciplinary decisions, petitions, responses and directives concerning FIC be made available to the independent process.
8. EMPLOYMENT REVIEW
That the employment position of FIC pastors and workers, including alleged salary arrears or delayed payments, be independently reconciled and legitimate obligations settled.
9. FINANCIAL AND STEWARDSHIP REVIEW
That an independent review establish the governance and stewardship of FIC income, expenditure, commercial activities and property.
10. PROTECTION OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH
That Sunday School, youth fellowship, Bible study and other ordinary ministries be restored without waiting for the leadership dispute to be finally determined.
11. NO RETALIATION
That members, pastors, employees and officials participating honestly in mediation or independent fact-finding be protected from retaliation or victimization.
12. REPORT BACK
That the independent process report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate constitutional organs within an agreed timeframe.
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29. A PROPOSED ROADMAP: FROM CONFRONTATION TO RECONCILIATION
This Conference should not merely diagnose the problem.
It should create a path out of it.
We propose:
PHASE ONE – IMMEDIATE DE-ESCALATION
Reopen the Sanctuary.
Restore peaceful worship.
Respect all court orders.
Stop unilateral changes affecting disputed leadership or employment arrangements.
PHASE TWO – ESTABLISH THE FACTS
Collect all relevant documents.
Establish an agreed chronology.
Hear FIC.
Hear NYM.
Hear NRMM.
Hear pastors and affected employees.
Hear relevant elders and committee members.
Examine the disputed allegations objectively.
PHASE THREE – MEDIATION
Identify areas where facts are agreed.
Identify genuine constitutional disagreements.
Separate personal grievances from institutional questions.
Develop mutually acceptable solutions.
PHASE FOUR – GOVERNANCE RESTORATION
Agree upon a constitutional nomination process.
Restore legitimate Local Meeting structures.
Clarify the respective responsibilities of FIC, NRMM and NYM.
Address employment and financial obligations.
PHASE FIVE – HEALING
The final stage must go beyond administration.
There will need to be acknowledgement of hurt.
Where apologies are necessary, let them be offered.
Where forgiveness is required, let it be sought.
Where reputations have been unfairly damaged, let them be restored.
Where members have acted improperly, let responsibility be accepted.
Winning the dispute without healing the Meeting would still be failure.
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30. THE PRECEDENT THIS CONFERENCE WILL SET
Distinguished Delegates,
This matter is bigger than Friends International Centre.
The decision made here will speak to every Local Meeting within Nairobi Yearly Meeting.
It will answer questions such as:
Can Local Meeting nominations be repeatedly overridden?
What happens when members petition NYM leadership?
Who investigates allegations against NYM structures themselves?
How independent must such an investigation be?
Can an entire Sanctuary be closed because of leadership conflict?
What safeguards protect pastors and Church employees?
How does the Church respond when constitutional interpretation itself becomes disputed?
The precedent established at FIC may one day protect another Meeting.
For that reason, delegates should not decide this matter according to personalities.
Decide it according to principles.
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CLOSING APPEAL
Distinguished Delegates,
Friends International Centre is not a building.
It is not a commercial property.
It is not a court file.
It is not a Presiding Clerk.
It is not a committee.
It is not NYM headquarters.
FIC is a community of Friends.
It consists of children learning the faith.
Teenagers discovering who they are.
Young people searching for belonging and purpose.
Parents raising families.
Elderly Friends who have worshipped for decades.
Pastors called to ministry.
Workers supporting the institution.
And ordinary Friends who simply want somewhere to worship God.
These people must not disappear behind our institutional disagreement.
We therefore ask this Conference to exercise what may be called Solomonic wisdom.
Do not automatically side with FIC.
Do not automatically side with NYM.
Side with truth.
Side with evidence.
Side with the Constitution.
Side with due process.
Side with justice.
Side with reconciliation.
And when all the arguments have been made, remember the children.
Our children did not nominate the disputed leaders.
They did not dissolve committees.
They did not issue administrative directives.
They did not file court proceedings.
They did not close the Sanctuary.
Yet they are living with the consequences.
We can do better.
We can follow our Constitution without abandoning compassion.
We can exercise authority without excessive control.
We can disagree without destroying fellowship.
We can investigate wrongdoing without prejudging people.
We can protect institutional order without closing the doors of worship.
We can reconcile without requiring either side to surrender its dignity.
Christ Himself demonstrated that authority and humility are not opposites.
Though Lord, He washed the feet of His disciples.
And He said:
«"You are my friends if you do what I command." — John 15:14»
Perhaps the greatest testimony this 39th Annual Delegates Conference can give is not that one side defeated another.
Perhaps it is that when the Church faced division, Friends chose to listen.
When accusation threatened fellowship, Friends chose truth.
When power could have prevailed, Friends chose justice.
When children found the doors closed, Friends opened them.
And when reconciliation appeared impossible, Friends sat together until a way forward was found.
For the sake of Christ,
For the integrity of Nairobi Yearly Meeting,
For the future of Friends International Centre,
And especially for the children, teenagers and young people who will inherit the Church we leave behind:
LET THE SANCTUARY OPEN.
LET THE PARTIES BE HEARD.
LET THE EVIDENCE SPEAK.
LET THE CONSTITUTION GUIDE US.
AND LET RECONCILIATION BEGIN.
Thank you, Distinguished Delegates, for hearing this appeal.
GOD BLESS THE 39TH ANNUAL DELEGATES CONFERENCE.
GOD BLESS NAIROBI YEARLY MEETING.
GOD BLESS FRIENDS INTERNATIONAL CENTRE.
GOD BLESS THE CHILDREN AND THE FUTURE OF OUR CHURCH.
AMEN.
