Online Course, “Introduction to Quakers and Friends’ Ways”

Canadian Yearly Meeting Education & Outreach Committee Announces its Online Courses for Spring 2017: “Introduction to Quakers and Friends’ Ways”

Facilitator: David Summerhays (Montreal Monthly Meeting)

Friends across Canada are invited to participate in an online course that will begin in mid-May.

The course will address the early history of Friends, the history of Friends in Canada, the experiential nature of Quaker faith, the role of the Meeting in Quaker life, Quaker testimonies and their origin, and how our Quaker community nurtures how we live, work, worship, and transact business. This course was previously offered in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

Although created to meet the needs of more recent attenders seeking to learn more about Quakerism, we believe that even longstanding members could benefit from this course. We welcome inquiries from anyone who would like to learn more about Quaker ways, with priority given to Canadian Yearly Meeting Members and Attenders.

How it will work

Participants will meet once a week for six weeks using either video conferencing or audio conferencing technology. If you are unfamiliar with conferencing technology, don’t worry, the facilitator and the Education and Outreach Committee are committed to making participation in the course as easy as possible for everyone.

Participants will be asked to do a short reading before each of the sessions. These readings can be viewed anytime under Introduction to Quaker and Friends’ Ways.

The course will include worship, active exercises, reflections from readings, and the application to one’s own life of what is learned.

How to Sign Up

The course is free of charge. To indicate your interest, please click here to register by Friday May 12.

We plan to begin the course the week of May 15 at a time that will be determined based on the results of poll to be completed with registration.

 

Atlantic Friends Gathering – May 19-22

Atlantic Friends Gathering is an annual event linking members and attenders of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) from across Atlantic Canada.

Theme: Moving from Faith to Action through Creative Arts

AFG 2016 attendersWe gather at Camp Geddie, a Presbyterian Church camp on Nova Scotia’s North Shore. The spacious grounds, with nature trails and a spectacular beach on the Northumberland Strait provide a natural setting for renewal of our individual and group spirit.

As with previous AFG’s there are no compulsory activities. The healing atmosphere of being in a welcome nature retreat offers an opportunity to open ourselves up to whatever we feel leads us, and to make this a weekend of renewal of our individual and our group spirit.

This is a weekend for fun and enjoyment for individuals of all ages.

For information about AFG, click here.

To see the programme, click here.

For detailed information about Special Interest Groups, click here.

To register for AFG 2017, click here.

Camp Geddie main lodge

Young (Adult) Friends Gathering at Camp NeeKauNis

Preparations are underway for the Young (Adult) Friend Gathering at Camp NeeKauNis from Thursday, June 29 to Sunday July 2, 2017.

We’re excited to bring a critical mass of Young Friends and Young Adult Friends together to energize and strengthen our community and rejoice in our time together in worship, play, and good conversation. We hope to rejuvenate the Canadian Young Friends community and discern our collective path forward, asking what we want to be doing and what makes sense for us.

The gathering will welcome Young Friends and Young Adult Friends ages 13-35. Children of attendees are also welcome!

Please share this poster and spread the word. We hope as many youth as possible can attend!

For more details please contact  or visit our Facebook page.

Thank you,

Young (Adult) Friend Gathering Planning Committee