In June of 2007, over 80 Friends from 17 yearly meetings came together in Barnesville, Ohio, to share their deepest experiences and longings regarding their Quaker faith. This gathering included 2 components:
June 22-24: "YFNA / WGYF:
Past, Present & Future"
Reunion & Envisioning a Future
Young Friends Movement
This weekend brought together past, present & future young adult Friends to share stories, ways these gatherings affected their lives, plans & visions for the future.
June 24-29: "QuakerCamp at Stillwater"
Following the reunion, Friends hungry for spiritual community came together for 5 days of worship, worship sharing and discernment. Here is a description of 2007's Quakercamp daily schedule.
Gathering epistles, accounts, talks & queries
Friends gathered this week in Barnesville last year wrote an Epistle from Quakercamp at Stillwater describing their sense of deep joy & excitement about what occurred there.
A separate Epistle from Young Adult Friends was also written concerning the work that YAFs there were doing to envision and build a new movement for YAFs in the US & Canada. For more about YAFs, go to YAFs at Quakercamp
An article by Pamela Haines describing this gathering in more detail appeared in Friends Journal in December 2007.
You can also read Micah Bales' blog on his experience in Barnesville this week. Micah is an active YAF, recent ESR grad and a member of Great Plains YM (FUM) doing traveling ministry in his YM.
Those
of us present were deeply moved by presentations each evening by
Conservative Friends on their own experience of their Quaker faith. 2
of these presentations are posted here:
Susan Smith on Friends Business Meeting, as Conservative Friends Experience It
Jack Smith on Scriptures as Understood by Conservative Friends and
An interest group developed a set of Queries on Confidentiality & Openness
that may be useful to elders, gathering planners and others needed to
discern the right balance between these two important needs within a
faith community.
For a list of who took part in these gatherings, click on Quakercamp Participants.