Yearly Meeting Gathering 2011 blog - posts by: %2

Taking off our badges

GilS — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 19:02:47 +0000

Yearly Meeting Gathering is coming to an end, and tomorrow we will all be taking off the badges we have been wearing all week and leaving Canterbury. Our badges have been our identity, allowing us to recognise and greet other YMGers. My badge has also reminded me where and when to go to my anchor group and has got me in to Rutherford for meals. …(read more)

Young Quakers talk of the Young People's Programme

Nikolas Dadson — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:48:05 +0000

I met with these very charming young people rather hurriedly. Again, sorry for the poor camera quality, my Flip video camera is jammed full of Helen Drewery and I can't get her out.

They were very willing to help, kindly gave me back some of the chocolate I gave them (for my kids to share) and then politely thanked me. If this is what YMG does for young people, I'm booking my kids on for next time!

Sharing

AlisonB — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:08:36 +0000

R and I tried filling in a little evaluation card this morning. One question was about how you have been challenged this week. R's bottom lip wobbled as he re-lived a traumatic sharing/not sharing incident the day before 'When I was playing outside, and I didn't get a go with the spinning thing. Sharing is HARD'. …(read more)

Dealing with the buttons

clares — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 22:47:06 +0000

I know it's not just me that found this afternoon's session incredibly exciting, QF&P should be exciting. We made big changes to church government, We heard there have already been three Quaker same sex marriages, and movingly from one of the registering officers involved.

And we made some significant changes on membership too - for the first time QF&P is explicit that we can admit members who need help to make that application but are not under 16. Equality in action, we hope so.

Meeting

AlisonB — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:37:41 +0000

Some more beach toes! We went to the beach yesterday and it was gorgeous. We met someone on the bus who had a blue biro cross on a map we she'd heard was the location of a Quaker beachhut. Someone else thought it might be No. 19. And it was! we wandered through housing estates and woodlands then emerged to find a small branch of YMG had congregated, enjoying tea, squash and flapjacks with the occasional dip in the sea, all rather idyllic. I also managed to speak to two new YM people. I may yet make my lower target of 3. …(read more)

Threads

AlisonB — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:31:13 +0000

So I finally made into a session today! not a full one, but still . . . …(read more)

YMG as seen from the information desk

clares — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 19:29:30 +0000

Saturday: when will my veg box arrive?

Sunday: how do I find an anchor group?

Monday: can you sort out this problem with the room for my event?

Tuesday: when and where should I go for my excursion in the morning?

Wednesday: where is epilogue today?

Thursday: have you got xyz in lost property?

The frequently asked questions evolve as the week evolves.....

To be continued. If I get time that is!

Things One, Two and Three on YMG

Nikolas Dadson — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:19:30 +0000

Things One, Two and Three tell us what YMG is like for them. This is the second take as they thought they "looked wierd" on the first take. They look exactly the same. My partner's camera (excuse the very poor quality) has rules of it's own and only allowed me to make a short video, clipping off:

Me: Would you recommend coming to YMG?

Things One, Two and Three: Yes!!!! (Enthusiastically)

Challenges

Nikolas Dadson — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:50:18 +0000

Image: The wee 'un. Great company, but not good for business

When I set up this blog I suggested to Friends that they contribute little and often. Over the last few days I have come to realise just how busy everyone is. There's so much happening that it's a wonder anybody has time to write anything. Two bust laptops and a broken video camera have also been something of a challenge to me.…(read more)

The heart of the matter

JoannaP — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:08:27 +0000

…(read more)

Step by step

GilS — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:42:53 +0000

Yesterday I went to Whitstable in the glorious sunshine and paddled. I took a photo of myself dipping a toe in the water - something that I feel I've been doing a lot of, metaphorically, at this YMG.

Then today I came across a video put up on Facebook by my banjo-playing Ffriend from Texas, Terry SoRelle. I have known the song for a long time but the words spoke to me afresh after all the things we have been considering this week.…(read more)

Sleeping 2

AlisonB — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:43:17 +0000

Sleeping 'New Shoot' 2. We went to All Age worship on Tuesday afternoon, which was noisy and shuffly and gorgeous and touching and profound. Trying to help children experience worship means we have to work out what we are doing, what is happening in worship, what is important to us - big, important questions. This new Shoot snoozed, ahhhhhhhhh.

Sleeping 1

AlisonB — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:37:26 +0000

Sleeping 'New Shoot'.

Listening

AlisonB — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 07:34:44 +0000

I sat outside the Big Blue Top last night - this is what was there with me:

hoards of children racing round, Lord of the Flies like, trailing CYP rucksacks and name labels

a couple of violinists entertaining us

lots of Friends pausing on a grassy bank, soaking up the music, atmosphere and gently fading light - and enjoying the cool air

huge sturdy cables, guy ropes I suppose, anchoring the tent with strong pegs fixed deep into the asphalt…(read more)

Acting locally

clares — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 23:56:04 +0000

The message that keeps coming to me during this yearly meeting is the importance of acting locally in our communities, something I have not thought much about before in a Quaker context. For some years now I have enjoyed working locally for a charity focused on local young people. I like the fact that when the MP visits it is my MP and when I go to see the council it is my local council. But despite working myself in the local community where I live, my Quaker involvement has been largely internally focused whether locally or nationally.…(read more)

Pruning

AlisonB — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 19:43:58 +0000

We got back to our little house for lunch today to find this outside. This was incredibly exciting, and R took many photos, including this one. Unfortunately it had been rather brutally pruning the trees outside. …(read more)

Books, books, books

GilS — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 14:23:04 +0000

There are a lot of books about at YMG - new books being launched, old books being rehomed and unexpected books like these that I came across on my travels across campus, carved out of wood to make a seat in a campfire circle.

I will read the new books - I have bought Geoffrey Durham's book and I have just been enthused by hearing about Ann Hosking's extended essay on Truth. But I have given some of the old books a new home too. What they will give me is not dusty history but the living voices of their authors.…(read more)

Economic Justice session

LauraS — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:28:27 +0000

After what I felt to be a not very promising start, the ministry on economic justice finally moved on from the limited and limiting topic of ethical consumerism to the full scale of how economic injustice prevents our Testimonies from flourishing. The Clerk/s is /are shit hot at receiving the spirit / writing minutes - it was pretty much ready to go at the first reading. I do wish we had heard a speaker from one of our Quaker UN Offices on this topic. The concern is now off to Sufferings so maybe the international work is something for their crucible.

Running

AlisonB — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:41:39 +0000

Here's R running around outside. He's really tired, so many new and exciting things going on I think, but also he's having nightmares, shouting out in his sleep, mumbling thoughts about going home, is it the right house, where is the house etc. Disorientated, lots of uncertainty ahead, and his little mind churning it around, working it out. He's good at living in the moment though, running around with a ball, feeling the wind and the sun and stretching his legs - a good habit I wish I was better at.…(read more)

Going

AlisonB — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:31:13 +0000

Here's a picture of the Big Blue Tent. There is just something cheery about a circus big top I think. Even though it is awfully hot in there. I took this on the way into the Swarthmore Lecture last night, which was Not Cheery . . . though I came out feeling really quite energised and really glad to be part of a Quaker community. …(read more)

Sun and shade

LauraS — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 08:25:38 +0000

Only 9 am and already as hot as yesterday afternoon. I expect we'll see some fainting in the Big Top today. Fortunately, today's bulletin includes instructions on fainting Friends. Rather idyllically, I've found a cool, shady tree on the hill overlooking Canterbury where I can use wifi and write this. Simon Best's George Gorman lecture has certainly caused a stir. People who were there that I've spoken to are thinking seriously about this idea that we may need to agree a deep and acknowledged commitment to what makes us distinct from other organisations/groups. …(read more)

Threads

AlisonB — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:04:42 +0000

I'm in the Gathering Tent right now! I can see:

Canterbury cathedral in the distance.

Friends knitting. One appears to be knitting a dalek.

Coffee, sandwiches and lots of information on bits of paper being consumed.

Lovely big bunch of yellow flowers.

Lots of sunshine and dappled shade.

A tent called Fun and Lunch.

Someone lying on the grass holding a sign saying 'Stop me and Ask me'. It should say 'Wake me up and Ask me' I reckon . . .…(read more)

Will your anchor hold?

GilS — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 07:48:31 +0000

I went to the first meeting of my anchor group yesterday and it felt like stepping out of a whirlpool of activity into a calm sea of reflection.

There are so many people here that I am glad of an opportunity to get to know a little about the experience of these few friends throughout the week.…(read more)

JYM speaker session

ashanti — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:56:32 +0000

This afternoon, JYM participants had a speaker session/workshop on the peace testimony (2011 being its 350th anniversary) from Sam from Quaker Life. We were first given the 'best bits' from the document - a short extract from the declaration which acted as a summary. …(read more)

So far so good

Nikolas Dadson — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 14:47:32 +0000

On Friday night my partner informed me that my daughter's laptop that I had been busy un-virusing and fixing only had ten minutes of battery life when fully charged. I quickly dusted off my old netbook and spent three hours de-virusing that and then inadvertantly breaking it at 3 in the morning. As I overslept we set off hours later than hoped and got stuck on the M25. So far, not ideal.…(read more)

Great opening session

HarveyG — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 11:25:29 +0000

Charismatic is how I would describe last night's intro. In the sense of rich with gifts, inclusive, joyous, even extrovert - story, participation, teaching, and singing. Well, some weren't singing - shyness? Embarrassment? Tiredness? Quaker traditionalism? But most did join in. My neighbour was a newcomer. "It's not always like this" I said. My only hope now - that we don't make clapping obligatory! Then this morning session was moving. I dreaded a Quaker puritan sense of wretchedness (which makes people freeze with guilt). But there was movement and depth and pragmatism. Took away the challenges of a) the question how to discern between two important choices - it's not always a cosmic clash between good and evil, often between two worthy aims; b)how do we begin to approach those who do know the facts and just don't care. It's going to be an interesting week. …(read more)

Community is...

jezs — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:43:47 +0000

Community is...

Time in God's presence.

A group of Friends at Canterbury station meeting us off of our trains and making sure that we get safely to the Yearly Meeting Gathering campus.

Being warmly greeted on our arrival by Friends from Kent who we've never met before.

Seeing the recording clerk, Paul Parker (see picture), cycling with Friends to show them around the campus and to find their accommodation.

Making friends with our new housemates, some of whom are at their first Yearly Meeting event.

Time to catch up with old friends.…(read more)

Thinking

AlisonB — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:19:09 +0000

I'm here! I'm here! made it. Feels like quite an acheivement. I managed to develop a stinker of a cold a couple of days ago, which almost pushed over the edge what was already a pretty ambitious schedule. Of course, when I say I got a cold, I also mean R and J got a cold. My other half managed to avoid it by wisely being away working, and supervising new carpets and white goods deliveries at the New House- easy life you see. . …(read more)

It's oh so quiet!

GilS — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 09:08:45 +0000

Here we are - quite a lot of us from the organising teams and a few hangers-on like myself - in an eerily quiet campus waiting for the Gathering to begin.

Meetings are being held, tents are going up [sometimes with floors and electrics!], enormous numbers of boxes and crates are being unpacked, welcome bags are ready for distribution, but in spite of all this frantic activity the Gathering feels as though it is holding its collective breath.…(read more)

What I love about Quakers

JoannaP — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 23:31:03 +0000

As YMG gets closer I have been feeling somewhat aprehensive about various aspects of it. This will be my first residential gathering, and there are various things which do not sit easily with me. A whole week of timetabled activities, 7 days of being present in a community and all the preparations and planning will make this very different from my normal weeks where I spend at least 72 hours alone, work for myself as enquiries demand and cannot contemplate eating breakfast at the same time 2 days in a row.…(read more)

The Big Blue Tent

GilS — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:16:21 +0000

On the Facebook Yearly Meeting Gathering page there is a picture of the Big Blue Tent where we will be meeting as a YMG community. It's quite something and made me feel excited when I saw it.

I've been doing a lot of rushing about and organising in the past few days, worrying about different things and, to be frank, not really looking forward to going to Canterbury. But a reassuring phone call and the sight of that tent has really lifted my spirits.…(read more)

Introduction and preparation

a.yaxley — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:02:24 +0000

Hi everyone. I am sure I'm not the only one who is a bit behind with the preparation. I have a few thoughts here about my practical preparations for YMG and my spiritual preparations.

I will take a small rucksack for a day back. I remember ending up carrying loads around at Yearly Meeting before - bottle of water, a packed meal, all the papers, my notebook, pens, and so on. Supplies as well. I think I will take a few kitchen essentials with me to help me with cooking and meal prep during the week.…(read more)

Drawing

AlisonB — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:35:54 +0000

So my good intentions to blog last night were stymied by R deciding to stay up until I went to bed - he was actually being rather good company, though I knew I'd pay for it today. And I did. So today passed in a blur of hastily concocted threats, half-hearted bribes, lots of whinging and quite a lot of that 'good enough' mothering everyone goes on about eg. If you don't stop drawing on your leg, I will . . . er . . . actually, it's fine, you carry on, just don't draw on the baby *long thoughtful pause* . …(read more)

On the way to Yearly Meeting

HarveyG — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:55:39 +0000

As we approach Yearly Meeting, I would like to share a prayer I was given yesterday (edited slightly). It was written by Oscar Romero, the assassinated archbishop of San salvador:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. …(read more)

Preparation

clares — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 21:22:37 +0000

Our house is pretty full of YMG preparation right now, with papers all over the place. Each of the family has their own tasks to see to. Mine has been organising the Information Desk volunteers rota. …(read more)

Getting on with the reading!

jezs — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:17:59 +0000

One day later and I’ve read almost all of the Documents in Advance – twice! Apologies to anyone who I almost walked into while reading the text on my walk into work this morning.…(read more)

Making a start

GilS — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:30:55 +0000

I thought I would start writing something as I've been reading other people's beginning blogs. I have also just updated my profile after several false starts. The trouble there was that I found it very difficult to cut my bio down to 160 characters, so is just as well I have not ventured onto Twitter! I'll stick to Facebook and blogging.…(read more)

Video about the campsite

Nikolas Dadson — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:57:06 +0000

For those camping, I attach a short video made by Ken of Neal's Place campsite. Unless the weather "does a St. David's" on us (those foolhardy enough to take regular "holidays" on the tempestuous coast of Pembrokeshire will know what I'm talking about) I think the campers have made a good choice. I also include a link which gives a bit more information about the site [opens in a new window].

Packing

AlisonB — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:27:50 +0000

I spent last Friday packing for a weekend away. This Friday I will be packing for a week away at YMG. 3 days after we return, we will be packing up everything we own and moving house - or strictly speaking, we will be watching some hopefully highly professional people pack everything we own neatly into a van and driving it away for us.…(read more)

Five days to go

jezs — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 13:39:23 +0000

In five days I’ll be arriving at the university of Kent campus for a week of Yearly Meeting Gathering. Am I excited? Definitely. Am I ready? Definitely not.…(read more)

Looking forward to first YMG

Nikolas Dadson — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:45:28 +0000

Yearly Meeting Gathering (YMG) is now less than a week away. If I explain that I work at Friends House on the website and publications you'll probably understand why I'm experiencing both a sense of great relief as well as expectation. By now gatherers should have events listings, docs in advance and a whole lot of other stuff. Everything else important is with the printers and finishing touches are being done on the website this week - including putting this blog live. It is, without doubt, our busiest time of year. That accounts for the sense of relief.…(read more)

Countdown to YMG

LauraS — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 21:28:03 +0000

Food is ordered, packing has begun and marks are appearing on my YMG timetable. Being back at the UKC campus is going to be rather nice. My most enjoyable year at University was 1998-9 when I did a postgrad diploma in Sociology at Kent and lived down the hill in wonderful Canterbury. That was the year before I started going to Meeting and I had yet to knowingly meet a Quaker. …(read more)