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of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) |
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NYYM Adult Epistle to Junior Yearly Meeting, 1999Letter to Young Friends,Do you remember how the thunder sounded and the rain came down as we started this, our last yearly meeting of the 1900s? What a stirring time to think about our theme: dreams and visions. We began by remembering how we live out some of our visions all year, teaching nonviolence, helping prisoners to find new lives, working hard at a children's home in Jamaica. (Many of you have done that work!) Through the week we heard about more work that needs doing, to restore Honduras after a hurricane and mudslides destroyed so much, to help a community in Costa Rica as it farms in harmony with the rainforest, to strengthen peace workers in the former Yugoslavia, to examine the way we live our own lives and find new ways to share with each other. One night, we remember how - thirty years ago - our Yearly Meeting was so strong and clear that it stood up for peace even while war sounded like thunder all around it. Some of us laughed to remember what risks we took then, and with what joy! We heard this week, too, of one Friend whose call to peace is still so strong as to dare to challenge the U.S. government in court. But at other times, this week, we have been sad to consider that our Yearly Meeting may have lost some of its clearness. A letter from other Friends told us we were not alone. Bible study told us we are also not the first! Thousands of years ago, people set aside special years to remember God and to rethink the way they lived on the land and with each other. A special year like that had a wonderful name. They called it a "Jubilee." We were reassured, too, that in God's world anything that is lost is also found. Phil Gulley reminded us of a story Jesus told. You may know it too. It's about how God is like a shepherd who has 100 sheep. When he loses one, do you know what he does? He leaves the other 99 to go and find it. He loves it so much. After the thunder and rain on the first night, do you know what happened? We learned that one of you was missing. Word quickly spread. Young people told us where they'd last seen their friend. Some grown-ups checked in rooms and on the porch of the Inn. Others walked quietly to the docks and the beaches. More grown-ups and teenagers were ready to help if they were needed. Happily, they were not needed. The young Friend was found safe. Young Friends, whether you are here or back home, as you splash in puddles or struggle with hard questions, and even as you slip away from us to claim the stars at night as your own, know that you are part of a community that loves you and each other. As we search for new visions and new ways this year, we will be listening for the shepherd to speak to our hearts expecting a jubilee. In Loving Friendship,
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