Yearly Meeting History

Yearly Meeting in session is the formal business Meeting held each year at different venues around New Zealand. Friends from all over Aotearoa/New Zealand gather for several days to deal with business not covered during the year.  An Epistle is written, summarising the feelings and accomplishments of the Yearly Meeting.

The business of Yearly Meeting is facilitated by the Yearly Meeting Clerk appointed to an unpaid three-year term by the Yearly Meeting. The Yearly Meeting Clerk manages the process of discernment and national decision-making both at the annual meeting and during the year. At the conclusion of the Yearly Meeting in session, the Yearly Meeting minutes for the year are published. 

The locations of future Yearly Meetings are planned by the Yearly Meeting/Summer Gathering Coordinators.

The event is planned by the Yearly meeting Local Arrangements Commitee (YMLAC), whose members (usually) belong to the host Monthly Meeting.

A list of recent Yearly Meetings follows:

  • 2024 Host: Mid North Island & Northern Monthly Meetings in Hamilton 24 to 27 April 2024.  In person and online.
  • 2023 Host: Whanganui Monthly Meeting at Quaker Settlement in Whanganui 19 to 22 May 2023.  In person and online.
  • 2022 Host: Christchurch Monthly Meeting but was held only online from a base at the Quaker Settlement in Whanganui 28 April to 1 May 2022.
  • 2021 Host: Kāpiti and Palmerston North Monthly Meetings at El Rancho Waikanae 14 to 17 May 2021.
  • 2020 Host: Northern Monthly Meeting but was cancelled due to concern not to spread COVID-19. The nationwide lockdown followed which would have forced cancellation.
  • 2019 Host: Whanganui Monthly Meeting at the Quaker Settlement 17 to 20 May 2019.

 

Earlier Yearly Meetings (1996-2018)

  • Yearly Meeting 2018 - Dunedin - South Island
  • Yearly Meeting 2017 - El Rancho, Waikanae - May 12-15
  • Yearly Meeting 2016 - St Cuthbert’s College, Epsom, Auckland, July 14-18
  • Yearly Meeting 2015 - Quaker Settlement (Whanganui Taranaki MM), May  7-11
  • Yearly Meeting 2014 - Curious Cove, Marlborough Sounds, May 22-26
  • Yearly Meeting 2013 - Waikanae - May 10-13
  • Yearly Meeting 2012 - Matamata - May 11-14
  • Yearly Meeting 2011 - Whanganui - May 20-23
  • Yearly Meeting 2010 - Dunedin - July 9-12
  • Yearly Meeting 2009 - Wellington
  • Yearly Meeting 2008 - Bay of Plenty/Auckland
  • Yearly Meeting 2007 - Whanganui Settlement, July 2007
  • Yearly Meeting 2006 - Tahunanui Conference Centre, July 2006
  • Yearly Meeting 2005 - Palmerston North July 2005
  • Yearly Meeting 2004 - Auckland July 2004
  • Yearly Meeting 2003 - Whanganui Settlement July 2003
  • Yearly Meeting 2002 - Christchurch July 2002
  • Yearly Meeting 2001 - Hamilton, July 2001
  • Yearly Meeting 2000 - Whanganui Settlement - April 2000
  • Yearly Meeting 1999 - St Stephens, Bombay Hills, Auckland - January 1999
  • Yearly Meeting 1998 - Selwyn College, Dunedin - April 1998
  • Yearly Meeting 1997 - Henderson, Auckland - April 1997
  • Yearly Meeting 1996 - Waikanae - May 1996

 

Reflections on Yearly Meeting

A precious personal experience? A bit like the analogy of a stone being dropped in a pond of water and the resulting ripple effect – we none of us know how one thing will lead on to another or how one’s initial action will affect others further down the line. I certainly wouldn’t have anticipated a few years ago that a prayer for purpose would lead me to the other side of the world to serve as Resident Friend to Wellington Monthly Meeting. However, I can certainly endorse the contribution of a Friend during YM: this service has been a joyful mission and certainly not a burden!

Sue Jenkins 2016

 

I could answer the question, “What is Yearly Meeting for?”, with an earlier response, “to do the will of God”. But does that have any meaning, both for those Friends who would say, “I don’t know what you would mean by God”, and by those who, like me, trust in infinite goodness but cannot picture a celestial script-writer who demands that we learn our lines and perform a pre-determined part? For me God is mystery, a mystery which is beyond all understanding but which touches our lives in different ways, some of which can feel like a personal relationship.
To be attuned to this mystery is, as I see it, to follow our first Advice, to listen to the promptings of love and truth in our hearts. Love and truth – these, for me, bring us into the core of our being.

Elizabeth Duke 2015

 

Yearly Meeting 2025

Yearly Meeting 2025 will be held at the Quaker Settlement Whanganui under the care of Palmerston North and Wellington Monthly Meetings, from 23 to 26 May with a Preparation Day starting on 22 May, (plus the Wednesday evening 21 May for those who intend travelling that day). 

Watch this event to get more details