Junior Yearly Meeting
Young Friends share the epistle from Junior Yearly Meeting and their thoughts on the event
Junior Yearly Meeting Epistle To all Friends everywhere, On Friday May 25 2012 seventy-five Young Quakers between the ages of sixteen and eighteen met at Lee Valley Youth Hostel to explore our theme: ‘Bearing Witness to bring about a just and compassionate society’. We enjoyed a sunny weekend of fun and challenging activities, ending with the reading of the epistle at BYM on Monday 28 May.
It was uplifting that although most young people have exams at this time of year, so many were still able to be here. We had many old and new faces, creating a diverse community in which everyone was included. Among the ways we did this was through Base Groups, which helped us share our thoughts within a close-knit setting. We have been brought closer together through activities such as a JYM mini-Olympics, and felt united through our team work in the Quiz, too. Within this community we hope everybody found something they could identify and engage with.
We endured a long train journey to the sweltering heat of Friends House, where we were represented by four Young Friends who spoke with honesty and integrity to BYM. This brought the abstract concepts of ‘economic justice and sustainability’, on which the session was based, back down to earth, and helped the JYM community engage with the theme. There was also some eye opening ministry from other JYM participants and we felt that our presence energised the Meeting. We continue to value our involvement with the wider community of British Quakers.
The Swarthmore Lecturer joined us to give a talk on her practical application of Quaker witness. We appreciated the opportunity to ask questions about her inspiring work with QUNO – helping us to understand the extent of Quaker influence in the world.
Our simulation reflected the injustices of the distributions of power and wealth in the real world. This was confusing at times and led to frustration. Even when our intentions are good, it can be hard to act on what we feel is right. This forced us to consider the injustices within our society, and provoked discussion about how difficult is it to ‘Bear Witness’, to lead by example, or to live by our ideals. We later explored how people have swum against the tide and borne witness to their convictions, leaving us with the knowledge that we have the power to do the same.
Morning worship offered a cherished spiritual experience for early risers, especially in our beautiful setting. We have had epilogues each evening, on Saturday night we were joined in our simple outdoor epilogue by a fox. This grounded us in our surroundings. Bearing Witness is a practice central to our Faith, and our creative engagements with the theme also offered an opportunity for our spiritual growth.
Through the community that we have created here, we have given ourselves the strength and tools to Bear Witness to the unfairness in our society to help being about a more just and compassionate world.
Aidan Childs and Isobel Sutherland, clerks
Held at Lee Valley Youth Hostel, Cheshunt and Friends House, London. 25-28 May
Friends who attended JYM also said:
‘JYM has been a really fun weekend. I love being in a place where people actually talk to each other – you can bring up real issues and people respond from the heart.’
‘[Attending a BYM session] makes us feel involved nationally with all ages as well as just our age groups.’
‘[The] atmosphere was very welcoming and the activities we did really gave us a chance to speak out as young Friends and get our thoughts heard.’
‘I particularly enjoyed the sessions about bearing witness as I have always tried to do this in my life but I feel even more inspired and educated on the subject now.’
‘I feel more connected to the Quaker process which I feel mainly happened through attending BYM.’
‘I gained a fuller sense of a Quaker community – especially during exam time when I feel less “Quakery”.’
‘I really enjoyed [attending BYM]. I think it was really good to connect to the wider Quaker community. I also thought it was interesting to see how BYM worked.’
‘It made me realise that Quakers can have a larger impact than just contemplating things they can do.’
‘The speaking sessions, when four JYM participants spoke, were really interesting to hear and I enjoyed it a lot. It made me realise a lot of things.’
‘It helped me emotionally with being more confident in who I am and that I do actually have an effect on the world.’
‘The talk by the Swarthmore Lecturer made me feel more connected spiritually to the action Quakers do.’
‘I have gained the confidence to be more open and willing to talk about my beliefs and spirituality which I think will help me bear witness.’
‘I’ve found a new capacity within myself to discover more opportunities to make the world a better place. Through the rich spirituality of the weekend I think the whole group felt totally at ease to discover themselves.’
‘I think its really important that the voices of the younger generation are heard and the two groups coming together [at BYM] was a great way to do this.’
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