2006 Epistle BYM Young Friends

The loss of a member of the community is never easy, and the tragic capture and death of Tom Fox was no exception. The world, however, does not stop when a heart stops, and despite our collective grief, our community persevered. One thing Tom Fox was always in awe of was our self-governance. Yet lately we have struggled to live up to the grave responsibility self-governance represents. Committees were made but never met; attendance has dropped among Young Friends, Friendly Adult Presences, and Floaters; and process was upheld in neither the way concerns were brought to the community, nor the way issues were addressed. Things came to a head at what fondly became known as the Business Meeting of Doom, wherein our community’s very right to exist came into question. But the Spirit spoke that night, and guided us back towards functioning as a self-governed community.

The process has not been without its serendipities. Paraphernalia Committee has produced a CafePress shop wherein Young Friends t-shirts and other paraphernalia will soon be available for purchase; Calendar Committee will be printing calendars next week; and the Ramallah trip has returned safely from a fruitful journey. An effort to improve handbook literacy produced astounding epiphanies as to the role and relationships of the many named positions within the community, be they members of Executive Committee, Friendly Adult Presences, or Floaters. The latter of which were re-welcomed into our community and proved to be immeasurable sources of wise counsel. While the issue of boundaries is still being addressed, the related communication problems between Young Friends and the greater Baltimore Yearly Meeting Community have an easy enough fix: Feedback forms. Look for them in the next BYFN (light willing). Filled as it has been with Comic book Superheroes, a philosophical policeman and the furtive attempt by God to speak through a burning bush—an attempt that was crushed in its infancy by an overzealous volunteer fireman—the positive change in our community’s overall cohesiveness and spirituality over the past week has been tangible.

The Young Friends of Baltimore Yearly Meeting