Tending the Tree of Quakerism

By Maia Carter Hallward and Robin Greenler

"The same Spirit that lifted up the Valiant Sixty and Lucretia Mott is not yet finished with us."

So spoke a Young Adult Friend as he reflected on the vision of the newly formed Youth Ministries Committee of Friends General Conference (FGC)—to build a Religious Society of Friends that embraces the Divine leadings, Spirit-led ministries, and faith and action witnesses of all its members. And indeed this Spirit is alive and present in the ministry and work of Young Friends and Young Adult Friends. Just as new shoots, springtime buds, and time-gnarled roots all form part of the living trees outside our Meeting Houses, so too do younger and older Friends together constitute the living present of Quakerism. If young and old together are also to constitute the future of Quakerism, we must tend to the entirety of our Quaker body now so we do not wither or perish, but blossom and thrive.

The newly formed Youth Ministries Committee joins others who have long been working to build a community of ministers that is more diverse, inclusive, and united by God. And while the vision is not a unique one, it is one that needs much lifting up. The leading to create a truly intergenerational faith community that recognizes and supports the gifts of diverse ages, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientation is more than an outgrowth of the Quaker belief that there is That of God within each human being and that we are therefore required to seek that Light. In fact, many great historical Spiritual leaders—such as Jesus of Nazareth and George Fox—were youth by today’s standards (Young Adult Friends are often defined as age 18-30 or 35).

At the same age when many historical young visionaries were being lifted up by that Great Spirit, many Quaker youth of today feel silenced or invisible within their Meeting communities. They feel unrecognized and their gifts not well used. Young adult Friends, often seasoned Friends in their own right, move to new meetings and are greeted with indifference and without recognition that they might be carrying powerful ministries, leadings or seasoned insight. They are relegated to being “the future” not “the present” of Quakerism today. And many have left the Religious Society of Friends in search of other spiritual communities that better recognize and nurture their gifts.

So what is the work of a committee dedicated to the Ministry of, for, and by youth? Much of the work thus far has been talking, questioning and listening. What do young Friends need? One common piece we often hear is a deeply felt need on the part of young Friends to be authentically welcomed into the wider community of Friends. And in discussion with Friends of all ages we begin to hear that Friends of all ages need and want the same things:

• To feel loved and valued as individuals
• To be seen as we really are without assumptions based on age, ethnicity, race or sexual orientation
• To have our gifts recognized and well used
• To receive eldering and to be available to elder others
• To be held accountable for living our faith

Despite some lack of support and validation from the broader Quaker community, many high school and young adult Friends carry powerful ministry and seek deeply to live Spirit-led lives. As a somewhat older Friend, my work on the Youth Ministries Committee in the last years has given me the privilege to rub shoulders with many spiritually grounded, and dynamic Friends. I am tutored by these Friends’ religious zeal, and willingness to tenaciously wrestle with some of the thorniest Quaker questions. I am schooled in their knowledge of the gospels, willingness to examine, accept and reject parts of fundamentalist and, yes, even evangelical Christianity, and speak a language that is unabashedly Christian, when and only when it intersects with what they experience. I am awed by their powerful yearning to deeply examine the early roots of our faith and ask what that radical vision can teach us today.

After much listening, worship and discussion, the YMC has discerned three broad categories of work that we feel called to: (1) supporting the traveling ministry of younger Friends, (2) promoting conferences and events to bring together Friends of similar ages and experiences as well as of different ages, and (3) reaching out to the broader community through communications and development of resources. We have found that when we listen carefully to the Spirit within and among us, we discern work that speaks to the condition of other Friends—which has led to partnerships with other FGC committees and Quaker organizations—because our work is not just about youth, but about building a vibrant Religious Society of Friends. Furthermore, to be successful, we believe that other FGC committees, Quaker organizations, Monthly Meetings, and Friends associations and activities must continue to include younger Friends in their membership, and must grow in their awareness of the special needs for fostering intergenerational community and recognizing and encouraging the gifts of younger Friends.

The YMC has stumbled as we have yearned to meet these needs. While obviously no two youth speak with the same voice, even in broad strokes, needs of youth vary tremendously depending on circumstances. How do the needs of youth differ between large and small meetings, established and new, rural and urban? What role does geography play? What about the differing needs amongst straight, gay, lesbian or transgendered youth? How do we discern needs within “high school and adult young Friends” when the age span extends from 13-35? How do the spiritual needs of a college aged non-student differ from a college student? A single young adult from one with kids? Are some voices being heard more than others? Are some needs being met more than others?

There are many efforts within our religious society that touch on issues of youth and intergenerational community. We have struggled to discern when it is best to simply support other efforts versus collaborating; when it is best to lead and when to step back altogether? As more people in the Religious Society of Friends begin to take up this issue, how can we avoid ownership of the issue; knowing the leading and the work come from the hand of God and not self. Many people are lifting up pieces of the vision; this is an exalting process. It is also a messy one.

The agenda of our most recent committee meeting stated that it was a ”˜draft’, as in good Quaker process, the final agenda is God’s. From the time we gathered Friday night until we dispersed on Sunday afternoon, we found this statement to be true. By listening deeply to the Spirit and to each other, the energy that moved among us that weekend allowed us to achieve a clarity of purpose and a sense of cohesiveness as a community (not just as a committee) that had eluded us thus far. As we ”˜released’ the prepared agenda, we found ourselves engaged in rich dialogue on the work we have accomplished thus far and the exciting opportunities in front of us. Time and again we saw ”˜God’s fingerprints’ on our discernment process as we reached clearness on issues independently from--but in parallel to—other groups wishing to partner with us.

What are we called to do? As we have engaged in our own process of listening to our individual and corporate leadings, we have found time and again that our work is tied up in the callings of other FGC committees, and indeed to the broader mission of FGC to “help Friends live into their ministry.” Our work coincides with that of the Traveling Ministry Program as we explore ways to identify, support and nurture nascent ministers within the Religious Society of Friends, particularly those who are young in age. Our work overlaps with that of FGC’s Religious Education committee as we find ways to stoke the spiritual and physical fire of our youth workers to keep them from burning out. Youth Ministries work is also Ministry and Nurture and Advancement and Outreach work as we respond to the desire of Friends for authentic, Spirit-led intergenerational community. Friends of all ages yearn to be welcomed, recognized, and heard in their meetings; they search for meaningful, sustained relationships with others. We particularly carry a concern for the particular challenges faced by younger Friends in this regard such as when they go away to college and must find their way in a new meeting, often feeling ignored by their home meeting. Finally a partnership with youth workers of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, FGC and Pendle Hill birthed a powerful retreat for Young Adult Friends in February 2007 that was attended by over 100 Friends, from 20 FGC Yearly Meetings as well as from Friends United Meeting and Evangelical Friends International. The power of the weekend was a testimony to both the needs and deep resources embodied in this age group.

The work of YMC reflects the same calling of Friends to lift up, recognize, and celebrate diversity of all forms within our Religious body—that of age, gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that we find a natural partner with the Committee for Ministry and Racism. The YMC has joined in planning a conference initiated by FGC’s Committee for Ministry on Racism (CMR) and several other FGC committees emerging out of a long period of painful dialogue around the many issues that have been associated with the Quaker Sweat Lodge. While the conference will speak to a number of issues, of primary concern for our committee is the issue of finding authentic, grounded, and deeply spiritual experiences for Quaker youth. We hope to facilitate exploration of what Quakerism offers its youth and how we can better capitalize upon our rich historical traditions and spiritual roots. What does it say about us as a Religious Society if the only deep spiritual experience we have to offer our young people is one adapted from another cultural tradition? If we are to keep our Religious Society alive and vibrant, we must be able to articulate the vision and beliefs that are uniquely ours, and to share them with more youth so that they find spiritual fulfillment within our own faith and practice.

On a very basic level, the Youth Ministries Committee is called to engage in deep listening—to God, to each other, to those who feel their voices have been ignored. We feel called to help create the spaces in which older and younger Friends feel empowered to communicate freely and openly with one another; to worship together; to build spiritual community together. Yet we also hope to create space for Young Friends and Young Adult Friends to gather and share their experiences and the joys and challenges particular to their life stages. To help facilitate this, we have developed a website www.quakeryouth.org with information about conferences, internships, events, opportunities and discussion spaces for Quaker youth.

Recently, a Friend shared with us her vision of the Religious Society of Friends as a beautiful tree that is not bearing fruit. Our job is to tend to this tree, to nourish it, to give it love, and to help it once more bear fruit. This work—recognizing, naming, and supporting the gifts of all Friends—requires us all. To build stronger Monthly and Yearly Meeting communities, we must take the first step and reflect the gifts that shine from the Light of our friends and neighbors; we must discern what our own gifts may be, and we must seek to answer faithfully to the Light within each human with whom we cross paths. Only when we learn to prioritize hearing the message over seeing the messenger—and then act to lift up and support both message and messenger—will we be closer to achieving a Religious Society of Friends that meets the needs and reaps the benefits of all of its members’ gifts.