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of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) |
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NYYM Adult Epistle to Junior Yearly Meeting, 1999Dear Young Friends,We want to share with you the story of our week together her at Silver Bay--a week full of stories. Some made us laugh. Some made us worry. Some helped us to listen more deeply. Some made us proud to be Friends. Many of the stories made us think of you and wonder what you would think. In this 50th year of New York Yearly Meeting at Silver Bay, we heard stories of earlier days when men wore suites and ties to dinner and women wore hats. One Friend remembered how, as a boy, he looked forward to Yearly Meeting because, in spite of the formal dress of those times, he knew he would see William Bacon Evans walking around with one of those funny arrows through his head and would hear Anna Curtis (the name you know from Powell House) telling stories that made people happy. A number of other Friends recalled how they had met here in their youth and later married. We wondered, as we listened, what stories you will tell 50 years from now. We heard the executive director of Silver Bay, Mark Johnson, present a talk called "Echoes of the Spirit," full of stories of the special friendship that has grown through years between Quakers and the kind people who care for this wonderful place. He said that Friends are remembered by Silver Bay staff in a wide variety of ways: as everything from deeply religious and upright to fun-loving and, perhaps, a little wild. We heard new stories, too, that made us hopeful about the future. In the State of the Society reports many Monthly Meetings, asked to name their sources of joy, named you, their children. Powell House reported that 710 pairs of your young feet have run through their doors this year, and that your numbers keep growing. Our treasurer reported that, so far, New York Yearly Meeting has more money this year than last. Even so, we were reminded not to put our hearts in riches. Some of the stories we heard were worrisome ones. The story of Friends World College reminded us that we sometimes make mistakes, forget our own testimonies, hurt each other and need to heal. We want you to know of our imperfections and to learn from our mistakes and struggles. Many stories strengthened and deepened our lives as Friends. On Wednesday night we heard the story of how Friends work to support a hospital in Mexico where impoverished children and families come for medical care. We were told of Friends who let their lives speak by holding silent vigils against the death penalty outside a courthouse where a man was being sentenced to death. We reaffirmed our support of a Friend who for many years has witnessed to the peace testimony by refusing to pay the portion of her taxes that would be used to support the military. Outside of meetings, strolling across the grounds or sitting together in small groups, we have shared some of our personal stories, too, and we have watched the early chapters of your unfolding lives, as well. We love your energy and beauty, from the babes-in-arms who paddle like ducks in the lake, to the young children bravely trouping off to their morning sessions, to the pre-teens and teenagers whose music and laughter fill the evening air. We cherish the stories that you have been weaving this week on your own and together, in Junior Yearly Meeting. We delight in the color and imagination of the giant puppets you created, using them to show us that hope conquers fear. For us, that victory of hope over fear is the essence of who you are. Know that we want to keep listening to you. Like you, we have been refreshed and renewed by the natural beauty of Silver Bay. We wonder what stories the mountains and the stars could tell about us all. We know that our small part of the larger Friends story will one day be yours to tell. |