Adult Young Friends Program
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The Scoop on AYF, This Year's Events, Housing
The Scoop on AYF
Mike Goren
The AYF program is a self-led, intentional community within the wider Gathering. Participants are involved in most every aspect of the Gathering as a whole, but Adult Young Friends have a number of their own things going on throughout the week including Meetings for Business; an out-trip to a nearby park for games, swimming, and lunch; a talent show; opening orientation and a closing celebration.
The AYF program is open to anyone who wants to participate, at whatever degree of involvement they like. You can either stay in our housing cluster, or you can live in whatever other housing arrangements suit you. In both housing choices, you may attend your choice of AYF activities while still participating in as many of the other Gathering options as time and energy allow.
This Year's Events
Seth BarchThe out-trip this year will be Tuesday afternoon, and we're heading to Maumee Bay State Park, located a short distance north of Bowling Green on the shores of beautiful blue Lake Erie. We can swim, play games, and have our picnic lunch. (Don't forget sunblock! Getting a bad sunburn is not the same as walking in the Light.) There will be a bus that can take a bunch of us, but we will need to arrange some car-pooling as well in order to get the whole gang there. Those helping Junior Gathering will be able to come along, so don't worry about missing the fun!
A few of our (always optional) scheduled events are as follows:
- Our opening program and new attenders orientation Sunday night where we get to know one another!
- Support groups on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday (optional, like all AYF events).
- Meetings for Worship with attention to Business on Monday and Wednesday nights, with a short one Friday afternoon to wrap a few things up.
- An AYF talent show Thursday night for anyone who wants to show off their amazing talents!
- Our closing celebration Friday night, where we will all be sad to part ways for another year!
Housing
Keith LepinskiWhile it is not necessary to stay in the AYF housing cluster in order to take advantage of all the fun activities, doing so can help build a sense of closeness in the community, and we certainly would love to have you with us if you'd like to be.
The housing arrangement will be a bit different this year from previous years for the whole Gathering, and that includes the AYF program. We will be in one, relatively isolated section of one of the three (!) dorms that will be accommodating all Friends at the Gathering. We will, as usual, be in the un-air-conditioned dorm, so you might want to bring a fan, but you can probably leave your down comforter at home. When you register, you can choose to rent basic linens from the University or bring your own. Whichever you choose, favorite pillows and blankets are nice things to have.
Age Requirements and Parents: AYF activities are generally open to all, but the housing cluster is limited to those in the 18 to 35ish age range. If you fall into the AYF age range and have young children you are still welcome into the AYF housing. We do ask you to talk to one of the program co-coordinators: Keith Lepinski: lepinskk@yahoo.com & Lindsey Burson Aldridge: aldridgelb@gmail.com. about the details of doing so.
Gender Neutral Bathrooms: As best as we can given the layout of our dorm area and University policies we will try to have at least one gender-neutral bathroom available in our housing block.
Quiet Please: Due to the fact that we are in the same building as half the rest of the Gathering attendees, we'll have to pay especially close attention to our noise level at night, particularly since a lot of people will have their windows open (no air-conditioning, remember?). Quiet hours are 11pm to 7am and noises will carry, even from inside the building (all those open windows). We will have a hang-out lounge in a part of the building without dorm rooms, but we'll need to be quiet coming and going from the lounge during quiet time. Please be considerate of all Friends. A lot of us like to stay up late to hang out, but a lot of people need to sleep too (even some AYFs!).
