Young Friends:
FGConnections Winter 2006

Interview with Emily Stewart

Emily Stewart, FGC’s Youth Ministries Coordinator. Photograph by Barbara Hirshkowitz.

As Friends General Conference initiates a new program on Youth Ministries, Emily Stewart has been appointed on a one-year interim basis to serve as coordinator for this exciting new committee and work.

How would you like to introduce yourself?

I grew up in Hillsborough, North Carolina as a member of Durham Friends Meeting, and attended Carolina Friends School for 15 years. In 2004, I received a bachelor’s degree in sociology with minors in feminist studies and Spanish from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas.

Following college, I spent a year at Pendle Hill serving as a Social Action/Social Witness intern for the Peace Center. Last summer, I was the program nurturer for the Young Adults Leadership Development program at Pendle Hill. I’ve also enjoyed being a high school counselor at the Gathering for the past four years, and volunteering as a Friendly Adult Presence at the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Workcamps.

When I am not working, I can be found on the soccer field, basketball or volleyball court. Dance, music, art, playing with children, writing poetry and laughing all make my heart sing.

What prepares you for this work as coordinator for the Youth Ministries Program at FGC?

In many ways, I feel that my own spiritual journey prepares me for this work. Growing up as a Quaker, I have experience not only of being supported by my meeting but also feeling somewhat isolated as one of the few young people my age. Quakerism was an important part of my childhood, but I needed to venture away from it for a while to really understand what a vital role it played in my life. By living in a Quaker community at Pendle Hill, I delved deeper into my own spirituality than ever before, embracing Quakerism as my own, not something I had just grown up with.

At Pendle Hill I also experienced being in a multigenerational, spiritually supportive community with Quakers from around the world. It was incredible to see people of all ages and cultures learning, sharing, listening, playing, and worshiping together. I would love to see this kind of community in the entire Religious Society of Friends. I hope that my own experience and knowledge of what kind of Quaker community is possible will help ground the work that I do for Youth Ministries.

What defines a Young Friend?

After the Youth Ministries Committee meeting young Friends joined Philadelphia Adult Young Friends for fellowship and feasting.

This is problematic and one of the things the new Youth Ministries Committee will be taking up. Currently this applies to middle and high school-aged youth. Adult Young Friend applies to people up to forty in some groups; FGC’s Annual Gathering has defined Young Adult Friends as ending at 35. However, some Friends in their early 20s might be in a very different place than those in their late thirties. There is also the question of where young people with children fit? Are programs built around age ranges or defined by stages of life?

How do young Friends find out about the new Youth Ministries Program?

Contact Emily Stewart at 215-561-1700, email emilys@fgcquaker.org. Also look for information at fgcquaker.org.

What are your thoughts about the Youth Ministries Program?

I hope that we will find ways to inform young Friends and other Quaker organizations about what FGC Youth Ministries is doing as the program unfolds. We are likely to work on support for monthly and yearly meetings in helping youth to connect to broader opportunities. We might support monthly and yearly meetings in developing programs at the yearly meeting or regional level for young people. This might include discernment around transitions and difficult decisions.

I am interested in learning about the youth programs of other yearly and monthly meetings. I am also interested in the programs young people are creating on their own, outside the programs that might or might not exist in their regional areas.

What are your thoughts about FGC?

Before applying for this job I did not know much about FGC. I was aware of it, along with other Quaker organization like AFSC and FCNL, but only in a vague sort of way. And this is somewhat embarrassing since my mother has been an active member of the FGC community and has served on Central Committee [FGC governing structure]. While living at Pendle Hill [in the Philadelphia suburbs] I thought FGC was located at Friends Center. If I could be this close to sources of information about FGG yet remain in the dark it points to a larger problem. I’m not sure if this is FGC’s problem or if parents need to rethink how young Friends are introduced into the life of the meeting and the wider Quaker world. Where is the gap and how has it become so wide and deep? How does FGC Youth Ministries program step into it? This is not anyone’s fault. But it remains a problem to solve. How do we spark the interest of young Friends? How do parents, monthly meetings, yearly meetings, young Friends and Young Adult Friends and FGC work together?

When I went to college I was disconnected from Quakerism: distanced from my home monthly meeting and not feeling especially welcomed by the monthly meeting in the community where I attended college. It was going to Pendle Hill’s Social Action, Social Witness program that got me back into Quakerism. It also helped me on my spiritual journey in a way that going to meeting every week and attending First Day School did not. For me, as for many young Friends, there are few if any peers in the monthly meeting. The idea of spiritual journey may not arise and if it does there may not be anyone at hand to discuss it with. Ironically, for many young Friends it is during the college years when we are most disconnected from Quakerism that the longing for spiritual grounding and connection with a spiritual community becomes a pressing need.

At Pendle Hill we worshiped every day, had discussions and were part of a supportive community. To me it makes sense that people in their 20s and 30s are drawn to Quakerism because they are in a period of seeking, whereas people who grow up as Quakers may get disconnected at this age because of the difficulty of asking the right questions and finding out what Quakerism is about. If the situation does not nurture exploration of Friends faith and practice at this time in one’s life, I can see how you just leave.

There are possibilities. For instance, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Young Adult Friends have their own group that meets regularly for both worship and fellowship. These young Friends might or might not be members of a monthly meeting. This group fulfills a spiritual and/or social need for its members and has grown since it started in 2005. People hear about it by word of mouth and there is a list serve. I really enjoy being a part of this community. It is a way to be with other young people who understand/identify with many of my convictions and values. As a 24 year-old, I do not feel alone in my faith, but connected to a larger group of spiritually grounded friends.

Anything else to add?

I am truly excited about this new position. FGC’s staff is amazing—supportive people who have really welcomed me into their family. I look forward to working with the Youth Ministries Committee and serving Quaker youth in whatever ways I am able.