This day and age: Tim Rouse wants support for young Friends

‘YFGM has often been a radical and prophetic voice.’

Last week, Imi Hills called for more space for young Friends within Quaker structures, to support vital radicalism in our Religious Society (‘Long-term solutions’, 27 September).

One part of the answer is already in our existing structures: Young Friends General Meeting (YFGM), which, though its thrice-yearly gatherings, has fostered a strong community for several generations of young Friends, and acted as just such a space for radical thinking and action. From organising protests, to work in recent years on trans and non-binary inclusion, Palestine, and challenging Quaker obsequience to the monarchy, YFGM has often been a radical and prophetic voice.

YFGM’s unique place in our structures, with the formal ability to send minutes to Meeting for Sufferings, has been very useful when young Friends have felt led to challenge the Yearly Meeting to do more, or do better. But YFGM cannot do everything, and it cannot speak for all young Friends. Despite significant efforts towards accessibility, YFGM’s weekend gatherings, like many Quaker events, aren’t accessible for those with caring or career responsibilities. Bursaries can help with travel costs, but not with travel time or inflexible schedules. While Britain Yearly Meeting continues to provide valued funding for YFGM, the loss of administrative support from Friends House at the start of the pandemic has meant far more of Friends’ time is tied up in the necessary work of supporting our own structures, and less is free for spiritual and practical action – a situation familiar to Friends in many Meetings, regardless of age!

‘YFGM cannot do everything.’

YFGM will continue to play its part in the radical future of the Society, as will the other groups for young Quakers, from annual teenager events to the mostly-informal groups up and down the country. But rising to Imi’s call to action will require more than just relying on our existing structures. It will require creativity, and funding, and hard work, from Quakers young and old. Sometimes this means yielding existing space and allowing young Friends to set the agenda, as Imi outlines. Other times it will involve investing time and money in building communities for young Friends, such as ensuring Meeting houses have insurance for overnight stays, or compensating Friends for work they couldn’t otherwise afford to do. Directly funding young Quaker groups, and intervisitation between them, is a great opportunity for outreach. We should embrace the principle of funding young people to do more in pursuit of their – our – faith.

None of this is complete if radicalism is left only to those under thirty-five. We need older Friends to be radical too! But just as previous generations of young Friends have led the way for the Society, from those who brought it into existence to the young radicals of the early twentieth century, young Friends now have much to contribute – if we are given the space, and the trust. 

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