Young Friends

Dear Friends Everywhere,

Greetings from Scattergood Friends School and Farm in West Branch, Iowa! The Young Friends met here again at Iowa Yearly Meeting Conservative sessions from 7/24-29, 2018. The week was a busy one, full of community building, swimming, farming, canoeing, eating ice cream, laughing and so much more.

Our week started with worship, for which we joined the greater yearly meeting every morning to center ourselves. Then we had a values auction, an activity where we wrote down a collection of values, and with a set amount of “money” had to decide which values were most important to each of us personally, represented by how much we were willing to spend.
It was an interesting activity, both to learn more about each other, and as a self-reflection on our own values. Later that day, we reflected on this session’s theme “Being Centered in an Uncentered World” as preparation for our Young Friends Speak video (inspired by Friends Journal’s Quaker Speak videos) that we filmed later in the week.

We went swimming at the Scattergood pond, diving off the pond’s new wooden raft, and playing with plastic swans, especially after we discovered that their heads could be taken off. That evening, we played an enthralling game of capture the flag alongside Junior Yearly Meeting and IYMC Student Staff. We played until it was too dark to see. The following
day, we went on our annual canoe trip, this time paddling almost 8 miles down the Maquoketa River. It was a relaxing trip, complete with a stop for oversized sandwiches on a sandbar. After the trip, we set up a projector in our Young Friends lounge and settled in for a movie night. We worked all week on an extremely difficult, 890-piece 3D puzzle.
Despite our struggles to finish the puzzle, it functioned as a great exercise in teamwork and patience. We also did some service for Scattergood School, helping dig potatoes at the Scattergood Farm.

We had a campfire and s’mores at the pond with JYM that same evening. On our final day, we helped our Friend Mary Snyder with a Quaker time line, went on our annual trip to the Tipton swimming pool (and nearby Dairy Queen), and
wrapped up our week with the IYMC Talent Show.

We digress, it was a jubilant and joyful week, and we look forward to
meeting again next year!

In Friendship,
Rhyla, David, Chris, Reace, Emily and Thomas
IYMC Young Friends 2018

7/28/2017

Iowa Yearly Meeting Conservative Young Friends Group

We had so few people within our demographic,
We had to pair up with the Junior Yearly Meeting.
Taking tours through the nice serene Iowan pasture
Until the collective eventually decided to
Commence a hearty lunch consisting of food
All of which made by the people running
The camp, On the next day we decided
To not venture, but rather have just
A nice intellectual break where I created
My now infamous collage
And we did just eventually deteriorate
Into smacking a ball up at each other,
fun none the less
And on the next day we decided to ditch Scattergood
Took to a nice movie instead, I saw
Animē feature film and I didn’t pay a dime
I have no idea how this will end, but I know
1 thing for certain
I need to say thanks to Scattergood.

Richie E.

Minute: We enjoyed reading the epistle from Young Friend Richie. We also appreciate Nate Lien being part of Young Friends with Richie this year.

7/25/2015

Played a lot of card(s), Eli found it very hard

Played Capture the Flag, the flag was a rag

Chopped veggies, but cut finger(s), so we decided not to linger

Heard about Quaker community and learned about Lincoln unity

Talked about things that are deep, and made quite a leap

Friday we wanted to float, so we rented some boat(s)

Almost didn’t arrive, cuz’ Google Maps failed us during the drive

As we rode through the water,

we saw what we thought was an otter

Emily learned to steer, she saw a deer and didn’t veer

Kylie took a nap, and we wrote dope rap

Tomorrow we might go to the pool, and we hope it’s really cool

Might rain -- that would be a pain

Wait till next year, we’ll be back, don’t fear.

Respectfully yours,

Morgan Kisling, Kylie Kisling, Claire Sponheim, Emily Rhodes, Antonia Bachteler, Eli Kanake, Lake Giffen-Hunter

Minute: We heard the rapping Young Friends' epistle and are thankful for their authentic report. We are glad there were so many cool things to do. Young Friends' presence has brought us a lot of joy and hope. We thank your leader as well and are grateful for our Young Friends being here.

7/26/2014

We were invited to play Capture the Flag by the Friends of Junior Yearly Meeting. We played two games both of which were very amusing. Then we played volleyball. This proved to be an interesting game because our skill sets were quite varied.

We were lucky enough to be able to make pottery with the Scattergood pottery teacher, Shumpei. This was a blast! We made mugs, cups, and trays. Some of us used the potter’s wheel while others of us worked with our hands and tools. We returned the next day to paint and glaze our creations.

On Friday we were hoping to take our annual canoe trip, but, after many hours of careful planning, it rained. So we went with plan B: bowling in Iowa City. There were lots of cheers, groans and penguin slides, which made for a really fun trip. Then we got some delicious ice cream.

Our service project this year was to tear down an old, unused shed. This was hard work, but we were glad to be able to help Scattergood School where we could. Some of us used drills to take off the plastic panels on the roof, while others cleared out the area and hauled away the detached roofing.

Although we arrived late, we went on a prairie walk that was both beautiful and educational. Jim Kessler taught us about native plant ecosystems. The only problem was the wild parsnip. We were told (too late!) that it causes a rash worse that poison ivy. Luckily we were able to wash it off in time before it really set in.

On Friday morning Jim Cason, a representative from Friends Committee on National Legislation, visited us. He asked us about our point of view on today’s political and social issues and what our friends at school cared about. He encouraged us to make a difference in our communities and also told us about opportunities for young people through FCNL. We also talked to Jane Orion Smith, the general secretary for Canadian Friends Service Committee. She informed us of conscientious objection and ex-American soldiers taking refuge in Canada. Although this was a tough issue to talk about, we were glad to understand what is happening.

We all had a great year at IYMC and look forward to next year!

Love and Light,

Claire, Emily, Thomas, Kylie, Neal, Seb and Jake

Minute:  Young Friends: Your epistle gives us hope. We appreciate this articulate report. Thank you for such good teaching on how to use the microphone. We are also very grateful to Kevin (Rutledge) and Bill (Deutsch) for being with you.

Your presence with us makes a difference. You are such a part of this yearly meeting and we want you to know just how much we love you and welcome you. You guys are awesome. Don't keep your Light under a basket. Share your experience widely now and when yearly meeting comes around next year.

Thank you so much, Young Friends.

8/3/2013

Dear Friends Everywhere,

The Young Friends of Iowa Yearly Meeting Conservative (IYMC) would like to tell you the story of our good Friend, F/friendly Fred the Fly:

Fred was born on the Scattergood Friends School Farm at the beginning of the 136th annual session of IYMC. That same day, he happened upon what some humans would call, “High School Young Friends.” He found them to be F/friendly and decided to follow them around for the rest of the week’s activities.

Fred buzzed behind the nine Young Friends in attendance and joined them for introductions, but unfortunately he couldn’t talk. He followed the youth outside for a game of Ultimate Frisbee. He flitted after the Young Friends to the Scattergood pond for an afternoon swim. He sat in on talks about music and spirituality with Deborah Dakin (clerk of IYMC), Deborah Shaw (visitor from North Carolina Yearly Meeting Conservative), and Bill Deutsch (Rockin’ Accordion Player). He took part in a capture the flag game with the younger Friends of Junior Yearly Meeting. He was the first to reach the flag, but he couldn’t move it. So, he decided to tag people, but that didn’t seem to do much either.

One morning, he tried to tell the Young Friends that Meeting for Worship was earlier than it had been before, but they were busy playing cards, and he watched his Friends walk in on Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. He joined the teens on the Scattergood Farm for a service project and flew around encouragingly while they tore down an old greenhouse. He participated in the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) workshop in which the Young Friends learned and practiced ways to communicate nonviolently. He attended an evening concert by singer/songwriter Andy Juhl.

He was disappointed that the group could not go on their annual canoe trip due to some untimely thunderstorm warnings; instead, he got to watch the teens go bowling after a delicious ice cream outing. He had a refreshing swim at a swimming pool with the Young Friends, but would have preferred it to be less chlorinated. He helped the Young Friends write an epistle, for which the Young Friends were very thankful. Overall, he experienced a week full of Spirit, Blessings, and Spicey Uno with the IYMC Young Friends.

In Love,

Thomas, Claire, Neal, Emily, Sebastian, Jake, Kylie, Trixie, Jonah, and (of course) F/friendly Fred the Fly.
IYMC Young Friends 2013

Minute: The creativity and humor of the Young Friends report was a wonderful example of transforming power. It was wonderful to watch through the week how our Young Friends took care of our younger Friends in their play during the week. We really appreciate their thoughtfulness.
We realize the amount of work Michael Taylor did in helping Young Friends hold their gathering this week. We are also grateful for the added assistance of Nick Jacoby, Ian Taylor and Naomi Taylor.
It is hard to talk about our deeper feelings, but we hope you, Young Friends, know how precious you are to us.

8th Month 4, 2012

Dear Friends everywhere,

This year we experienced a shift in leadership within our young friends group. This changed the dynamic of our program, but was still very positive. We started off our week with community building activities including a photo scavenger hunt which Friends considered to be a fun and creative challenge that required teamwork and left us all sweaty at the end of it. Fortunately there was an ice cream reward for the participants.

Later that day we explored connections between body, spirit, and mind through Kundalini yoga. We also talked with the clerk of our yearly meeting, Deb Dakin. Our service project this week was to help disassemble a barn at Scattergood where our yearly meeting is held. We also made collages as well as going to a story telling and song writing workshop.

Friday was a day of adventure. We went on a canoe trip down the Cedar River, which was fun despite sunburns and occasional tipping. We followed the canoe trip with collection where we listened to a panel talk about what it means to be Quaker in their personal lives. Later, we had pizza and a movie night. Otherwise, our mornings included sitting in meeting for worship with the whole of our yearly meeting and our evenings, swimming in the Scattergood pond. Overall, this was a very positive week for Young Friends.

Young Friends of
Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)

Minute: We listened to the Young Friends report and appreciate their good work. It is a joy to hear your enthusiasm, and we thank you. We are mindful that a successful program needs both good leadership and good participants. It is good to know things went well. We are blessed.

7/30/2011

To Friends everywhere:

First of all we feel that we have to point out that Dae did indeed visit the shingle that she placed on the roof of the greenhouse during our service project last year as we indicated in our previous epistle that she would. Thank you.

For our service project this year, we spent an afternoon on the Scattergood farm picking pears and moving a beast of a water barrel we named Mufasa. Ansel and Denali picked 3 crates of pears between them, and dropped many pears on Thomas’s head, who was napping under the trees.

On our way back to the main campus, we picked vegetables for our Friday night activity.

Speaking of which, we made pizza and had a cupcake decorating competition. Chelsea was the grand champion. But in the end we were all winners. Dae wants to make sure that’s clear. She worked really hard on her cupcake presentation. Sarah and Matt Mickle helped us make the pizzas. They are expert chefs. The pizzas were absolutely delicious.

Scrumptious. We would like to sincerely thank them for their effort and generosity.

We resumed our canoe activity this year. There were many hilarious moments. Half the canoers took a little time to swim and float down­stream, leaving their canoes on a sandbank. They underestimated the energy it would take to swim back upstream to retrieve them and the remaining canoers had to split up, take a canoe each, and rescue the floaters. Chelsea and Maya accidentally canoed over a tiny log. It was a “you had to be there” moment.

One morning we participated in a very cool mini-workshop with Alternatives to Violence Project Facilitators. It was eye opening to hear how they interact with prisoners. They showed us some of the activities they do. For example, we played a tossing game emphasizing teamwork led by Mama Marge.

Yeah!

We came away with ideas for future activities that we’re pretty excited about.

We were all moved by the stories Friends told from the 1940s during Thursday’s evening panel. We didn’t know that Quakers were prisoners during World War II. We learned a lot about C.O. status and what fami­lies had to go through during those times, not just those in prison. We also learned that what happens at Scattergood stays at Scattergood. Thanks, Birdie.

Yeah!

Overall it was an amazing week full of memories and laughs. We welcome new Young Friends and hope that those who are graduating will continue to spend time with the program during future gatherings. Thank you to all, and to all a good night.

Yeah!

Young Friends of
Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)

Minute:

In listening to the report of Young Friends, it sounded as though they almost had as good a time as older Friends have this week. We realize it takes a tremendous amount of energy and love to help a whole group of Young Friends have a good time. Our deepest thanks go to the leaders who made this happen. We always look forward to the reports of Jr. Yearly Meeting and Young Friends, and are never disappointed. They bring joy to our solemn occasions.

7/31/2010

To Friends everywhere,

For the first year ever we slept in a high school dorm space with our friends instead of with our parents or sponsors. The atmosphere was relaxed, but helped build a tighter bond between already close friends. We hope we can make this a yearly tradition.

On Wednesday, Junior Yearly Meeting invited us to tie-dye with them. Everybody’s clothing looked pretty hanging out on the line. That evening we had a campfire by the pond, made s’mores, played Chubby Bunny and Denali looked for snakes.

Sarah Mickle spent Thursday afternoon cooking with us. She taught us how to make gluten free cookies and cheesecake. They were scrumptious. We also decided to make our own pizzas for movie night. There was a dispute over some pizza dough ingredients, but in the end, we came to consensus.

We discovered a new board game this year called Settlers of Catan, and spent a lot of our down time sheep trading.

Our service project was pretty awesome. We helped re-shingle the small greenhouse behind our dorm with Adult Young Friends. The farm sheep watched us work. Danielle placed a red shingle on the roof among the black and green ones for Scattergood to remember her by. She will visit it in future years.

It was sad that our canoe trip was rained out on Friday, but Leonardo DiCaprio saved the day.

On the farm, we tasted really, REALLY delicious raspberries and corn. One un-named Young Friend tried to forage for carrots, but was unable to find any.

We sat in on two evening programs with the greater meeting and are thankful to the Entertainment Committee for the work they did finding speakers.

This week has been a great experience. Lots of memories have been made. And we look forward to returning next year.

Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) Young Friends

Minute: We listened attentively to the wonderful epistle presented by Young Friends. We want to thank Young Friends for the epistle, and also for their liveliness. We thank Flossie Cox and those assisting her for their time and spiritual gifts of leadership. We are happy Young Friends have been able to have their own space in the dorm this year.

8/2/2009

We are Young Friends and for our epistle, we decided to move around a circle, each saying one sentence describing our experiences during yearly meeting:

We started out our week with an ice-breaking name game, ultimate Frisbee, and Apples to Apples.

We welcomed fellow teens from Northern Yearly Meeting.

We were happy to see our numbers increase and the program flourish.

We had a bonfire and we sang songs and it was baller.

I was disappointed that the canoe trip had to be shortened this year, and we didn't get to jump off the bridge as we have in previous years; also, we heard stories about canoe safety, custom engraved flasks, and river deaths from the eccentric park ranger.

Do you guys want to plagiarize stuff from this other epistle?

Thursday marked a new style of JYM Meeting by dividing up our monstrous group of thirty-eight people: some preferred to go to business meeting, while others preferred to exercise their brains and bodies by making self-portrait-like structures.

Alright time to refocus and somebody needs to give a new sentence. Alongside uhhh, physical activities or ultimate Frisbee or whatever, we played card games like Mao and Egyptian Rat Screw.

Should we put one of the bad jokes in there?

Uhhhhhh, uhhhhh, I have to go pick up pizza, and uhhh, we had a great discussion about the testimonies.

What did the duck say to the cow?
Quack!

Do the muffin one then.
Two muffins were in the oven, one muffin said to the other, "Holy smokes, it's hot in here!", the other said, "Oh my gosh! A talking
muffing!"

Say something about Ping-pong.
Ping-pong.

We played a game of capture the flag with JYM.
We had a lot of fun yelling "Smurf" at people.
We had a very intense conversation about Harry Potter at Fawcett's Pond.
Failure to have nice enough day.
Sit down Aaron.
I'm the Hippopotamus, my epistles are bottomless.

How do you guys want to wrap this up?

Don't worry about it.

Minute: 

We heard a playful epistle and a report from Young Friends. We ask the Yearly Meeting Entertainment Committee to work with Young Friends leaders to accommodate the request for a separate dorm space for the group. We ask the dorm sponsors to take on the work of collecting permission forms and medical release forms for participants. We want to be sure not to lose family time and time as a whole community so we ask Young Friends leaders to be intentional in considering this as they plan activities. Perhaps the Young Friends could spend more time with us in business meetings. We benefit from their presence when they join us. We ask the monthly meetings serving on Entertainment Committee to consider appointment of a Young Friend to the committee.

8/02/2008

Epistle to Young Friends Everywhere,

Dear Friends,

We are writing you from the far land of Near West Branch, Iowa.

On the first couple of days of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative), we did some fun things. We played handball, capture the flag, keep away, and we jumped in the pond that is on Scattergood Friends School‘s campus. We also did some service for the School by spending the morning picking garlic from the School‘s farm and herding sheep. We went to an African Great Lakes Initiative panel where a Rwandan Friend spoke about the situation in Rwanda and taught us an African song about peace. Moving testimonies that people from Rwanda wrote after participating in a workshop of his were especially memorable. We attended a concert by John McCutcheon, a Quaker musician. It was very enjoyable, especially his performance using a hammer dulcimer.

By Friday morning, a few more Young Friends had arrived, bringing our total number to 16. We had a canoe trip planned, and an hour-long drive to get there. About half an hour into the trip, a prank call from one of the vans had our leader Joseph convinced that we had left one of our Young Friends, Lake, back at the School. We also discovered a two-month-old burrito in the back of the van, the source of an interesting smell. Our four-hour canoe trip on the Wapsipinicon River was a lot of fun. We made a stop at a place where we could jump off a bridge into the river. Most of the youth made the jump, except for Danielle, who stood at the edge of the bridge for half an hour before climbing back down. We had planned to do worship sharing, but Michael‘s diabetes acted up, so we headed back. On the way back, Danielle fell out of the ―Awesome Possum" canoe that Flossie and Chelsea were also in.

After getting back to Scattergood, we played ‗wink‘ with only a few minor injuries. We also played ultimate Frisbee and Ghandi/Bush, a card game. That night we watched ―The Great Debaters", an inspiring movie about a debate team from a Black college in Texas during the 1930s. Then we watched ―Be Kind Rewind," ate pizza, and some of us stayed up playing games until 6:30 a.m. One game we played was a newly invented game in which you rotate around the ping-pong table while bouncing a tennis ball around to multiple players. There was only one team and the goal is to keep the game going for as long as you can. Points are not good, you can either play where you get a point when the tennis ball completely stops on the ground, or when it stops bouncing and rolls instead.

Saturday morning, most of us had gotten at least a little sunburned from the canoe trip and those of us who had pulled an all nighter tried desperately to stay awake during worship.

After ten years serving as a leader, knighted Sir Joseph Kieltyka, is graduating from our IYMC Young Friends and will be working with the main body of the Meeting next year. Flossie Cox, who has been a coordinator the past couple of years, will be taking over the position as imperial consort to the teens next summer. Sir Joseph has enjoyed his position and feels honored to have served the Young Friends for a decade. He is going to miss our close-knit group and we will miss his sense of humor and dedication to making Young Friends fun and educational.

Hope everyone has a good year, and we hope to hear from you soon.

In Friendship,
Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) Young Friends

Minute:  We enjoyed listening to the Young Friends‘ Epistle. We are so appreciative for the supervision that Joseph Kieltyka has given our young people over the last decade. We also appreciate the gift of service given by his assistant, Flossie Cox. We give them both our thanks.

7/28/2007

To Friends Everywhere,

We did a lot of different things this year at Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative). We arrived. We got lots of free books from the Scattergood Library. Young Friends took down part of the old kiln as a service project to Scattergood. We took an awesome canoe trip. We jumped off bridges. We played ultimate Frisbee with Junior Yearly Meeting. We made plaster masks. We swam at the Scattergood pond (at night!). We swam at the Fawcetts’ Pond. We attended a panel on sustainability. We watched “Big Eden.” We ate pizza. We had worship sharing. We formed a business meeting. We attended a Yearly Meeting business meeting. We also attended a seminar called “Teaching about Torture.” We hosted game night. We did Yoga. We chose to elaborate on the descriptions of a few of our activities.

Young Friends drove to a launch spot on the Wapsipinicon River to begin our canoe trip. The weather was perfect, though a bit sunny. Sunscreen was applied and washed off repeatedly as we swam in the river. As a result, we all became sun burned. Young Friends invited Young Adult Friends to participate. It was a good experience for Young Friends and the Young Adults to share the canoes. After arriving at our lunch spot, we realized we had not brought a knife to spread peanut butter and jelly to make sandwiches for lunch. We bit carrots in half and used the flat edge to spread the peanut butter and jelly. After lunch, we decided to jump off the old Paris Bridge. Jules led the charge. We practiced our spirituality by taking the leap of faith into the river. We did test depth beforehand. While some were jumping off the bridge, others participated in an epic chicken fight. No one was hurt, including chickens. Chelsea jumped out of her canoe, and almost tipped over the canoe with Emma still in it, to save the sunscreen. After lunch we still had an hour and a half of paddling to go down the river. We witnessed a turtle and quite a few Great Blue herons. Young Friends are considering trying to make the canoe trip a yearly event. Joseph (Young Friends adult leader) has put forth the idea of worship sharing on next year’s canoe trip.

Friends were in general agreement on their approval and enjoyment of the movie Joseph picked out, “Big Eden.” The movie was the story of a gay man who moved back to his hometown in Montana after having lived in New York City. The film showed his struggle in coming out to the town, and the lack of prejudice that ensued (contrary to the common belief that people in small towns don’t accept differences.) Things we liked about the movie included the cinematography, the way in which Henry (the main character) was received home, the funny old widow who played matchmaker, and the lack of typical gender roles. We feel the film addressed many different types of prejudices.

We would like to thank Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) for the pizza and soda provided during our movie night. We have enjoyed the great food here at Scattergood, which was made with a lot of fresh produce from the Scattergood farm.

We were happy to contribute our voices more to Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative), which included forming our own business meeting. We also were glad to welcome back our old coordinator, Joseph, as well as having our new coordinator, Flossie, who was a wonderful addition. We raised our spirituality, awareness, and love for each other. Fruit Salad!

Young Friends of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)

Minute: We heard the wonderful report/epistle prepared by Young Friends. It is a delight to observe all the positive energy and the way Young Friends are putting it to use. It is refreshing to hear the quality of the epistle writing of Young Friends and it inspires us in our own work. The love they share for each other is very moving. We appreciate the faithfulness in which the adult leaders have guided Young Friends and thank them for their service.

7/29/2006

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative) Young Friends. We met this year during 7/25/06-7/30/06 in West Branch, Iowa, Scattergood Friends School. We started off Tuesday night by watching a presentation of two fellow Young Friends that went to the World Gathering of Young Friends in Lancaster, England. Wednesday morning we gathered together after MFW (meeting for worship) to learn about Quakerism 101, which was led by Christie Kieltyka. Following lunch we did a workshop hosted by AVP (Alternative to Violence Project). It was led by Standing Stan, Courageous Cheryl and Mama Marge. We had fun while learning about our individual views on violence and non-violence on different issues. AVP had us all hot and bothered, so we took a dip in the lukewarm, murky waters of Scattergood pond. All of us saw that there was a need to take a shower afterwards because of the fact that we all looked like we were dipped in soy sauce. We went to the evening collection that night titled, “Facilitating Hope,” and there we learned about what the Peace Teams are doing. Many teens were captivated and intensely interested by the topic.

The next morning (Thursday) we all went to MFW which was followed by a worship sharing session that was done by the Young Friends. We all went around the circle telling of our individual beliefs and concerns. It was a close and meaningful experience in which we all appreciated each other’s views and ability to share. Afterwards Standing Stan taught the group Tai Chi, which is a martial arts activity that helps with balance. Rain started soon after lunch, and we took advantage of it by going outside and sharing a moment of Silence. After the rain spell we did an intergenerational activity led by Ruah, the traveling Friend from Vermont. One of the activities that was done involved a web of string which symbolizes the interconnectedness of life. The other activity was a blind walk that helped to enhance our other senses. After that, Don Laughlin invited us to see his new super energy-efficient house that he is having built in Iowa City. The night was finalized by a movie and some pizza. Two movies were picked out by the group: 1) An education film on Amazonian snakes; 2) A historical study on Olde English fairy tales. **Anaconda and Hoodwinked**

Friday morning started off after MFW with more Quakerism 101, where we learned about and discussed the “Inner Light.” This was followed by more Tai Chi and some meditation. That afternoon we started our epistle and we later played games with JYM (Junior Yearly Meeting). After dinner we went to Collection titled, “Local Actions Can Bring Hope to the Health of Our Planet.” The Friends Folk Dancers taught us many dances which had us sweaty by the end of the night. It was a BLAST! To cool off we had a late night swim in the Scattergood pond. We all had a slumber party in the lounge to ensure that we would all be up by 5:30 a.m. This is so we would be up to serve breakfast to the bicyclers on RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa). The breakfast was our service project that would benefit Habitat for Humanity. At the slumber party we played cards, made a fort, and ended up staying up later than we thought.

Our service project was a lot of fun and didn’t feel like work. All the people on bicycles reminded us all of what our evening collection the night before had taught us. We were inspired by all of the people not using fossil fuels. Afterwards we went to MFW as always, but we did stay for meeting for business to read our epistle. After lunch we held our annual swim and ice cream party with JYM at a nearby pool. In the evening we did the Community Sharing (talent show).

Sunday we went to MFW, had lunch, and said our sad goodbyes with hopes of seeing each other next year.

Peace,

Young Friends of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)

Minute:  We enjoyed the report/epistle of IYMC Young Friends. We are encouraged by the activities and interests of Young Friends. There were thirteen young friends in attendance this year. We appreciate the attention and thoughtful way Joseph Kieltyka approaches his work as leader for Young Friends. We also appreciate the works, fellowship and presence of young friends in our worship and at Yearly Meeting in general. They give us hope.

7/30/2005

To Young Friends Everywhere,

We started out on the 26^th of July. That evening we went to a presentation of one of our young Friend’s Quaker Youth Pilgrimage. The next morning more teens came to increase our numbers. We started out by meeting that morning to go over to meeting for worship. After meeting for worship we worked on personal symbols and discussed plans for the rest of the week. After lunch we pulled together to weed the volleyball sand court for Scattergood. We rested our sore hands in the murky water of the Scattergood pond. We managed to do a yearly tradition of filling the canoe with water. We had a record number of people in the water filled canoe. After showering off the muck from the pond, the Junior Yearly Meeting joined us in a game of ultimate Frisbee. We did some trust games lead by our fearless leader Joseph Kieltyka and some AVP (Alternatives to Violence Project) exercises led by Marge Schlitt. She had us be guided by our own morals on what is violence in one of the exercises. The teens then made up a new Quaker game that will soon take over Quaker entertainment. We then went over to the Social Room to watch the first part of Gandhi, the movie.

Thursday morning started out with our usual meeting for worship. We then gathered in the boys’ dorm lounge to listen to Debbie Galusha talk about committees in our own monthly meetings and yearly meeting. The teens talked about spending our mornings next year at Yearly Meeting talking and learning about Quaker history and Quaker 101. The last half hour of our morning we played basketball in the gym at Scattergood. After eating lunch someone in the Yearly Meeting gave a talk on the William Penn House in Washington, DC. Afterwards we enjoyed another yearly tradition of going swimming in the Fawcetts’ pond. The Junior Yearly Meeting joined us making the afternoon a lot more lively. Later, after dinner, we made preparations to go to the Young Friends Cabin. We headed off at 7:30 that evening. We played card games outside while waiting for the 4,000 (exaggerated a little) bats to leave. We got tired of waiting for the bats to leave so we swept up some bat poop, played more card games, and roasted hotdogs and made s’mores. The 40 bats actually left when everyone was cozy in their sleeping bags around midnight. The most common card game that was played that day had an inappropriate name for a Quaker gathering so we changed it to Gandhi-B (Gandhi and Bush).

The next morning we celebrated the break of day at 8:30 by eating donuts and talking about the little conversations people had in their sleep. Meeting for worship was held outside under the trees with the sounds of birds, trees rustling, and cows in the background. Immediately after arriving back to Scattergood showers were taken and teeth were brushed. The consensus was to play another game of Gandhi-B and then we had a brief presentation on Sarah Winchell’s Quaker Youth Pilgrimage. She showed us a slide show of pictures and her own journals and scrapbooks. Later that day we did another service project at the Crowded Closet, which is a Mennonite used goods store. There we helped sort, tag and  hang donated clothing. The tagging was especially entertaining as we got to use a special gun to shoot the tags through the clothes. Shortly after we got back from the Crowded Closet we worked on the kitchen and in the dining room serving and cleaning dishes. Right after working we finished the epistle, watched the second half of Ghandi and had a short discussion on the film. After that, we ordered a few pizzas and got a fun movie to watch.

Saturday we plan to go to meeting for worship and stay for business meeting in order to read our epistle to the Meeting. In the afternoon we are going swimming with JYM at a pool in a nearby town instead of swimming in the natural water in the school pond. If we get back before dinner, we will probably play some fun games outside. In the evening we are going to host the talent show for all of Iowa Yearly to enjoy or participate in if they choose. As Sunday comes, all of our feelings are bittersweet. We enjoyed the time to reunite with old friends and meet new ones. But at the same time, we all are looking forward to sleeping in our own beds. We all hope you enjoyed your yearly meeting as much as we enjoyed ours.

In the Light,

Young Friends of Iowa Yearly Meeting

Minute: We listened carefully to the good epistle/report prepared by Young Friends. We have a lot to learn from these Friends. We were impressed with their service projects. We are happy they are considering serving on our monthly and yearly meeting committees and look forward to serving with them. We continue to be grateful for the thoughtful and faithful leadership given by Joseph Kiltyka.

7/31/2004

On the first day of Iowa Yearly Meeting (C) there were very few of us and we spent. a morning trying to figure out what we would be doing this week. Later that day we did a service project for Scattergood, taking shingles off of the art building roof (south side). It wasn’t as hot as it could have been, but we all worked up a sweat. We went swimming in the Scattergood pond later that afternoon. That evening, we went to collection called “Changes in Our Lives.”

On the second day of Iowa Yearly Meeting (C), more of us arrived and that morning Mary Snyder came and did a workshop with us on Quaker growth and education. Later that day, we played Frisbee and went swimming at the Fawcett Pond. The Junior Young Friends spent time with us too. A mud fight (in a very Quaker-like fashion) was endured afterwards. That evening, we went to the movie, Fahrenheit 9/11 at Campus Three Movie Theater.

On the third day we sat in for Meeting for Worship, and half of business meeting. Afterwards we had a discussion about the movie, (Fahrenheit 9/11) and what we thought of the events included. We thought it was a good movie, and that everyone should see it. It was very informative and moving. After we were done talking about the movie Emma showed us pictures and talked to us about her experience in Mexico last summer. It was good to have her back. That afternoon we listed to a two hour discussion about conscientious objection. It was a little long, but valuable. That evening we went to the Friends’ cabin, where we played different kinds of cards, while trying not to get eaten alive by mosquitoes. We had a fire lit in the fireplace, where we roasted marshmallows for s’mores. We tried watching Bowling for Columbine on Ian’s laptop, but towards the end the battery died. We were talking till the wee hours of the morning, but eventually we all fell asleep, some before others.

We celebrated the break of day this morning with Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We then packed up and drove back to Scattergood, where we don’t have to sleep on hard wooden floors. Over all, we really enjoyed the cabin experience, and hope to return next year. Today we plan to finish writing or epistle, and later go swimming with the Junior Friends. This evening there’s a contra dance, which we are all looking forward to.

To sum up, this week was a blast. The weather was great, and we learned a lot about Quakerism. We missed Sarah, because she is at a Quaker Youth Pilgrimage in Europe. We also wanted to thank the Tomer’s for the use of their van, and the Fawcett family for the use of their wonderful pond. This week was great, and we look forward to next year’s yearly meeting.

Possible ideas for next year: canoeing, back to the Friends cabin (but well prepared) Fawcett Pond, renting a movie, more Quaker workshops. Sincerely,

Young Friends of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)

Minute: We were happy to listen to the report of Young Friends. We will send out their epistle with the epistle of IYM(C). We hold Sarah Winchell who is on the Quaker Youth Pilgrimage in Europe in our prayers. We appreciate the report. We especially thank Joseph Kiltyka for his continued faithful service as the Young Friends adult leader.