Totoranui, Golden Bay, South Island

Even with two JYF camps already under many of our belts most people who attended the camp could not deny that the weaving of activities and location with the theme was perhaps the tightest merging possible. In an isolated environment like Totoranui two hours away from any convenient store or cellular telephone reception, people were forced sometimes unwillfully to engage with their immediate surroundings and do as the theme suggested “more with less” . The outdoor activities were mostly generated by the imagination of Albie Burgers who pulled many people out of their immediate comfort zones. Be it kayaking in the open sea, planting 120 trees or doing a 15-minute ropewalk through the bush without the use of our eyes ignited the glorious spirit of adventure.

By providing the camp with a highly relevant theme and compiling people that usually would never have the chance to meet, people ended up relishing the differences from their usual company. With such an accepting environment many people were able to be themselves and express their own opinions to accepting and open minded listeners. This ranged from highly scripted and predictable to highly intellectual and politically aware discussion. When compared to other camps, Totoranui was far less structured which was a welcomed contrast to the previous year.

The lush native bush, great golden sands and beautiful blue sea surrounding our location was certainly inspiring to many environmental activists and was aided by the flamboyant guest speaker Green MP Mike Ward sharing his ideals. But perhaps more inspiring was Albie Burgers’ demonstrating simple yet effective and bizarrely cheap methods through his inventions to save electricity in the realm of solar heating.

Without any interruptions from combustion vehicles or other creators of unwanted distractions, Quaker silences were actually… silent. Many people took this opportunity to gather their thoughts and emotions, this process aided people by supplying them with the courage and determination to express themselves in whatever way they saw fit.

Overall most people would be hard pressed to argue that JYF didn’t make them a more complete, kinder and when all was said and done, a better person. Hopefully.

(posted by Anna, but written, as far as I know, by Jesse & Johnny! Sorry it's taken me so long to put up...)

www.peacewellington.tk

www.converge.org.nz/pma/nowarp.htm

www.indymedia.org.nz

To read an amazing letter which the Students for Justice in Palestine wrote to the Manager of Te Papa visit:http://indymedia.org.nz/newswire/display/71640/index.php

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3789971a10,00.html

This is a little random . . . but hopefully interesting! I've been thinking lately about marriage/civil unions and how they fit with my beliefs. I just had a look at the Births, Deaths and Marriages website (Dept. of Internal Affairs) www.bdm.govt.nz and found the following information about organisations that are exempt from the standard requirements around marriage/civil unions. My understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong) is that Quakers are one of these groups. I'm not entirely sure what form the Quaker exemption takes, so if anybody knows please could they post it here?! The basic tone of my wonderings is this:

1. Do I feel a standard marriage/civil union would fit comfortably with my beliefs?

2. If not, would a Quaker wedding/civil union?

3. If not, is anybody else in the same boat, and should we start up a new 'body' and apply for a new exemption so that we could have important and legally recognised ceremonies of this sort that are consistent with our beliefs/values?

My current feeling is that I don't quite like standard marriage/CU requirements because you have to say who you're being married "by". If I get married I intend to marry myself, lol, not be acted upon by some random third party. Even if that 3rd party was Quakers, I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with that. I've been reading again about medieval marriage and it appeals to me that, historically, any two people could marry each other by simply making a statement to that effect. I know this will seem really petty to some people, but it really grates on me that I can't just do that! When did the other rules sneak in?

Anyway, looking forward to hearing your wise words, and here's the bit about exempt bodies from the Civil Union Act 2004 (available on line from: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/browse_vw.asp?content-set=pal_statutes&clientid=157055&viewtype=contents)

Civil Union Act 2004

Section 1.

EXEMPT BODIES

1.Application to become exempt body—

(1)A body that wishes to become an exempt body must apply to the Registrar-General for exemption in the prescribed form.

(2)The application must set out—

(a)the name and contact address of the body; and

(b)the objects and beliefs of the body; and

(c)the approximate number of its members who are of or over the age of 16; and

(d)an explanation of why the objects and beliefs of the body are inconsistent with the requirements of this Act for the solemnisation of a civil union; and

(e)the rules and procedures that the body proposes to apply when solemnising a civil union.

(3)The application must be signed by at least 10 members of the body who are of or over the age of 16, each of whom must give their age and address, and the signatures must be accompanied by a statutory declaration, signed by a person who is not a member, to the effect that the signatories are who they claim to be and are members of the body.

2.Registrar-General or Minister may grant exemption—

(1)The Registrar-General may agree to grant the exemption applied for if any prescribed application fee is paid and the Registrar-General is satisfied that—

(a)the objects and beliefs of the body are inconsistent with the requirements of this Act for the solemnisation of a civil union; and

(b)the rules and procedures that the body proposes to apply when solemnising a civil union are generally consistent with this Act and are otherwise satisfactory.

(2)If the Registrar-General fails or refuses to agree to exempt the body, he or she must refer the matter to the Minister.

(3)The Minister must agree to grant the exemption sought if he or she is satisfied as to the matters referred to in subclause (1), but, if the Minister is not so satisfied, he or she must refuse the application.

(4)The Registrar-General must advise the applicant of the result of the application.

(5)When the Registrar-General or the Minister agrees to exempt a body from the requirements of this Act for the solemnisation of a civil union, the Registrar-General must give notice in the Gazette of that fact, and the body is exempt from the date specified in the notice.

3.Exempt body to notify changes—

(1)An exempt body must notify the Registrar-General if—

(a)it changes its name; or

(b)it changes its objects and beliefs in a way that impacts on why it considers that the requirements of this Act for the solemnisation of a civil union are inconsistent with those objects and beliefs; or

(c)it changes its rules and procedures for solemnising civil unions.

(2)If the body notifies the Registrar-General that it has changed its name, the Registrar-General must give notice of that fact in the Gazette.

(3)The Registrar-General must ask the Minister to cancel the exemption of an exempt body if the Registrar-General is satisfied that,—

(a)as a result of changes referred to in subclause (1)(b) or (c), the body should no longer be an exempt body; or (b)the body has failed to conduct one or more civil unions in accordance with its rules and procedures as most recently notified to the Registrar-General.

(4)If the Minister decides that the body should no longer be an exempt body, the Registrar-General must give notice in the Gazette that the body is no longer an exempt body, and notify the body accordingly.

(5)A body ceases to be an exempt body on the date on which the notice referred to in subclause (4) is published in the Gazette.

16.Solemnisation by exempt body—

(1)A civil union may be solemnised by an exempt body if it is solemnised in accordance with the rules and procedures of the body as most recently notified to the Registrar-General in accordance with Schedule 1.

(2)When a civil union is solemnised by an exempt body, the obligations imposed on civil union celebrants by section 62B of the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act 1995 must be performed by the person or office holder, or in the manner, as set out in the rules and procedures of the exempt body that have been most recently notified to the Registrar-General in accordance with Schedule 1.

How precious is an hour of Meeting for Worship (or what ever you care to call it) each week?

At the Young Friends group in Wellington yesterday we talked about the meeting and what we valued about it. We also talked about how our physical behaviour contributed to our experience. In small groups we talked a little about all sorts of things including those of us who fidgeted through the whole hour, those who struggled to be on time each week, and those who loved the few times they felt really still and centred.

We wondered about whether we have any 'rules' of behaviour for Meeting, and if these are necessary. Do we need complete silence to gather together; is it the silence that's important, or the being together?Does it matter if people are coming in late for up to half an hour? Does it matter if people make a lot of noise with their clothes, sweet wrappers or books during Meeting?

We also wondered about whether it is good to have some people in the meeting whose task it is to specifically uphold the 'worship' or 'gatheredness'. Traditionally people have been asked to do this and these people were called Elders. Now Elders have a lot more 'jobs' in the Meeting, and this isn't their only role. Other people say 'everyone's an elder' so you don't need people who are concentrating on it specifically, as everybody should be.......

If we are going to only meet together once a week for an hour (or less), is it worth taking collective responsibility to be on time and share that whole time together, or are we too busy these days to make that sort of commitment? Is everyone only responsible for and accountable to, themselves, or is there collective resopnsibility and accountability? Is Meeting for Worship a free for all, with everything said in ministry or done during the hour OK, or are there some boundaries? (mostly unwritten...this is Quakers after all....!!!) Of course if you bring up any scenario, there will always be an exception in which it was alright, but can there be some general guidelines, or do we not need them? Do we value or even need any structure?

If we don't need any guidelines to help further our spiritual journey together, then do we need people to be elders. Are they an outdated modality and we have now moved on. Is tolerance the only thing we can agree on, so we don't ask for any other commonality between us for fear of scaring people away? Is tolerance the only tenet of Quakerism or is the Spirit and our collective as well as individual understanding of it important?

These are some of the areas we are exploring in Wellington Meeting as we try to find the right way forward for our meeting for worship and our elders.

About 20 people were at the SOYFA group last night, and I'm sure some of them will have additions to this posting. There were lots of interesting stories and ideas. Many of you weren't there - is this something worth exploring, or is it not relevant to us as YF's?

I'd be really interested to know your thoughts......

Marion

(PS there's an article on the history of elders in Quakers, which I can post here if people want me to....)

In Wellington this Sunday (9 July) I will be leading a session with our YF group about 'Quakers on the internet', looking at the blogs and other resources available. As part of the session we will be doing a short 'Online Meeting for Worship', at some point between 8.30pm and 9pm. It would be lovely if you could join us - either in person: Wellington Quaker Centre, Moncrieff St, 6pm for 'normal' Meeting for Worship, 6.30pm for shared meal (bring food...) and 7.30pm for discussion, or in person online: http://worship.quaker.org , 8.30pm onwards. And if you can't make it at that time, have a look at the site anyway, as there is often a meeting going on at all sorts of times (and places - this is an international site, and bear in mind that the time zones don't seem to be quite right at the moment)

Hope to see you (somewhere) soon,

Hey People

The following posts are questions we would like you to post responses to.

They are all related to giving us a firmer idea and understanding of why we as a collective group want to become a formal structure in our own right.

The more feedback the better so the Young Friends Committee can take it to Yearly Meeting and answer with confidence the questions we invisage being asked!

Ultimately the information that we gather from this will also start to drive actual process of becoming "Aotearoa New Zealand Young Friends Meeting"

cheers! Ben (on behalf of the YF Committee)

Present at the meeting were: Thomas Watts, Ben Watts, Julian Carver, Sue Stover (as YF support person)

Apologies: Jim Green

The following is the basic outcomes of that meeting:

THE ROLES:

YF Clerk: Thomas Watts - Ongoing tasks include clerking meetings, liaising with YM clerk, keeping in touch with the other members of the YF committee, and staying on top of all YF business.

Assistant YF Clerk: Ben Watts - Ongoing tasks include taking and distributing minutes from YF meetings, creating agendas before those meetings, receiving and distributing information for YF's generally.

Communications: Julian Carver - Ongoing task include maintaining and expanding the existing communication networks. Julian is also going to act as YF Camp support person, and assist the treasurer.

Treasurer: Jim Green - Ongoing tasks will include keeping thumb on YF funds, keeping track of YF camp auditing, and liaising with YM treasurer.

Those who expressed interest in being involved with the committee but didn't want to take an explicit role on the committee have been noted and will be contacted to help out when the need arises. The YF Committee will actively seek assistance on jobs not directly related to their job descriptions.

TERMS:

We decided that appointments should be for 2 years and will run from YF Camp to YF Camp - so we will look for new people to take on the YF committee roles at YF Camp 2008. However this may need to be reviewed as a complete overhaul of the committee would remove all the institutional knowledge.. so maybe people should just have their positions reviewed or something..

YF SUPPORT PERSON:

Sue Stover has indicated that she is not comfortable remaining YF support person with two of her children also on the committee and has decided to step down from her position.

There are two options from here:

1. Appoint a new YF Support Person

2. We decide that we are a stable enough committee, confident to exist without a YF Support Person.

INTERACTION WITH THE YF GROUP

We intend to communicate with the whole YF group prior to and post committee meetings. This will be the main way decisions are made, with the committee generally just playing a coordination role.

All YF’s are welcome to attend YF committee meetings and are encouraged to do so. Some committee meetings will be held in person, and some by phone conference. The funding from Yearly Meeting to travel to these meeting will generally only be available to those on the committee however if there are people who really need to be there to speak to particular issues, financial assistance for travel may be able to be considered.

PRO-ACTIVENESS

The issue of "How pro-active do we want to be?" i.e. organizing events for YFs etc. was raised. However, with the move to becoming our own general meeting on the cards, it sounds like there is going to be plenty for us to be pro-active about, particularly in the lead up to Yearly Meeting where we foresee plenty of debate and discussion occurring. Hence we want to be in the best possible position of understanding about what it is we're trying to achieve when we get to Yearly Meeting.

YEARLY MEETING:

The YF Committee will meet again in full at Yearly Meeting along with the other YFs present. Thomas is going to talk with Lynn Richards about what our session needs to include, and if could be solely about "The Minute"? And also to find out whether Jimmy's report back about Aussie YM/YF is expected to in that presentation time slot.

We want to be well prepared for this presentation and the likely questioning that will arise. So we need to establish the Why? What? How? Who? aspects of our desire to become a general meeting in order to field these questions with understanding and confidence. In order to do this we will utilize the available internet communications networks, and talk to YF’s around NZ so that we will feel as though we are accurately representing YF’s at Yearly Meeting.

- more soon. a PDF of this will uploaded onto grouphug if you want to download that. Will keep everyone posted about YF issues and YM. cheerz ...ben!

Ooh - I just got mail!

From Penelope Dunkley who says that there is room for 6 YF's to sleep at the Nelson meeting house. She also says that the deadline for getting in registration is the 30th of June. I've got a blank registration form, which I can scan and send to anyone - or even better go have a look inside the NZ Friend's newsletter - there's one there on the middlest pages, so you can just rip it out.

Schweeet.

Thomas.  

To Friends everywhere,

New Zealand Young Friends gathered over Easter in 2006, nestled in the Kahuterawa valley outside of Palmerston North. There were 37 of us in total, but the people grew around us as Friends graced us with their presence, then returned to their lives.

We relied on the hospitality and goodwill of Friends to make our camp a success and to Alastair and Anne Hall, we thank you for letting us into your home and into your hearts. We were part of the environment, engaging in the regrowth of native plants and the regrowth of ourselves.  

For many, Young Friends camp is one of the few instances where time freezes, enabling us to interact without the pressure of the outside world.  

We felt that with the wind in the trees, and the songs in the air, we could change things. And we are changing. For half a day, we pursued an elusive minute which heralds a new dawning for Young Friends in New Zealand.

We hope this epistle finds you well.

We’re part of the Wellington-based- but-with-other-interested-people committee which is planning the next Summer Gathering, which will be in Silverstream (Hutt Valley) from 28 December to 5 January.

One of the things we would like to do this year is integrate the age groups more in each other’s activities and one of the ways we aim to do this is by giving the evening sessions/activities more of a YF focus. We envisage that this could mean that sessions might be run by YFs, but don’t panic if the idea of this would make you run away in terror… however we definitely want suggestions and feedback about the planning and structure so that everyone gets a chance to contribute. And if you would like to run session(s), or can suggest somebody else who might be good, let us know!

The theme is broadly ‘HISTORY’; with specific focus on the three areas of: international Quaker history; our own history of Quakers in New Zealand; plus, as it’s the 50th anniversary of Summer Gathering – celebrating the stories and memories of past Summer Gatherings.

We will be exploring these ideas at our next meeting, which will be in Wellington on Saturday 17 June, 10-4 at the Quaker Centre (bring lunch), and everyone is welcome to come, or let us know your thoughts beforehand if you can’t make it in person. There’s the blog (ie comment below), there’s the Grouphug email list, or our Committee email: summergathering@gmail.com or you could be old-fashioned and actually speak to us!

Looking forward to hearing from you, Frances (H), Marion, Anna, Quentin, Bridie

I've finally got round to uploading a few pictures from YF camp, and some more from general YF stuff in Wellington over the last few weeks. They are on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/75455666@N00/ and tagged with either 'yfcamp2006' or 'yfs'.

Love, Frances

Australian Young Friends met both before and during Australian Yearly Meeting held in Brisbane in January this year. Australian YFs are involved in many of the activities of the YM, including issues around child protection, sexual abuse and misconduct and the fun and singing throughout the week. This year, many of us are particularly excited about International Quakerism. With six Australians at the WGYF in Lancaster, one at the WGYF in Kenya, and one YF at the (FWCC AWP) Section gathering in Korea, we are feeling excited about strengthening connections within the Region.

One of the ideas that came out of all this international Quakerism is to have an Asia West Pacific YF gathering. We hope this will happen at the same time as the next section gathering, in Bhopal 2008. At this stage, we are looking to make contact with each YM in the section, so would love to hear from at least one YF in each Yearly Meeting. We would like input from all YFs in the section and in the next few months will be making contact with YFs throughout the AWPS. If you are interested in being involved in organising, or willing to be an initial contact person for your YM, please contact:

Emily Chapman-Searle, em8smem@yahoo.com or Hannah Chapman-Searle, hanspan333@yahoo.com.au

love & light Anna

One-Year Internship Position at Friends General Conference (mid July 2006- mid July 2007)

Friends General Conference nourishes the spiritual lives of Friends and Friends meetings in the unprogrammed tradition throughout North America. The internship is offered by the Publications and Distribution Program with additional duties under the care of the Committee for Ministry on Racism.

Brief Description of the internship In 2007 Quaker Press of FGC launches a major new book— Fit for Freedom, Not for Friendship: The Relationship between African Americans and the Religious Society of Friends from the Colonial Period to the Present (working title). Quaker Press anticipates that this two volume set of books will be of interest both within and beyond the Religious Society of Friends. The intern will assist the publications manager with promoting the book, setting up book signings, author events and other events as appropriate. She/he will learn about book marketing: researching mailing lists, preparing marketing copy, doing follow-up calls to bookstores, meetings and reviewers, placing advertisements, etc. In addition, she/he will assist the staff coordinator for the Committee for Ministry on Racism to use the book and accompanying study guide with monthly, quarterly and yearly meeting to address issues of racism within the Religious Society of Friends.

Qualifications: A member of the Religious Society of Friends - with some experience of the wider Quaker world, - some experience working against racism, - share an understanding and concern for working against racism - have completed several complex projects involving research.

Skills: marketing work requires: - excellent research skills - excellent listening skills - writing clearly and to the point - experience working with computer programs in word processing, data base management and Excel - ability to multitask and network - excellence with details, flexible and able to deal with the unexpected - personable and confident on the phone - able to handle a lot of follow up and follow through while remaining organized

Timing: begin around July 17, 2006 for approximately one year, ending with the option of attending the FGC 2007 Gathering in River Falls, WI July 1-7, 2007. Hours: Full time: 35 hours/week, 5 days/week Compensation: Salary $1500/month with benefits including health insurance Application Deadline: 5 pm, May 30, 2006

Application process Send a letter stating your interest in this internship, experience with Quaker projects both in and beyond your monthly meeting, work you’ve participated in against racism and relevant marketing and research skills. Please include a resume of education, jobs and volunteer work and a list of 3-5 references with e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

Applications can be sent to: Barbara Hirshkowitz Friends General Conference 1216 Arch Street, 2B Philadelphia, PA 19107

Applications must be received by 5pm on May 30, 2006. Interviews will be schedule in early June with a decision anticipated by mid-June. Start date in mid July.

We all thought someone else was bringing them to Wellington.... sooooooooooo sorry

Fran G - I've got yours, Zanna left it with me! =)

Dear Thomas,

Most interesting!

You have not missed White Papers since I am working on them right now, collating into the text all the Monthly Meeting and Committee reports. I am very happy to incorporate your minute.
I do have some stuff from Marion so that needs to go in also.

When I was trying to work out how YM Nominations could be more systematic I wrote a paper and sent it out with the 2005 February YM Clerk's letter, but it was a lead balloon. However, you'll be interested to know that  it contained a suggestion that YFs be included in the process when we are trying to find a suitable "name" (Quaker talk for a person!) for some particular job. I thought that idea also had never got over the thought-horizon but suddenly it has been suggested that a YF (or perhaps just a "younger person") should be on YM Nominations Committee. An idea whose time has come?

I will be pleased to have you talk to the ideas in your minutes at Yearly Meeting.  I will not be able to tell you until Gold Papers come out in early July where exactly in the programme agenda YFs will fit, but probably on Saturday afternoon.

Good to hear from you

Walk cheerfully,

Llyn

(posted by Thomas)

I've uploaded (most of) my photo's to Flickr now (Ben you'll be glad to know I left the most unflattering ones off =) !) Julian has done the same and you can see both lots at

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/yfcamp2006/

If anyone else uses Flickr and is uploading their pics add the tag yfcamp2006 and they'll show up here too =)

arohanui Anna D

I'll be honest. I couldn't find all the material. In fact, I couldn't find very much of it at all. So, if there are names I have left off the YM committee nominations please tell me (or you could even edit them yourselves!) - as a side note how exactly do we turn these into a committee and am I YF coordinator - it hasn't quite been discussed properly? 

Also, if there are any other minutes, that we made that you cannot see - apart from THE minute, then please tell me :D

Those gathered here feel led to express our belief that Young Friends are a distinct entity and would like to be recognised as a formal structure in our own right; a status Young Friends have within other Yearly Meetings.

We are considering calling ourselves Aotearoa/New Zealand Young Friend’s meeting.

We are guided by the definition of a General Meeting used in Britain, but do not feel we are limited by this.

We ask your loving support through this process.

Comments? Criticisms? Rubber Stamping? All welcome.

May God hold you all in the light.

(Thomas)