As we continue learning how to expand as a faith community while including all voices, I want to express my deep appreciation for all the work being done—both locally and globally—to keep our diverse Quaker community alive.
Currently, I am on Vancouver Island, worshiping with friends near Duncan, where acknowledgment of the broader Quaker practice and FWCC was mentioned on World Quaker Day. That same weekend, I had a video call with Neyda from Bolivia and Fernanda from México, which inspired me to write a short article. I hope it encourages them to write about their own experiences, and I would be very curious to learn more about their perspectives on Quaker life. I ended up submitting a publication to Friends Journal, as Renzo has been motivating us to share our work in the journal’s Latin American part.
I also want to express my heartfelt gratitude for FWCC, especially the gathering in Arizona. I learned so much from that experience, and it has shaped the way I hope to approach future Quaker experiences. I feel deeply honored to be part of a non-programmed Quaker practice within the Latin American section. I admire how our meeting is growing, and I’m profoundly grateful we are part of a global network.
Thank you, truly, for all that you do!
With love and peace,
Hazel
I wonder how the trials of young adulthood have changed over the decades. I find it hard to believe the current state of society is all that novel—there have been countless economic crises, wars, and billows of hatred rising up throughout the centuries. Have things really changed all that much? Is this really the “most difficult” time for young adults?
While these questions frenzy my mind over whether the world has always been on fire, it doesn’t negate the urgency I feel at present to find a way to make the world a better place.
I was spread so thin over the past year with responsibilities that moving with a quickness drowned out the small, still voice of Spirit. It was so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of opportunity, something which I find so challenging to navigate at this point in my life. I feel the surmounting pressure to balance my faith, career, and personal life—a ceaseless discernment of how to experience a connection with Spirit as I consider what it means to live a holy life.
It’s not Spirit that asks me to make money and pay my bills—that urging stems from my choosing to live in a capitalist society. But how I meet that end can be filled with Spirit.
I’m grateful to know I’m not alone in my struggle to navigate life’s many crossroads as I commiserate with other Quakers my age. Uplifting this community offers me comfort as I navigate endemic polarization between what I believe to be right and wrong, just and unjust. I’ve turned my efforts towards encouraging and empowering young adult friends in my monthly and yearly meetings, and am now led to forge a path for North and Latin American young adults to connect. And while I’ve encountered little resistance from the community in all of these endeavors, I find the challenge lies within myself.
It was an honor to be a part of planning opportunities for North and Latin American Friends to connect with one another. In this great, big, overwhelming world, it’s comforting to know there are Quakers everywhere showing up for that of God in everything. I feel my worries ease as more and more spaces for young adults to connect open across our section.
I’m stumbling along as I learn more about the cultural differences I have with Latin American friends. I’m embarrassed with every faux pas I make and grow frustrated with myself for not being more considerate. How dare I not know what I don’t know?
I turn these frustrations towards Spirit and recognize how I’m being led. I might walk along the path clumsily, but I continue to move towards Spirit’s light.
Spirit’s light is shining on a small and mighty group of young adults who are determined to build the future for young adult Friends as way opens. The first of four virtual gatherings was held on September 6th to facilitate introductions between young adults in the Section of the Americas. While it wasn’t a smooth planning process or program, it was filled with Spirit and opportunity. I’m excited to see how each event grows and changes from previous ones, and even more enthused about what might come of these connections.
The next events will occur on the first Saturdays of December, March, and June. Please share this opportunity widely! A registration form for December will be shared in the coming months.
Meg
