Young Adult Friends Winter 2025 Retreat: "Navigating Loss and Grief"

Young Adult F/friends and Seekers, ages 18 through 35, register today for the Winter 2025 Retreat at Green Street Friends Meeting! The theme for this retreat is "Navigating Loss and Grief."

The Winter Retreat will be from Friday, January 24 through Sunday, January 26, at Green Street Friends Meeting. Young Adult Friends will participate in a workshop facilitated by Molly Hicks and George Salloom, conduct our Business Meeting, and connect with each other through fellowship and worship sharing.

This is an overnight event. We will be staying at Green Street Friends Meeting on Friday and Saturday night, so don’t forget to pack your sleeping bags, pillows, clothes, necessary bathroom items, medications, and anything else you might need. If you are not able to stay overnight, we invite you to join us instead on Saturday! It is also okay if you are only able to come on Friday or Sunday. Please let us know in the registration that you will be staying for only part of the retreat.

Register today! Registration closes on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. The cost to participate is available at a sliding scale of $0-60, with the suggested price of $40. Please pay as you are led.

This will be a mask optional event. We will prepare all our meals together. We will be sleeping on the floor of the Meeting House. Please email ishiraz@pym.org if you have any accommodation needs.

Schedule

FRIDAY

• 6:30 p.m.: Dinner
• 7:30 p.m: Introductions and Guidelines

SATURDAY

• 8:30-9:30 a.m.: Breakfast
• 9:30-10:00 a.m.: Breakfast Clean Up and Optional Worship Time
• 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: Workshop with Molly Hicks and George Salloom
• 12:00-1:00 p.m.: Lunch
• 1-1:30 p.m.: Lunch Clean Up
• 1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.: Business Meeting
• 3:00-4:30 p.m.: Free Time
• 4:30-6:00 p.m.: Dinner Set Up
• 6:00-7:00 p.m.: Dinner
• 7:00-7:30 p.m.: Dinner Clean Up
• 7:30-8:15 p.m.: Worship Sharing
• 8:15-10 p.m.: Game Time/Free Time

SUNDAY

• 8:00-9:00 a.m.: Breakfast
• 9:00-10:00 a.m.: Clean Up Space
• 10:00-10:15 a.m.: Conclusion
• 10:30 a.m.: Worship with Green Street

Community Expectations

Young Adult Friends (YAF) is open to 18-35-year-olds interested in or already part of a Quaker community/Meeting. YAFs come from a wide range of backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We are respectful and welcoming to all, attuned to how power and privilege may consciously or unconsciously impact our care for one another.

The voices of those new to YAF and those already familiar with YAF are equally valued. Alcohol and illicit substances are NOT permitted during overnight YAF retreats.

We expect that all participants will accept collective responsibility for the community's well being and living space during this retreat. By “living space,” we mean both the physical building and the fellowship we create within it. We are guests here. 

Responsibilities with the logistics, cleaning, and taking care of public spaces is shared among all F/friends. Each F/friend is expected to contribute to help with the tasks that come up throughout the retreat.

We recognize that people have a wide range of boundaries. We prioritize consent and respect boundaries. In caring for the community, it is important to get enthusiastic consent when engaging in physical contact or conversations. We know that someone is giving enthusiastic consent when they agree to the interaction both verbally and with their body language. 

We are prepared for problems that may come up at this event, such as conflict, injury, and spiritual or mental distress. The YAF Program, as part of PYM, has procedures in place for how to handle problems and conflicts that may arise. As a last resort, these procedures may include asking individuals to leave the event. If you have any questions about how to handle a particular situation, please speak with the YAF clerking team.