Britain Yearly Meeting 2016: Using gifts for good

Elinor Smallman explores what children and young people got up to at Yearly Meeting

Giving gifts, Quaker Business Method and being active in the world were among the subjects addressed in the Children and Young People’s Programmes at Yearly Meeting.

The Children’s Programme at Friends House was attended by sixty children aged under-eleven and considered the theme: ‘Using our gifts for good.’

The theme was explored by the Spiritual Adventurers, aged eight to eleven, through ‘playing games, being creative, writing promises to our future selves and sharing our stories through worship’. Young Friends also reflected on the questions: ‘Who is the best person to help those in need? Is it important to know their backstories, and is it always good to help those in pain?’

Six- to eight-year-olds, in the Penn Friends, ‘enjoyed making things and being creative in response to the story about a person who planted the smallest seed that turned into a massive tree, which birds came to’.

The Fox Cubs, aged three to five, ‘thought about pebbles on the beach, seeds growing, stars in the sky, the taste and texture of chocolate and fruit, coloured flowers opening and thanking God for all these wonderful things’.

Under-twos, in the New Shoots group, ‘enjoyed the company of the other groups, particularly Fox Cubs. They took us for a walk to the park, dancing with coloured ribbons, encouraged us to paint and join in their playtime on the balcony and shared their snack with us’.

Caring for each other

Caring for one another within their groups was a priority, as the Fox Cubs described: ‘We all felt welcomed and we used pictures to help us make the right choices so that everyone could feel safe and happy… We have a kindness tree, which is full of leaves that help us to remember how we were kind to each other.’

Penn Friends used paper dolls on a paper tree to share how they felt: ‘[We] moved it up if we were feeling brave and confident, making friends and enjoying ourselves. We moved the paper doll lower if we were uncomfortable, nervous or scared.’

Meanwhile, the Spiritual Adventurers told Yearly Meeting: ‘Our group boundaries had stated that we would treat everybody the way we expect to be treated. We feel, as a group, we have worked this way, which has led to a special atmosphere of calm and inclusivity.’

Quakerism

Quakerism, and particularly the Quaker Business Method, was explored by many groups. For example, the Spiritual Adventurers told Yearly Meeting about ‘having a business meeting to nominate minute readers and writers and elders… sitting in quiet worship and meditation calmed us down and we were helped by the support of the group to share our stories and ministry’.

The minute from the Young People’s Programme, for those aged between eleven and fifteen, spoke of ‘holding our own Meeting for Worship for Business and nominating next year’s Arrangements Committee’.

The Young People’s Programme was a residential gathering held at Felden Lodge, Hemel Hempstead. Forty young people explored: ‘Why are Quakers active in the world? Considering what we as young Quakers can do.’

During the weekend they took part in speaker sessions, discussions and activities to delve deeper into this theme. In four groups they talked about climate change, poverty, refugees and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender plus (LGBT+) issues. In their minute they said: ‘We discussed our experiences, thoughts and what we could do to make a difference…

‘We had a session in which the adult volunteers shared their experiences of promptings and how they acted upon them. We then went into our base groups – small groups we gathered in regularly throughout the event, which were like our family – to create parodies of popular songs based on the four themes we had discussed earlier.’

Members of Young Friends General Meeting, for Friends aged from eighteen to thirty-ish, visited the Young People’s Programme on Monday 30 May. Cáit Gould, Laurence Hall and Holly Wallis spoke about ‘What can young Quakers do?’ and held a question and answer session, where their stories were heard and the group could consider the question for themselves.

Yearly Meeting

Participation in Yearly Meeting sessions was greatly appreciated. The Young People’s Programme visited Friends House on Sunday 29 May for a Yearly Meeting session on ‘Living out our faith in the world; recognising, testing and supporting concerns’.

They felt that the session: ‘Allowed us to explore our own concerns whilst listening to the views of the Quaker community as a whole, and helped us feel a valid part of [Yearly Meeting]. Two young people felt prompted to minister during the session and were heard.’

Ten fifteen- to eighteen-year-olds were also supported, by four adult volunteers, in attending Yearly Meeting. Comments from those who participated also reflected an appreciation of what they experienced:

‘The silence was extremely intense and the contributions were profound and moved me a lot.’

‘I found participating in Yearly Meeting challenging at first but ultimately rewarding.’

‘I felt connected to and respected by older Quakers.’

‘The session about testing a concern was very inspiring as it showed how you personally could begin to make a difference, no matter how small.’

Children and Young People’s Programme minutes are available at: http://bit.ly/CYPminutes2016

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