Young Friends General Meeting
Encyclopedia
Young Friends General Meeting is the national organisation for young Quakers
(from 18 to 30-ish) in the United Kingdom
. The General Meetings alluded to in the title are held in February, May and October each year, in various places in the country.
and led by Neave Brayshaw. The first National Conference of Young Friends was held in August 1911. Among the first generation were many conscientious objectors, who suffered badly during the Great War.
The movement has influenced London/Britain Yearly Meeting
strongly during the Twentieth century, for instance on the issue of Ethical Investments
.
The name changed from Young Friends Central Committee to the present name in 1993.
In 1998, YFGM gave the annual Swarthmore Lecture
to Friends gathered at Yearly Meeting in London, with the title Who do we think we are? Young Friends' Commitment and Belonging .
.
Various local chapters exist, and hold regular meetings. They carry out a special project each year, based on the concerns of the members in regard to the needs around them. The organization also publishes a monthly magazine entitled Young Quaker
.
Perhaps summing up its work is a statement from 1926:
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(from 18 to 30-ish) in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The General Meetings alluded to in the title are held in February, May and October each year, in various places in the country.
History
The Young Friends Movement in the United Kingdom, emerged in the first decade of the Twentieth Century, inspired by John Wilhelm RowntreeJohn Wilhelm Rowntree
John Wilhelm Rowntree was a chocolate and confectionery manufacturer and Quaker religious activist and reformer....
and led by Neave Brayshaw. The first National Conference of Young Friends was held in August 1911. Among the first generation were many conscientious objectors, who suffered badly during the Great War.
The movement has influenced London/Britain Yearly Meeting
Britain Yearly Meeting
The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain, also known as Britain Yearly Meeting , is a religious organisation in England, Scotland, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, often defined as a denomination of Christianity.It is a part of the international religious...
strongly during the Twentieth century, for instance on the issue of Ethical Investments
Socially responsible investing
Socially responsible investing , also known as sustainable, socially conscious, or ethical investing, describes an investment strategy which seeks to consider both financial return and social good....
.
The name changed from Young Friends Central Committee to the present name in 1993.
In 1998, YFGM gave the annual Swarthmore Lecture
Swarthmore Lecture
Swarthmore Lecture is one of a series of lectures, started in 1908, addressed to Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends .The preface to the very first lecture explains the purpose of the series....
to Friends gathered at Yearly Meeting in London, with the title Who do we think we are? Young Friends' Commitment and Belonging .
Current
Young Friends General Meeting now has two representatives on Meeting for SufferingsMeeting for Sufferings
Meeting for Sufferings is an executive committee of Britain Yearly Meeting, the body which acts on behalf of members of the Religious Society of Friends in Great Britain and the Crown Dependencies...
.
Various local chapters exist, and hold regular meetings. They carry out a special project each year, based on the concerns of the members in regard to the needs around them. The organization also publishes a monthly magazine entitled Young Quaker
Young Quaker
Young Quaker is a 3 times a year magazine produced by Young Friends General Meeting, which used to be produced monthly. It provides a forum for religious, social, environmental and other issues. It lists national and international events as well as changes of address and other notices...
.
Perhaps summing up its work is a statement from 1926:
'Our work is based on the thought that 'What you have inherited from your forefathers, you must acquire for yourselves to possess it'. That is to say that each generation of Young Friends by its experiments must discover for itself the truths on which the Society is built, if it is to use those truths, and to continue and enlarge the work of the Society. Hence the occasional separate meetings of younger Friends and our desire to have means of expressing corporately our own experience' (Quaker Faith & Practice, 21.04)
Events
While Young Friends General Meeting has historically organised a range of events, there are currently a total of 8 YFGM-run events each year:| Event | Timing | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Young Friends General Meetings | February, May/June, October | Large Friends' Meeting Houses around Great Britain |
| 3 YFGM Planning Weekends | January, April, September | Friends' Meeting Houses around Great Britain |