Young Friends

Young Friends

Welcome to Young Friends. Young Friends is for 16 years up.  We hold a camp every Easter, along with at least one Meeting for Worship for Business, and smaller social gatherings (depending on your area).

If you'd like to hear about upcoming events, camps or business meetings, get in touch at clerk@yf.quakers.nz

Ka kite!

Young Friends have recently helped represent Aotearoa New Zealand in international gatherings, such as the Friends World Conference in Peru (2016) and Australia Yearly Meeting, and helped organise actions on Climate Justice, Peace, Equality and Economic Justice.

Young adults have always been at the heart of Quakerism. In the 1650s, the 'Valiant Sixty', a network of Quakers who first spread the Quaker faith, were almost entirely in their 20s and 30s. George Fox, one of the founders of Quakerism, was only 21 when he left home to 'seek the Truth'.

From those early days onwards, young people have helped move the society forward at key moments in our history. They have also often been at the forefront of movements for social change. Bayard Rustin, a young black American Quaker who was deeply involved along with Martin Luther King Jr., in the civil rights movement, was 25 when he first attended 15th Street Meeting in New York.

Young Friends in Quakers Aotearoa span the years 18-35. They organise Meetings, activities, and online and face to face gatherings of their own; many are also active in the overall life of their local Meeting, as their work, study and family life allow.  Young Friends play an active role in Yearly Meeting and Summer Gathering.

Each year at Easter, Young Friends hold a Camp where they conduct Business, worship and play together. They prepare an Epistle at the end of their gathering.