The World Gathering of Young Friends is the name of several gatherings of members of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

between the ages of 18 and 35. There have been two gatherings by this name; the first in 1985 in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States, and the second in 2005 in Lancaster, England, and

Mombasa, Kenya Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

. Though these gatherings are the first that were truly worldwide in scope, they followed many gatherings of a similar sort of

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...

from North America and Europe.

1985

The WGYF was held in 1985 in Greensboro, North Carolina, on the campus of

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...

. Seen as a defining moment for the

worldwide, this gathering is generally considered to be the beginning of the thawing of many of the strained relationships which exist amongst divided theologies of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

around the world. Many participants and organisers went on to take up key roles of leadership in their respective

Yearly Meetings Yearly Meeting is a term used by members of the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, to refer to an organization composed of constituent meetings or churches within a geographical area. The constituent meetings are called Monthly Meetings in ...

. The

epistle An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...

from the 1985 WGYF and the report of the process of its creation get cited in many

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

contexts and it makes inspiring reading, whatever one's background may be.

2005

The aim of the World Gathering of Young Friends 2005 was to bring together, at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

, Friends aged 18–35 from around the world to build community within the next generation of

leaders. They studied and learnt from their heritage, shared their present-day expressions of faith, and tried to discern how

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

is guiding them to facilitate understanding within the Quaker family. By sharing experiences of living Quaker testimony from their varied cultures, they sought to ask humbly for guidance and to open themselves to the possibility of transformation. Unfortunately, the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

refused even temporary visas to many attendees from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Therefore, a second conference was held in Kanamai,

from 20 to 24 October 2005.Blog from the WGYF Africa 2005
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Epistles

* Epistle from the WGYF in Greensboro, North Carolina, US, in 1985 * Epistle from the WGYF in Lancaster, UK, in 2005 * Epistle from the WGYF in Mombasa, Kenya, in 2005

References

{{Religious Society of Friends Quaker organizations