YFGM Appeal
World Gathering of Young Friends 2005

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These webpages are designed to give people an overview of our fundraising activities and to find out how you can get involved. You could help out at one of the events or speak to a collection at your meeting.

This is an article that was written for The Friend magazine that talks about the end of the last appeal and the background to this new appeal for the World Gathering of Young Friends

Appealing to British Friends!

Young Friends General Meeting decided to lay down the Mental Health Appeal in June 2004. The Mental Health Appeal Group are delighted with the progress which has been made during the eighteen months of the appeal. At each YFGM there has been a thought provoking session on mental health. This has enabled us to consider how mental health effects each of our lives as well as those of others. Through the weekends which have been held on mental health, we have been able to explore these issues further. The last of these weekends is focusing on ‘mental health and creativity’ in July and will be held at the York Retreat.

We are excited to say that the appeal has raised over £13,000. This is all thanks to the contributions which you have kindly made to the appeal. Examples of this have been through the contributions and collections at Preparative Meetings, sponsorship given for the sponsored walk, as well as donations and money raised at the YFGM auction. The money raised has and is going to the Association of Pastoral Care for Mental Health, and will go to produce a video focusing on mental health issues, organising a day for Overseers and Elders at Woodbrooke, improving presentation materials and continuing their superb work on supporting people with mental health problems.

This appeal has made many of us consider our own mental health as well as asking us to think how we support each others mental health within our meetings. A big thank you to all of you for the support you have provided during the mental health appeal. If you would like to know more please do not hesitate to contact Juliette Sturge at juliette.stoller@hotmail.com

The YFGM appeal for the next year will be in support of the World Gathering of Young Friends to be held in Britain at Lancaster University in August 2005. For those of you who have heard nothing of this exciting project, this will be an opportunity for about 350 Friends aged between 18 and 35 to gather together to worship, share and seek. To try to learn from each other, to discover our similarities and our differences and to understand how we, as Young Friends, can impact the Religious Society of Friends and the wider society. The theme for the gathering will be, "Let us then see what Love will do. I am the vine and you are the branches now what fruit shall we bear?"

The planning committees for the gathering are working under this mission statement:

We believe God is calling us to be a gathered people. There is infinite guidance, love, peace and truth available and ours for the harvest--for Christ's harvest. We come together to humbly ask for guidance, to embrace our siblings in Faith, to understand truths that have been difficult before, and open ourselves to the possibility of transformation

As Young Friends prepare to meet in the same area where the early Friends first gathered, the Planning committees are eager to ensure that all Yearly Meetings across the worldwide family of Friends are represented. Money raised by the YFGM Appeal will go into a bursary fund to help Young Friends with travel and accommodation costs for the gathering. We hope that many Young Friends from countries such as Kenya, Rwanda, Bolivia and Indonesia amongst others will be able to participate in the gathering as fundraising will be difficult in these countries.

The YFGM Appeal group will be contacting meetings in Britain to share the vision of the gathering with them, to encourage your Young Friends to get involved, to ask for prayerfully support for this spirit-lead project and to ask you to dig deep in your pockets to help us make this a truly representative gathering. To help us make this a gathering that will impact far beyond those meeting next August. There is a very real sense that the time is right for this generation of Young Friends to discover afresh the Truth that the early Friends discovered.

If you would like more information on any of the above, or would like to know of someone in your area who might be able to speak to your meeting about the YFGM Appeal please contact us through the Young Friends General Meeting Office at Woodbrooke, 1046 Bristol Rd, Selly Oak, Birmingham B29 6LJ tel: 0121 472 1998 or visit our website: http://www.wgyf.org

Written by Juliette Sturge and Aidan McCartney

More Information on the World Gathering of Young Friends 2005

The World Gathering of Young Friends Website gives a lot more information. Including updates from the planning committees for the gathering which are spread across the world. Also information on how to get involved in aspects of planning the World Gathering.