Youth Conferences

Junior Friends Conference / Middle School Friends Conference

Established in 1976 to provide a supportive and spiritual environment for young people in 2nd through 8th grades. Young people in the Quarter 9th grade and older may also participate as counselors and junior counselors. The program has always been held at George School. There is a JFC Oversight Committee that seeks to have representation (liaison) from all Meetings in the Quarter.
JFC2
The Abington Quarter, which includes Gwynedd Friends Meeting, supports two youth programs for members and attenders of Friends Monthly Meetings within the Quarter: Junior Friends Conference (JFC) and Middle School Friends Conference (MSFC). Second graders through Eighth graders who regularly attend at Gwynedd Friends Meeting are invited to participate in the JFC (completing grades 2-6) or the MSFC (completing grades 7-8) each summer.

The JFC and MSFC programs are one-week residential conferences for young people. They are usually held the third week of June each summer. Programs feature arts, ecology, games, worship, swimming, talent sharing, team building, volunteer activities (for the middle school) and campfires.

While JFC and MSFC share the George School campus, they are separate programs. Both programs offer participants the opportunity to live in a "Friendly" community that strives to live Quaker testimonies. We call it a conference and not a camp because while we have fun, our focus is to provide an environment rich in Quaker values. We hope that all children will benefit spiritually, emotionally and physically as a result of their experiences.

For more Information please contact JFC1
J.B. Baker-McAllister or Kate Steinmetz, AQM Youth Programs Representatives

Medical Release

Photo Release

Oversight Committee

Arthur D'Adamo, 12/20/2020

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Planning your Visit

New to Meeting for Worship?

If you've never attended a Meeting for Worship, we hope you will come worship with us -- give it a try.

Most Quaker meetings, at least in this part of the country, are so-called "unprogrammed" meetings. This means that our meetings for worship are not led by a minister, but are largely conducted in silence. Typically, a Clerk or other Member of the Meeting will close worship with a simple "Good morning friends" but otherwise the meeting may be completely silent.

ripples

Members and attenders are always invited to speak out of the silence with a message about their spiritual journey, although messages are not responded to directly .

A message has been described as a pebble tossed into a pond. The resulting ripples are received by others in the meeting and may contribute to their own spiritual journeys.

Continuing Revelation

In the Religious Society of Friends, continuing revelation comes from the Inner light or the light within. This light has traditionally been identified as the spirit of Christ or Christ within, although not all Friends associate the inner light with Christ. It is understood as the presence of God which provides illumination and guidance to the individual and through individuals to the group.

Because Friends believe that revelation is ongoing, we have no set creed or dogmas and we believe that new truth is revealed to us as we continue our spiritual journeys individually and with one another.

As early Friends listened to the inner light and endeavored to live accordingly, a common set of beliefs gradually emerged, which became known as Quaker testimonies. Although rooted in the immediate experience of the community of Friends, these testimonies are based on what Friends believe are verified in the Bible, especially the Gospels regarding the life and teachings of Jesus, and in our ongoing discernment of God’s desire for us to fulfill loving relationships with each other and the world.

PYM (Philadelphia Yearly Meeting) Quakers consider the inner light to be above and beyond the Bible and other formalistic, written dogmas. We trust that the continuing revelation of the inner light speaks to us in our everyday lives.

Hubb Manager, 10/15/2019