To Friends Everywhere!
      Amidst the natural beauty of the mountains and lake surrounding Silver Bay, the 306th Session of New York Yearly Meeting convened with 480 adults and 173 youth in attendance.
      Jubilee was a time of reconciliation. There has been a tremendous amount of healing in our Yearly Meeting. We sense spirits at peace and hearts at rest.
      In this first year after Jubilee, our Clerk invited us to "look at each other again as if for the first time." She also suggested that we focus on our basic procedures, as seasoned musicians practice the scales, so that we remain faithful to Friends' ways. In this spirit we began to labor over the recommendations of our Ad Hoc Committee on the Function of New York Yearly Meeting, and we followed a rich schedule of meetings for worship, study groups, and meetings for worship with attention to business. Friends participating in Bible study felt the relevance of the story about Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, and Isaac to the tensions in the Middle East today.
      God's healing grace was felt throughout our Yearly Meeting in many places and many times: in reflecting on memorial minutes, in the coming home of some who had been absent, in the visits of members of four Indian nations, and in workshops dealing with peace and reconciliation. The sudden illness of a beloved senior Friend in attendance gave us opportunities for prayer and care.
      Our Yearly Meeting was especially enlivened with the presence and enthusiasm of our young people. They were everywhere. We noticed spiritual development among them, and that many are assuming responsibilities in the activities of our Yearly Meeting. One Friend passionately expressed in vocal ministry that his experiences with Young Friends provided him with not only hope, but also assurance for the future.
      For your epistles our sense of community has been heightened, and our knowledge of the work of other yearly meetings expanded. We are grateful to share a witness that contains the message of peace and good will throughout the world.