July 29, 2010
Greetings in Christ from your Junior High Friends at Northwest Youth Yearly Meeting:
We as a Quaker community have been anticipating Youth Yearly Meeting throughout our entire year, and now it has finally arrived. Honestly, I think it is safe to say that this week has been by far, one of the most fun-filled, worshipful, inspiring, and “gadol” Yearly Meetings to date; we have all been truly blessed to share this week, growing and rejoicing in the love of our Lord. The main theme for our week was “Eyes Fixed, Running Free,” that if we throw down what hinders us and set our eyes on Jesus, we may live in true faith.
This week, we had the pleasure of staying on the George Fox University campus, rooming in great dorms, and eating amazing food. On Sunday, we kicked off the day with registration; everything ran smoothly and then it was off to the luau, a great celebration filled with excited youth, face-painting and wonderful carnival games. After the luau and evening gatherings with Colin Saxton as our speaker, it was off to the ice cream social, a chance to mingle with the adults of the Yearly Meeting. All in all, our first day of Yearly Meeting was a success!
On Monday, we started off our first business meeting as a Junior High whole, explaining each of the officer roles and giving basic information about the week’s schedule. Afterward, we spent the majority of our day getting to know our family groups and attending fun and educational workshops. We ended the day at the evening gathering with numerous examples of local outreach projects in the Yearly Meeting. Tuesday, though very similar to Monday, differed in that we had two business meetings. We started with an explanation of the discernment process and repeated our roles as officers and began to take nominations for next year’s Junior High clerks. That night, we heard from our speaker for the week, Scott Daniels, who offered key examples of faith and positive change.
On Wednesday, we gathered together with the adults in combined worship and to also experience an adult business meeting for ourselves. During that meeting, we presented next year’s officers and read our epistle. Afterward, we had our final business meeting in the afternoon, and then it was off to various service projects with Love INC, helping the people in the community of Newberg.
On Thursday, it was off to Pacific City for beach day! The youth played in the water, built sandcastles, climbed a super-huge dune, and simply enjoyed their time at the Coast. Later, after the adult closing celebration, we had a celebration of our own, reflecting on the week and having fun in fellowship! Friday, sadly, was our last day, filled with many good-byes and lots of packing. This year, 2010, Youth Yearly Meeting was simply amazing, by far one of the best!
In Christ,
Haley-Marie Allen
Junior High Assistant Clerk
Northwest Youth Yearly Meeting 2010
