Those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

n the middle of the 1990s, FGC focused on a concern about Friends in small isolated yearly and monthly meetings who, unable to attend the summer Gathering, were seeking to "renew their strength" in Quaker belief; to be nurtured and strengthened spiritually in the context of their connection to unprogrammed Friends. Awareness of this concern prompted FGC's Long Range Conference Planning Committee (LRCP) to join with the Religious Education (RE) Committee to plan a small regional conference, apart from the annual Gathering. The first Religious Education Institute addressed the need for strengthened and innovative approaches to religious education among unprogrammed Friends. This well attended conference took place in August 1996 at Camp Lutherlyn in Prospect, Pennsylvania. The RE Committee provided program support and LRCP supplied logistical support. There were workshops and plenary speakers.

The RE Institute was such a glowing success that it encouraged FGC to deeply consider how such conferences might take place in the future. Jane Manring, one of the presenters at the Institute, said that "during spiritual development, the human being goes through changing ways of knowing the self, of moving away from the narrow or more egocentric views of self and the world "toward identification with the all." Likewise, with the Institute, FGC began to realize the potential for small conferences to provide a means by which committees within FGC and Friends served by FGC might come to know one another as one and not separate parts.

The FGC Long Term Plan, adopted in 1997, voiced the goal of developing a series of small conferences. To explore the premise that there were Friends who were seeking the sustenance such conferences could provide, in 1997 LRCP sent out a survey to discern what direction to take. Out of that survey, which verified the interest in conferences of 2-3 days in length, in geographically diverse areas, on topics such as "Living the Quaker Testimonies" and "How to Nurture Spiritual Growth," evolved the next small conference, Nurturing the Nurturer. This small conference took place in March 1999 at Penn Center, St. Helena's Island, South Carolina, planned jointly by Ministry and Nurture and LRCP with an attendance of 157 Friends. Problems that arose related to the need for an ongoing care committee which would meet during the time of the conference to address emergent needs, as well as a concern for whether or which of FGC's Gathering policies should apply to other FGC-sponsored conferences.

In the mid-90s, FGC learned that many high school Friends who attended the triennial "YouthQuake" conference first initiated by Evangelical Friends were at a loss to describe their faith. We also recognized that many of these young people were equating Christianity with the fundamentalist version practiced by Evangelical Friends. The FGC RE Committee decided to hold an extended weekend conference for this age group that would involve serious study and discussion of Friends' practice, Quaker history, a more liberal approach to Christian scripture, and the universalist roots of unprogrammed Friends. Called Young Quakes, this popular conference has become an annual event held in different parts of the country.

LRCP and the RE Committee also have jointly sponsored a second Religious Education Institute in August of 2000 at Massanetta Springs Conference Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Attended by 130 Friends, it is clear that enthusiasm for such gatherings remains high and that FGC must stay true to its goal of serving the spiritual needs of unprogrammed Quakers in isolated meetings and in areas of the country not usually selected as sites for the Annual Gathering. Future plans call for a second Nurturing the Nurturers conference in 2002, jointly sponsored by Ministry and Nurture and LRCP, to follow-up on concerns raised at the initial conference. These include nurturing diversity and attending to the needs of small meetings. In the meantime, other FGC committees are working on small conferences and consultations addressing issues of concern in the broader FGC community. Coming in April 2001 is the joint Religious Education Committee and Pendle Hill Consultation on Curriculum Writing.

LRCP's role in this kind of event is evolving. Through its Small Conference Committee, LRCP provides care and guidance to committees who want to plan and host a small conference. It also serves as the coordinating body for all of FGC's sponsored conference events. Currently the committee is developing a manual that will give guidance on the planning process, leadership roles, and policies that pertain to small conferences under the care of FGC.

As FGC goes forward into the new century with its goal of serving more broadly its Quaker constituency, tantalizing new topics for small conferences are constantly arising. The continued vitality of FGC and of the unprogrammed tradition of Friends is evident in the spiritual energy given to and emanating from these small conferences. They truly impart a renewal of strength, helping us to "run and not be weary," "walk and not be faint."