Epistle of Junior Yearly Meeting 2011
held at the University of Kent in Canterbury
To all Friends everywhere:
For JYM this year, 106 young people between the ages of 16 and 18 gathered for a
sunny week in Canterbury from the 30 July to the 6 August as part of the Yearly
Meeting Gathering of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain. We explored the
theme "Developing our faith: How does your direction change your actions?"
The week has been a very challenging one in many ways. The George Gorman
lecture inspired us to consider our faith and provoked discussion with Friends of all
ages on what we believe. In our business meeting, we considered the question "How
should our faith inform the way we act as a Society?". There was a strong feeling
that our faith should encourage us to act, and not be passive. This led to much
questioning of our personal responsibilities and actions.
We explored how the world might develop in the light of inequalities in distribution of
resources through our simulation, playing the part of families trying to pay their rent.
This showed that people react differently to the pressures of survival, some using
cooperation and creative thinking, while others resorted to theft and corruption.
We were energised by Sam Walton's session on the peace testimony, fittingly
described by him as "peace tapas", which gave us the chance to make our own
declarations on whatever we felt strongly about.
We felt a part of the whole gathering, enjoying chances to mix with Friends of all
ages, including the epilogue we provided. Inviting other Friends to our chat rooms
brought a richness to our discussions that challenged our views further. This was
also true for those that attended the Swarthmore lecture, which made change seem
possible as individuals and as a Society. It was invigorating to be part of the
'gathering up the threads' process, allowing our ideas to feed in to the whole
gathering. We felt that our contributions to the discussions on sustainability were
important and were heard.
The 'do something different' day was refreshing, and gave us space to reflect on the
week so far. It also gave us chances to live adventurously, and spend time with
others at the Gathering.
We have gained strength from our worship throughout the week, during sessions,
prologues, and epilogues. It was particularly interesting to experience a programmed
Meeting for Worship based on experiences of evangelical Quaker meetings by
Friends who had attended the Quaker Youth Pilgrimage in America last year.
A series of social activities helped us to get to know one another and build a
community. Strong friendships have formed whilst relaxing in the JYM space which
was often full of laughter, music and the chance to play the brilliant Quaker game:
"Unable, unwilling". We joined with the Young People's Programme for a hide and
seek type game across the campus called "Hunt the Quaker", with over 20s
disguised as members of university staff, joggers and a stack of boxes. It was
brilliant to have this chance to make links with younger Friends. These social
activities helped to build a welcoming atmosphere where we could gain confidence.
Base groups built on this atmosphere and gave us a platform to discuss our
experiences in a small, trusting group, which also helped us to get to know new
people.
The week has enriched our sense of belonging to the Society, due in part to our
integration with the Gathering throughout the week. It has helped us to reaffirm our
faith. Many have said that they will be returning to their meetings energised, and will
be taking their faith out into their lives, inspiring
directions for their futures.
Signed in and on behalf of Junior Yearly Meeting 2011.
Peter Griffin Rachael Booth
Junior Yearly Meeting Clerks