Traveling Among Friends by Mac Lemann

            Traveling to my yearly meeting for the first time in 2009 set me on an unexpected path. Growing up in New Orleans, the eastern-most meeting in South Central YM, I had never attended yearly meeting before. Having recently graduated from ESR, I supposed it was time. When I arrived in Bruceville, TX I was greeted by a newly forming group of Adult Young Friends. Talking with them I realized that we had  a common question: What does it mean to be a Quaker today? It seemed that young people in our Religious Society were disappointed with their understanding of Quakerism and were hungering to learn more about the roots of their faith and its practice. I returned home and asked the question in my monthly meeting. They replied; “if you figure it out, let us know.”

I resolved to travel to Pendle Hill. I expected to stay for only one term, but after that term was over I knew that there was still more for me. Living at Pendle Hill gave me a terrific opportunity to meet with Friends from across the country, and indeed the world. Listening to them over meals and in worship I realized that many Quakers were asking the same question: what does it mean to be a Quaker today? I began to tell a story to the Friends that I met. I told them that in the 20th century many people came into Quakerism because of the Religious Society’s stance on equality and peace. It was a very violent century and so it makes sense that the testimony of pacifism was held up above the other testimonies. Many people I met agreed with me.

I also the chance to travel to Guilford College that year as well as Ben Lomond Quaker center for small gatherings focused around “Convergent Friends,” an emerging group within Quakerism that I believed might be addressing the question that seemed to be burning among us. The power of these experiences was not in the answers that arose but in the opportunity to connect with other Quakers in worship, joining together to seek communion and Truth. I came to believe that when we travel to Quaker events we need to have less time in workshops and more time in worship, that our spiritual practice must be the ground of our life as Friends.

I was once in a very powerful worship with several young Friends and Deborah Shaw. None of us felt able to break the silence and close the meeting. Finally, Deborah said, “we separate in body Friends, but not in Spirit,” and we were released. Being in a place like Pendle Hill with many traveling Quakers, and traveling myself across the United States, I and realized that though we are not physically present with one another we are bound together in God when we practice. We can sense the common Truth of our experience as we seek the answer to the perpetual question of what we are, and how we are, as Friends today. Many revelations came to me during that year and continue to follow me since returning home to New Orleans. When I travel to South Central Yearly meeting, to Kansas last Fall, to ESR for the Leadership Conferences, being in worship and meeting with Friends brings a continual unfolding of my sense of where Friends are and what we could be. 

 
Mac Lemann, ESR '07, is the clerk of the Friends Meeting of New Orleans, Board Chair of the New Orleans Food Cooperative, and is renovating property damaged by the failure of the flood-walls after hurricane Katrina.
 

Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series - Service Days

By Micah Bales

This video is the tenth in a series put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

This video features the service portion of the gathering, which took place after the weekend event. We spent our days doing landscaping for Mennonite Housing in Wichita. Our nights were spent playing games and getting to know each other better. While only about a dozen of us were able to stay for the service days, it was a blessed time that had its own special flavor.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series–The Epistle

By Micah Bales

This video is the ninth in a series put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

In this video, we hear from one of the members of the YAF 2010 Epistle Committee about the Spirit-led process of composing a statement for the gathered body of Young Adult Friends from across North America.

Make sure to check out the YAF 2010 Epistle, which is available on the Gathering’s the official website, where you can also find the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series – Two YAFs Reflect

By Micah Bales

This video is the eighth in a series put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

This video includes interviews with two Young Adult Friends who share their experiences of the 2010 YAF Gathering.

For more information about the 2010 YAF Gathering, please check out the official website, which features the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference, as well as the epistle that those gathered issued at the end of the weekend.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series – Sunday Evening and Monday Departure

By Micah Bales

This video is the seventh in a series put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

This video documents the close of the weekend gathering, with some reflections on the importance of the event.

For more information about the 2010 YAF Gathering, please check out the official website, which features the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference, as well as the epistle that those gathered issued at the end of the weekend.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series – Sunday Morning and Afternoon

By Micah Bales

This video is the sixth in a series put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

In this video, we see footage from Sunday morning and afternoon, when YAFs joined University Friends Meeting for Bible study and worship.

For more information about the 2010 YAF Gathering, please check out the official website, which features the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference, as well as the epistle that those gathered issued at the end of the weekend.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series – Saturday Evening

By Micah Bales

This video is the fifth in a series put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

In this segment, we get a window into the Saturday evening of the gathering, when Friends heard a message from Dave Williams of Barclay College, followed by a time of unprogrammed worship that was blessed with a rich sense of Christ’s presence.

For more information about the 2010 YAF Gathering, please check out the official website, which features the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference, as well as the epistle that those gathered issued at the end of the weekend.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Encountering Our Divisions –Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series

By Micah Bales

This video is the fourth in a series put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

In this segment, we hear from several YAFs about their experience of how divisions came to the surface at the Gathering’s Saturday-morning Bible study. During this time, Friends wrestled in particular with our different understandings of the role and centrality of Jesus Christ in our faith as Friends.

For more information about the 2010 YAF Gathering, please check out the official website, which features the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference, as well as the epistle that those gathered issued at the end of the weekend.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series – Saturday Morning and Afternoon

By Micah Bales

This is the third in a series of videos put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

This video provides a window into the first half of the first full day of the event, including interviews with participants.

For more information about the 2010 YAF Gathering, please check out the official website, which features the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference, as well as the epistle that those gathered issued at the end of the weekend.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Young Adult Friends Gathering Video Series – Friday Evening Program and Worship

By Micah Bales

This is the second in a series of videos put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

This particular video gives a glimpse into the opening evening of the YAF gathering, as Friends gather and begin to get to know one another.

For more information about the 2010 YAF Gathering, please check out the official website, which features the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference, as well as the epistle that those gathered issued at the end of the weekend.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friendsand is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.

Young Adult Friends Gathering 2010 Video Series

By Micah Bales

This is the first in a series of videos put together from footage and interviews taken during the 2010 Young Adult Friends Gathering in Wichita, Kansas. This gathering took place over the 2010 Memorial Day Weekend and was perhaps the most diverse and balanced YAF gathering in generations. Roughly equal numbers of Liberal-Unprogrammed, Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were in attendance, along with a small number of Conservative Friends.

I hope that these videos will provide you with a sense of the importance – and complexity - what took place in Wichita last May. Coming together from across the United States and Canada, we sought to draw together in the Holy Spirit. Through our joys and our struggles, we came to know each other better and to understand more deeply our shared heritage as Friends.

For more information about the 2010 YAF Gathering, please check out the official website, which features the advance materials that Friends were asked to use in their preparation for the conference, as well as the epistle that those gathered issued at the end of the weekend.

Micah Bales serves as Coordinator of Young Adult Engagement at ESR. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife, Faith Kelley. He is active with Capitol Hill Friends and is a member of Rockingham Friends Meeting, Ohio Yearly Meeting.