Junior Yearly Meeting 2008
At Junior Yearly Meeting in April, almost 200 young people came together to consider the theme of “How do we make choices in a time of change?” and “Are we able to respond effectively both as individuals and as Friends?” This year was also the first time that representatives from other churches attended the event. John Fitzgerald caught up with Jordan Street of Bootham School to talk about his experiences.
How did JYM help your spiritual journey?
Personally I have very strong and already determined views, so I viewed JYM as a way of furthering those beliefs. I never really felt that I could benefit from prolonged epilogues or group meetings but at JYM I really started to change that opinion. The last epilogue was an experience that will not exactly depart very quickly and it really forced me to delve into issues and also gave me a chance to express myself too.
Did JYM have an impact on your local Quaker group? If so, what?
Definitely, as a pupil at Bootham School Quakerism is present in my everyday life. That doesn’t mean that it’s active or even encouraged. But with the experience that my fellow students and I gained it has suddenly become much more of a part of our everyday school life.
As 10 students from Bootham attended JYM, there was a mini Bootham community present in JYM and we all brought back everything we gained and tried to implement it in our school community.
For example, every other Wednesday the whole of lower sixth form attend Friargate for a half-an-hour meeting. Throughout the year not one member of our year has ministered whatsoever and we all wanted to show how much we learnt at JYM and how much we benefited from the entire experience.
The people that went to JYM stood up, some spontaneously, and said what they believed in, or spoke about something important in their life. This, completely unexpected, triggered other members of the year to get up and speak their mind also. Experiences like this made us all really appreciate the importance and value of JYM.
What do you think JYM does for young Quakers in general?
I think it allows young Quakers to get to know each other and I know that may sound basic and pretty inconsequential but for some young Quakers they are the only ones of their age in their respective meeting.
As well as that, the themes and sessions in JYM managed to enthuse most people attending and give them food for thought. I definitely think the majority of JYMers were stimulated by one discussion or another and that has to be a benefit.
What would you say to people who are considering going to JYM for the first time?
When I was slightly younger I thought all Quakers believed exactly the same thing, wore the same thing and thought the same thing. JYM allowed me to open my mind to all different things.
I now know that Quakerism isn’t so rigid, and there are people that believe similar things to myself (something that I wasn’t to aware of beforehand). Also I think bonds and friendships that you make at these events can last a very long time and I do regret not attending any Quaker events before this years’ JYM.
See more at: http://www.yqspace.org.uk/
