QuakerYouth
Anna on the contemplative path
Coming Into Friendship As A Gift
Hey Everyone,
I just wanted to let Friends know about an awesome new pamphlet that the Youth Ministries Committee was involved in publishing. It’s called Coming into Friendship as a Gift: the Journey of a Young Adult Friend, and it’s written by a YAF from Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association. It’s a beautiful account of her journey to Quakerism, and everyone who helped her along the way. She also acknowledges that many YAFs have not had experiences like her own, and that we need to work together as a religious society to create a truly intergenerational, whole spiritual community. At the end of the pamphlet, she gives a number of different examples and suggestions of how monthly meetings can support younger Friends, and how we can all engage with one another. It also includes queries and a resource list. I highly recommend it!
From the back cover, “By naming the gifts she has received from her meetings, Christina Van Regenmorter offers a resource both for younger Friends and for meetings striving to welcome, support and nurture the young people in their midst. Christina notes:
It can be tempting to look at the absence of young faces in our meeting houses and blame it on the ‘digital age’ or on young people needing ‘something more lively.’ However, I would like to hold up the possibility that people coming into Quaker meetings are not looking for a certain prevailing skin phenotype or age presence, but for the Spirit to be evident in the lives of the Friends who are there. I believe that they, like me, ache to have a spiritual community where they feel truly seen, truly held, and deeply challenged.”
Deborah Shaw, the Assistant Director of Friends Center and Campus Ministry at Guilford College writes “If Friends desire their meeting to be a spiritual community where love if the first motion and a place where young Friends feel welcomed, nurtured and supported, prayerful engagement with this text would be a fruitful place to begin.”
Angelina Conti, a Philadelphia YAF says of this book, "As a relatively active young adult Friend I am often asked where all the other young adult Friends are -- what meetings can do to be open, welcoming faith communities where teenagers and young adults feel seen, nurtured, and needed. I am so thankful for this book, its author, and the Youth Ministries Committee for making this story and its accompanying queries and suggestions available. Christina Van Regenmorter's experience is as teachable as it is inspiring, and provides a powerful model for meetings under the weight of youth concerns (while also offering several good tools for young adults themselves). Our meetings are not whole when they lack the presence and ministry of young people, and this pamphlet offers a powerful place to begin to work towards wholeness."
Check it out at http://www.quakerbooks.org/coming_into_friendship_as_a_gift.php
Happy reading! In peace, Emily
Living as Friends, Listening Within-YAF Conference 2008
YAF Conference 2008: Taken by Ruth Murray
For a bigger shot, go to http://www.flickr.com/groups/quakeryouth/pool/
Quakerism in 10 Easy Points- SKIT!
Epistle from the YAF Conference "Living as Friends, Listening Within"
Fun Center
William Penn House, Washington, D.C.
Micah checks in on the recent youth gathering (via QuakerQuaker.org)
Angelina reports On the Richmond young adult Friends conference
Marie's Golden Cue
Epistle from the YAF Conference "Living as Friends, Listening Within"
Young Adult Friends’ Conference
Living as Friends, Listening Within
Richmond, Indiana
May 23-26, 2008
Dear Friends Everywhere,
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:2 NRSV
In worship, in small groups, in conversation, we have been transformed. Friends affirmed their love for one another again and again. The act of coming together physically was a first step to enacting loving unity. We are hungry for connection and growth in grace with one another, and the healing of our divisions. We heard sermons and joined voices in song. Friends had opportunities to experience and participate in unfamiliar forms of worship. We felt the support of seasoned Friends who provided pastoral care and the many Friends that held the gathering in prayer.
Formal small groups gathered every day for checking in and more personal discussion of the challenges and joys of the conference. Small informal groups treasured free time where we found the space to address other concerns. These informal discussions created a foundation for the depth at which we arrived in worship. Earlham School of Religion professors, students, and alumni led workshops, while conference participants held interest groups on various topics. On Sunday, participants could choose between programmed (First Friends), semi-programmed (West Richmond) or unprogrammed (Clear Creek) worship in the community.
In Spirit-led worship we found that Friends spoke to the necessity of continuing in conversations about our similarities and differences. Friends were asked before the conference to consider the cultural norms of others present, and whether certain choices may impact our ability to find common ground. We began exploring scripture together in workshops, Bible study and programmed worship. This invited new challenges and opportunities to engage with texts important to the experience of Friends. We were reminded by Mark Walker that living in unity as a Religious Society of Friends will make us more effective in our work in the world. The discernment of corporate and individual leadings is one of the obligations we have to one another as a Society. We hear the need to acknowledge diverse leadings, such as Gospel, traveling, vocal, and eldering ministries. Recording these gifts is one way of making individuals and meetings accountable to leadings.
Friends heard a call to find ways to share the good news that has been revealed to us at this gathering. We strive to carry this light with us when we return to our home meetings and churches. We have invited one another to our respective yearly gatherings and to explore ways of opening our spiritual homes. May we share with the world the light and love that was a presence at this gathering.
In peace,
The YAF Conference Participants
Expectations
Quaker Youth Book Call for Submissions
Quaker Youth Book Call for Submissions
Quaker Youth Book Project Submission Guidelines
Quaker Youth Book Project Submission Guidelines
No results
Quaking Elizabeth on Why I'm doing this Youth Book Project thing
No results
Response to Quakers and Pagans
Below is a list of blog entries written by or about Young Adult Friends. We use two aggregation services to collect these entries: Technorati and Del.icio.us.
Our web site automatically searches Technorati for blog entries with the following keywords: Young Adult Friends, Quaker Youth, and YAF.
To draw relevant entries from Del.icio.us, we rely on the Quaker.Youth tag that QuakerQuaker has been promoting for some time. We are grateful to QuakerQuaker for establishing the Quaker.Youth tag.
We encourage bloggers to adopt QuakerQuaker's excellent tagging convention.
- Anna on the contemplative path
- Coming Into Friendship As A Gift
- Living as Friends, Listening Within-YAF Conference 2008
- Quakerism in 10 Easy Points- SKIT!
- Epistle from the YAF Conference "Living as Friends, Listening Within"
- Fun Center
- William Penn House, Washington, D.C.
- Micah checks in on the recent youth gathering (via QuakerQuaker.org)
- Angelina reports On the Richmond young adult Friends conference
- Marie's Golden Cue





