the sausage factory takes over the blog! (part 1)

Here we are at the Sausage Factory in the Drayton room, 14-18 years olds at Britain Yearly Meeting. They're from all over the UK. We talked to them about Quaker stuff, the blog and the differences between programmed and unprogrammed Quakers. All mistakes are my own (Jez), I may have misheard some stuff.


Wess: who is furthest from home?

Chris: I'm about 200 miles from home. I ride my bike most places but i got the train here.

Wess: Where else?

Others: Sutton, London, Isleworth, Cheltenham.

Mike: where are you from? Wess: LA.

Jez: How is BYM? What is the best thing?

All: Such a cheesy question etc.

Simon: What’s the worst thing?

Mike: Early mornings. We got up at 730

Chris: I got up at 5 to 7.

Jez: did you have epilogue last night?

Katy: We did stuff on the floor. Postcards and candles. You could look at them if you felt drawn or moved to look at them.

Wess: Anyone from Birmingham?

All: No.

Wess: Facebook or myspace?All: Facebook.

Katy: Myspace is so lame. Wess: The best stuff is on Facebook.

Katy: You should stop producing Young Quaker. No one reads it. You should close it down, use the money for something more worthwhile.

Wess: How do we make the blog more interesting?

Sally: With music.

Emily: Use bright colours.

Stefan: Photos.

Emily: Animations.

Wess: GIFFs. Would you watch videos?

All: Yes.

Newbies: Yes I Am The New Guy (But I am not alone)

This is my first official yearly meeting and I get to spend it in London at the Friends House, I must say I feel overly privileged. I have been to Evangelical Friends Eastern Region Yearly Meeting once but it was just for an hour or two one evening, that was back when I was youth pastoring at a small congregation in Barberton Ohio (about an hour south of Cleveland). But this, my friends, is very different and very exciting for me. So yes, I am the newbie - the one in the corner with a glazed look over his eyes or the goofy smile on his face; I can't help it I actually love meeting new people. Not only do I get the privilege of being a newbie, but also one with some responsibility (i.e. blogging here), note how scary this could be. It might be like giving the keys to your merchandise to your unlicensed teen, but it does give me an insider's look at the gears turning behind this big Quaker machine.

It's already shaping up to be an incredible experience because of the really great entry points created for new people just like me. I too can imagine there being a sense of pride in knowing you've got an Evangelical spending his first YM under your careful tutelage. Quite honestly, I am happy to be the understudy.

Here's what I've experienced so far:

First, there was tea and cake for all overseas visitors. Beware would be free-loaders this event is by invite only! In fact, I've got a special blue badge (overseas visitor) with a gold star (YM first timer) on it. This gathering was great not only because of the tea and cakes, but also because of the varieties of faithfulness represented in the room. There were some friends from France, Ireland, Norway, India, Canada, and many other places, even Canton Ohio was represented! Some of these people are here for the first time, some have been coming for years, and others still use their overseas connections (even though they now living in England) to get in to this exclusive gathering; yes the tea and cakes are that good.

But no matter why they were there on the surface, we were all there because God has called us to join together as Friends. And this calling seemed apparent to me from the beginning of the session when the Martin Ward, the clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting, talked briefly about allowing God to shape and mold us, and that is really what Friends are about.

Secondly, I went with Angelina (from Philadelphia yearly meeting) and Simon (from Telford meeting) to the YM first timers session (I don't remember if that was the official title, but we aren't really into titles now are we?). This was a kind of tutorial about what goes on during YM, how things work, and the nitty gritty about where to find things, who to call for help or get to get your questions answered. They also covered the basics, when not to get up and speak during the meetings for business, the importance of turning off your cell phones, and a moving explanation as to the importance of reading the Epistles and Testimonies. My favorite part of this was learning how the actually business session is ran. They covered who the clerks are, why it's important to have silence as a part of the business session, and why everyone is invited to speak during it.

Finally, I think my favorite part so far, besides just being here and being asked to blog about the weekend, is getting to meet all the other bloggers, and people associated with the YM. I've already met friends from all over the world (and most I may even remember their names), and have meet people I hope to keep in contact with for a long time. Oh, and my wife and I have already been invited to stay with one lady when we come back to visit London again. It's not that I am surprised that I feel welcomed, it's how much I feel welcomed that is tipping the experience off for me. Being 6,000 miles away it's good to know I am may be the new guy but I am still among friends.

blog developments

Okay, we may be able to reveal a fourth blogger shortly, hopefully breaking the all-male mould.

We're also looking at different information feeds, listings and ways of channeling our posts through our own blogs.

Do leave your suggestions here...

Watch this space...

Jez

how the bloggers came together

In response to another post, a fellow blogger points out that it is quite odd for the bloggers to be all-male.

So, here is a little explanation as to how the blogging team came about.

John asked me if I was interested in blogging for BYM. I said yes, but suggested some more people, to get a wider perspective. He said okay, but suggested that I find them.

The first person I asked to join me on this jolly was Laura but she couldn't come. Alice seems to have disappeared from the blogosphere, so I didn't ask her.

I'm an official member and Si is an official attender, so I thought that we could counter-balance each other, then he suggested Wess, as an official outsider :o)

It just happens that we are an all white, male, bearded, similarly aged crew.

We could have spent longer looking, but I didn't know anyone else who was coming to BYM who blogs regularly and we had deadlines to meet (Quaker bureaucracy to deal with).

We are by no means the definitive bloggers of blogosphere, nor are we claiming to be the best representatives, however, we will give it a pretty good innings if we can (that's a cricket reference, to go with the morris-dancing, for all those wishing to learn about peculiar British customs and sports).

This is also a see how it goes attitude to this blog. We have no budget, were assembled late and have not even sorted out where we're going to blog from yet! The hope (so) is that we can do something and can do something a bit more planned next year.

If you want to join us, leave a comment and I'll get in touch.

best,

Jez

Documents in advance

Okay folks, this is it, publications in advance are here.

There's no better time than now to read them, with some perfectly sculpted silence as you get your eyes working, or, you can pick your favourite music at Pandora or musicovery.

towards Britain Yearly Meeting

Welcome

Hello, welcome to Britain Yearly Meeting blog.

What is Britain Yearly Meeting blog?

This blog is an attempt by some Quakers to bring the 2007 event of Britain Yearly Meeting to a wider audience.

Britain Yearly Meeting takes place in May 2007. The purpose, was explained by Quakers of Yearly Meeting in London in 1668:

"We did conclude among ourselves to settle a meeting, to see one another's faces, and open our hearts one to anohter in the Truth of God once a year, as formerly it used to be."

What will the blog achieve?

The blog may open BYM up to people who have not been able to come.

It may also make Quakers who have never been to BYM more aware about what goes on there.

The blog may share something of Quakers with people who are new to the Society.

Who are the BYM bloggers?

The Britain Yearly Meeting bloggers, are Jez (me), John, Simon and Wess.


Links within blogs

Bloggers often put links within blogs. For example in the first section of this post, if you click on the names which are in a different colour to the rest of the text and are underlined, then you will be taken to a different website.

A bit about us

Jez (me): member of Colchester & Coggeshall Monthly Meeting, attender at Peckham Recognised Meeting, co-editor of Young Quaker, the monthly magazine of Young Quaker, blogger at Quaker Street and member of the Young Friends General Meeting Rewrite Appeal 2007 group.

John: a Westminster Meeting man, John works at Friends House, where, among other things, he edits Quaker News and was greatly involved in the 2005 World Gathering of Young Friends.

Simon: attender at Telford Meeting, Quaker Life Representative Council member for Young Friends General Meeting, overseer of Young Friends General Meeting and blogger at Underthegreenhill.

Wess: Quaker currently worshipping at Pasadena Mennonite Church in the US. You can learn a lot more about Wess here.

What you can expect from the blog

You can expect a blog that shares something of BYM, doesn't break confidentiality and provides perspectives from Quakers from different backgrounds.

There might be interviews, contributions from other people, pictures and possibly links to video and podcast material.

Links

If you have a website or a blog, please add this blog to your links.

Please tell other people about the blog.

Blog about the blog.

Leave a message and if you have a blog make sure that you leave a link to it, so that other people can read it too.

If you have added a link to this blog, leave a comment, so that we might be able to link back to you.