Friends Journal

L

ast year, Hellen Lunkuse, a co-clerk of Bulungi Tree Shade Meeting in Kamuli, Eastern Uganda, earned a Global Leadership Award from Vital Voices Global Partnership for her work as founder and executive director of Rape Hurts Foundation. Rape Hurts Foundation is a nonprofit, non-govermental organization that offers trauma-informed care, education, and vocational training to female survivors of rape. Lunkuse accepted the award at an October 25, 2023 ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Vital Voices supports the foundation through capacity building, funding, and relocating rape survivors, according to Lunkuse. Since 1997, Vital Voices has supported more than 20,000 women, enabling skill acquisition, networking, and publicity, according to its website.

During a week-long capacity building training in D.C., Lunkuse shared her work with more than 1,000 people. Speaking of the training she received, she said, “It was a very important period of time.”

Rape Hurts Foundation and its partner organization, Bulungi Tree Shade Meeting, have a long-standing relationship with Olympia (Wash.) Meeting in the United States, which financially supports them and has sent members to visit them in Uganda.

Lunkuse and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the awards ceremony. Clinton is a cofounder of Vital Voices with the late Secretary Madeleine Albright.

In 1995, Lunkuse was raped at age 11 while gathering firewood and water. The attacker was a well-respected man in her community. Lunkuse’s father, as well as the rest of the village, demanded that she marry the assailant, but she refused. Lunkuse’s mother supported her, and the father threw both of them out of the house.

Based on her own experience, Lunkuse founded Rape Hurts Foundation in 2008, which offers practical and psychological care to women and girls who have survived rape in rural districts of Eastern Uganda. Poverty often keeps rape survivors from advocating for themselves, so the foundation offers vocational training to economically empower women and girls who have been victimized.

Bulungi Tree Shade Meeting, which Lunkuse started in 2019, gathers twice a week to meditate and to share the individual struggles that worshipers are facing. The meeting is also caring for 125 boys who were victims of sex trafficking. The police referred the trafficking victims to the meeting, according to Lunkuse.

“All the people that gather with us are survivors. Most of our people are typically needy,” Lunkuse said.

To address worshipers’ economic needs, the meeting offers food and education, including training in such skills as soap making, knitting, and crocheting. Members who have experienced sexual trauma start on a path to self-forgiveness through the meeting’s psychosocial support, according to Lunkuse.

Left: Members of Bulungi Tree Shade Meeting, including Lunkuse (second from left) and Rape Hurts Foundation program director Robert Mboizi (right). Right: A group of boys under the care of the meeting. Some of the boys are survivors of trafficking in persons, and others were abandoned by the guardians or parents. Photos courtesy of Hellen Lunkuse.

The meeting and the foundation receive support from Friends at Olympia Meeting, whose members David Albert and Kathleen O’Shaunessy first got involved in working in Uganda through serving on the board of Friendly Water for the World, an organization that partners with residents of countries in Africa to improve water supplies. At the village level, Friendly Water promotes building water storage tanks; at the household level, it offers slow sand filters to remove pathogens. Lunkuse’s undergraduate degree is in environmental management, and she started collaborating with Friendly Water for the World in 2015. Albert met Lunkuse when he visited Uganda in 2018 as part of his work with Friendly Water. That year a team came to Uganda for a conference, and Lunkuse got to know O’Shaunessy. Lunkuse appreciates the love and care of Olympia Meeting.

O’Shaunessy is a clinical psychologist who works with survivors of trauma and sexual abuse, and she attended a week-long conference in Mityana, Uganda, in 2018. During her month-long visit, she volunteered with Lunkuse to assist clients of Rape Hurts Foundation. Speaking through an interpreter, she counseled 25 female rape survivors for an hour each. When she asked each what they most needed help with, many mentioned food security and adequate shelter. O’Shaunessy credits Lunkuse for preparing the women to speak candidly about their lives and struggles. One 19-year-old woman who worked as a police officer explained that she would be fired from her job if her supervisors knew she was attending counseling sessions through Rape Hurts Foundation.

“They came prepared to be honest with me about their lives. And a number of them were kind of anxious. I felt frightened. But they all did. Every one of them did remarkably well. They were honest, and they had talked with me about what had gone on,” O’Shaunessy said.

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Giggling, she runs from the family room couch
where I sit and count, both hands over my eyes.
“1,2,3,4,5 and 5 is 10. Ready or not, here I come.”

First, in the kitchen, opening and slamming cabinet
drawers and doors, “No, not here. Not here, either,”
repeated loud while lifting corners of the tablecloth,

again as I look under a chair cushion, behind the curtain,
then seek into the living room to flip pages of a book
on the shelf, “She’s sure hiding good, where can she be?”

Muffled laughter in the closet, ever her same hiding spot,
as I pass the half open door, again not seeing her crouched
smiling presence as I continue my search into the hall.

“I wonder where that girl can be, I’ve looked everywhere.”
A tug on my pant leg, I turn around in wild surprise,
“Here I am, Papa, right here. See. You couldn’t find me.”

“You certainly are a wonderful hider, much better than me.
Now it’s my turn.” She counts with covered eyes as I slip
into the closet, same place as when her mommy was small.

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At that time Jesus said,

Plant trees easy
for kids to climb,
cherry and apple,
low to the ground,

or cloud-high
and many-branched
like the pine.

Let willows swing
laughing children
over the river.

Let catalpas provide,
with their great, green hearts,
places to hide and heal.

Suffer the children
to come to the trees.

The post Little Gospel appeared first on Friends Journal.

Her breath rose and fell
spaces between in and out growing wider
Gasping for air, heartbeat shallow and fast
feeble voice barely heard
pink skin turning purple
finally, breath stopped, heart raced a few seconds, concluded its beating.
The doors of body closed.
There is no return.

      May the rising sun sanctify and bless Your name
      We sing praises to the Holy One
      for the life of one we loved so long

Gasping for air, crying on an inhale
learning the in and out rhythm of breath
The fast heartbeat that slows with growth
purple skin turning pink
lungs growing a louder voice.
The gate of womb shut.
There is no return.

      May the falling rain sanctify and bless Your name.
      We sing praises to the Holy One
      for the new life we have been blessed with.

May the Lord of doors and gates
Going out and coming in
acorn and oak
child and old woman
bless our hearts with unceasing wonder
as we witness the commonness of mystery and holiness.
May Your name be praised into all eternity.

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Praying for results

Peter Blood-Patterson’s article on holding in the Light (“We Are All Held in Love,” FJ Mar.) really spoke to me. I have always felt that praying for a particular result was risky. As he stated, if the desired outcome does not come to pass, the pray-er may feel that they didn’t pray “hard enough,” or that the prayer’s beneficiary was somehow “out of harmony with God.” In addition, one can lose faith in a loving God who does not heal a person or situation in response to a fervent prayer.

He mentions scientist Jocelyn Bell’s stance that it is incongruent to believe in a God who is both all-loving and omnipotent (if omnipotent, how can a loving God allow tragedies?). This is also the conclusion reached by Leslie D. Weatherhead in the 1940s, who wrote The Will of God. I read this book as a college student in the 1970s and have re-read it several times since. Like Bell, Weatherhead, and Blood-Patterson, I have chosen an all-loving rather than all-powerful God. This has been invaluable in dealing with several personal challenges in my own life, which consequently did not shake my faith.

Kate Hood Seel
Greensboro, N.C.

Online: Peter Blood-Patterson discusses his article in a video interview at Friendsjournal.org/blood-patterson.

The power of prayer

I really appreciate Stan Becker’s exploration of prayer through a scientific lens (“Holding in the Light, Prayer, and Healing,” FJ Mar. online). As a former hospital chaplain, I was called upon to minister to strangers in the emergency room all the time. If someone was open to prayer, I would pray with them.

One of the most traumatic cases was with a woman who was raped early in the morning on her way to work. The rapist not only physically abused her, but disfigured her face. When I met her in the emergency room, she was in shock. I held her hand and explained that I would be with her throughout her time in the hospital. She stayed in the hospital for several weeks and went through many surgeries to restore her face. I asked her if she would be open to me inviting my colleagues to lay hands on her for healing. She said yes. Before the bandages were to be removed from her face for the first time, I asked the other Protestant chaplains to join me and lay hands on her for healing both physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I knew she would need a tremendous amount of support to get through this. She had not met the other chaplains when they came into the room, but she trusted me. We all laid hands on her in the bed and prayed. After the prayer was over, we could see a change in her eyes. We could see that her body had a physical response to the prayer. When she was able to see herself, she was able to accept the changes in her appearance with grace. I think that our prayers helped contribute to that acceptance. I do believe that prayer has an effect on individuals whether we know them or not.

Chester Freeman
Rochester, N.Y.

What the universe holds for us

Thanks to John Calvi for sharing “Carrying Light to Need” (FJ Mar.). I would love to think that holding him in the Light, to the best of my ability, would bring him back to the state he was in before. But experience is teaching me that we don’t go back; in the best scenario we move forward to what the universe holds for us. As Calvi has been teaching us, the work is to listen, and hear and feel. And then move.

Margaret Katranides
St. Louis, Mo.

Wonderful insights into both healing and prayer. The reminder that stepping stones are not homesteads is just one of the many images from this piece that will stay with me.

Vicki Winslow
Liberty, N.C.

Online: John Calvi discusses his article in a video interview at Friendsjournal.org/calvi.

Answered prayers

Chester Freeman’s Quaker’s Light is an interesting concept (“Pray without Ceasing,” FJ Mar. online). It’s certainly a powerful means of connecting with the afflicted, who are all around us. Too few take the time to show interest. We are too caught up in our own everyday activities. Chester shows us how to change that. The light that God gives us is for others to see. The transformation taking place in our lives will attract others (Isaiah 49:6). Paul tells us we do not always know how to pray (Romans 8:26–27). I find it useful to just get on my knees and let my mind come to complete quietness, letting God’s Spirit search me and carry what “He” sees as important to the throne of grace on my behalf. God knows what is on my heart.

Tom Rood
Penn Yan, N.Y.

I answer the phones at a local hospital. Recently I was having a terrible day, when out of the blue three different people asked if they could pray for me. I was overwhelmed and in tears, but a sense of peace came over me. I was told that it doesn’t matter how tired you are at night, a one-word prayer “thank-you” will work. One other thing I have learned is that a smile is almost as powerful as a prayer.

Nancy Dowd
Seminole, Fla.

How timely is this publication! This week our family, friends, and congregation have been “praying without ceasing” for a dear friend of ours and the medical staff caring for him. When we first received the news of the severity of his heart attack, I had no words, no cohesive thoughts. The only thing I could do was sing the hymns of my childhood that have carried me through the most challenging times, knowing God knew what was in my heart. Chester Freeman’s description of the two dimensions of holding someone in the Light is so well expressed. Prayers of thanksgiving are also vital. We need to celebrate answered prayers and the goodness in our lives.

Annaliese Parker
Farmington, N.Y.

God’s continued call

I think of heaven as a place where our discarnate souls can contemplate their past lives and plan for future lives that will give them a chance to develop spiritually (“Do Quakers Believe in Heaven?,” QuakerSpeak Feb.). I like Lynnette Davis’s explanation of energy. I think that souls are gathered into groups where they can learn lessons, and recognize what they have done insufficiently, kind of like a school.

I don’t believe in hell. Why would a loving parent condemn a child to eternal pain?

Allison Browning Richards
Camden, Del.

So it is true that often Christianity has been co-opted as providing simply a “ticket to heaven.” I believe we are called to help create (co-create) a just world in our here and now, on earth as it is in heaven. But I also believe in a heaven that is a next step where the love of God continues to call me. I have no idea what it looks like, but everything within me tells me there is more.

Deborah E Suess
Greensboro, N.C.

Such eloquent people. My prime reason for being a Quaker is their acceptance that I do not believe in God or an afterlife. This world suffices, and the spirit within us is our inspiration.

Jenni Bond
Hobart, Australia

Rustin preached, lived, and practiced what he believed

I deeply appreciated the review of the film Rustin (“Unsung No More” by Rashid Darden, FJ Nov. 2023 online; Jan. 2024 print). It is a movie everyone should see. I had the privilege of knowing Bayard Rusin, and working with him, when I was the president of New York Friends Group, a Quaker foundation on which he was a member of the board of directors. The film touches on a very important gift that he had in administration and the ability to carry out things to a successful conclusion.

But there were so many other concerns and actions that he took. At the time of apartheid in South Africa, he was deeply involved; at the conclusion of a report, he stated that the United States should seek “a nonviolent end to apartheid.” He preached, lived, and practiced this philosophy his entire life, including on his trip to the Middle East during the Israel-Lebanon war in 1982. At his 75th birthday celebration in 1987, it was inspiring to hear tributes from the likes of Congressman John Lewis and Elie Wiesel. As I wrote to Newsday at his death, “unfortunately in our society today there are so few who can see where we are as a people and how to survive into the 21st century. Bayard Rustin understood and saw what was needed. To say he will be missed is an understatement. He was unique and irreplaceable.” How relevant these words seem to me today.

George Rubin
Medford, N.J.

The history of protesters should be known

As a former protester (with an almost fanatic zeal) against the war in Vietnam from the earliest days, I get incensed when I hear all the praise of the Vietnam veterans and the sometimes-derogatory attacks on the protesters (“Escaping Oppenheimer’s Shadow” by Anthony Manousos, FJ Feb. online; Mar. print). Young people were desperate to get the young men out of the killing fields of Vietnam. We all had friends and family members who were there—most drafted—and in the end, we did get them home.

I knew pacifists who went to prison and heard of many who went to Canada, all for moral reasons. They should be the ones honored today. No one knows how many violent attacks there were on peace protesters in the early days when the war began, mainly on the young men who carried peace signs and burned their draft cards (I was at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill). This history should be known. People who refused to fight should be honored as the truest heroes. Thanks for a powerful article that brings these memories back.

Katherine van Wormer
Madison, Wis.

Corrections

In the March issue “Forum,” a letter from Mason in Marshall, N.C., stated that Clear Creek Meeting in Richmond, Ind., hosts an afternoon meeting for worship at 1:00 p.m. That worship is a program entirely run by Earlham College.

“Dear God, Help Me Here” by Sharlee DiMenichi (FJ Mar.) incorrectly listed Mickey Edgerton as worshiping virtually with First Friends Meeting in Indianapolis, Ind. She actually worships with First Friends in Richmond, Ind.

We apologize for the errors.

Forum letters should be sent with the writer’s name and address to forum@friendsjournal.org. Each letter is limited to 300 words and may be edited for length and clarity. Because of space constraints, we cannot publish every letter. Letters can also be left as comments on individual articles on Friendsjournal.org.

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Anderson—Mary Frances Anderson, 79, on June 3, 2023, at John Muir Health Medical Center in Walnut Creek, Calif. Mary was born on February 21, 1944, in Berkeley, Calif., where her mother, Anne Anderson (née Dowden) was studying nursing. Her father, Victor Charles Anderson, was involved in a research project in Southern California regarding underwater sound for military use during World War II.

Mary grew up in the San Diego, Calif. area. She married H. Lee Watson in 1963. Their son, Jeffrey Elam Watson, was born on April 10, 1966. Mary earned her doctorate in mathematics from New York University in New York City in 1970. She taught mathematics for two years at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., then for another two years at Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich., and for four years at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Mary returned to the United States and studied computer science at University of California, Berkeley. She held a series of computer programming jobs with the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at UC Berkeley, Bank of America, Hewlett Packard, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In addition, she offered programming services as an independent contractor.

In 1973, Mary married Lim Mah Hui from Malaysia and moved to Malaysia with him. After returning to the San Francisco Bay Area she met George M. Bergman, who was with her when Michael Lim Yong Ping was born on October 11, 1977. In 1981, Mary and George married under the care of Berkeley Meeting. On August 8, 1982, she gave birth to twins, Clifford Isaac Anderson-Bergman and Rebecca Nadia Anderson-Bergman.

Mary attended Berkeley Meeting, becoming a member in early 1978. She transferred her membership to Strawberry Creek Meeting in Berkeley, and, in 2020, asked to have her membership transferred back to Berkeley Meeting. Her membership was renewed at Berkeley Meeting on March 14, 2021. Beginning in 2015, she also attended Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church in Oakland, where she enjoyed singing in the choir.

Mary was an avid gardener, taking agriculture courses at UC Davis and elsewhere. She was a passionate singer. She volunteered for the Alternatives to Violence Project, a group that offers workshops designed to help participants find ways to resolve conflicts without coercion or violence.

Mary began to suffer falls in the early 2010s. She gradually developed other disabilities, and was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration, a rare syndrome similar to Parkinson’s disease. In May 2023, a swallowing problem led to pneumonia.

Mary was predeceased by a brother, Victor Charles Anderson Jr.

She is survived by her husband, George Bergman; ex-husband, Lim Mah Hui; four children, Jeffrey Watson, Michael Lim Yong Ping Anderson, Rebecca Anderson-Bergman, and Clifford Anderson-Bergman; five grandchildren; and one sister, Judy Myers.

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Quaker author Peter Blood-Patterson was interviewed about his March 2024 article, We Are All Held in Love: Reflections on the Practice of Holding in the Light.

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