Hello Friends Near and Far,

Welcome to the new Quaker Youth web site! I hope this will become a place for us younger Friends to build community online. As the Youth Ministries Coordinator for FGC, I maintain the site, and I hope that Friends from all the branches of Quakerism feel welcome here. This site is for us and made up of articles, photos, and artwork by us, so please feel free to contribute to it.

I am getting ready to travel to Barnesville, Ohio for the YFNA reunion and Quaker camp. After that I’ll see many of you at the Gathering. I would like to report back on both of those events, and hopefully post some of other Friends’ experiences as well. Please let me know if you want to write something about either one of those events or about your experience at your own yearly meeting.

I also want to put a call out for artwork, photos and featured bloggers for the Quaker Youth site! If you have any artwork or photos that you would like to post, please contact me at emilys@fgcquaker.org. If you are interested in writing a few paragraphs about what is on your heart or mind that could be posted on site, please also contact me.

The site is much more interactive and offers opportunities to

• Create a profile and connect with other Friends
• Find jobs and internships with Quaker organizations. The job board aggregates announcements from across the web.
• Read and comment on blog postings from younger Friends.
• Post Quaker events on a Google calendar that you can re-publish on your own blog or website.
• Find links to programs for Young Friends and young adult Friends
• Use the “How to” resources for organizing small gatherings or local YAF groups
• Explore Quaker social networks on the web
• Share photos and artwork
• Submit blog entries that could be featured on the QuakerYouth blog.

I've attached a flyer about the site that you are welcome to print out and post at your meeting. Let's spread the word about this growing community.

Please explore the site and let me know your thoughts. Thanks for checking it out. Peace, Emily