People think of Annual Sessions as a linking of different meeting communities and a grounding of our Faith in business, fellowship, and care.
For children it is Quaker summer camp. And for families it is a time to be together with other families like them – to talk about raising Quaker children, to share in the pleasure of being Quaker families gathered together.
Melinda Wenner Bradley, PYM’s Youth Religious Life Coordinator, says that what she loves most about the five-day experience is “the opportunity to be a whole spiritual community across ages; gathered for worship, playing, and learning together. For our young people, this gathering is a place to explore Quaker identity and the many ways to be a Friend. And for me personally, the tradition of late-evening conversations with other parents, which is easier now that many of us have children in the residential MSF and Young Friends programs!”
It is also a place to write about what they find here. Our Middle School Friend, Erica Cox, wrote this blog to share with our wider Friends Community:
“Hello, we are the Middle School Friends group and this week we have been having lots of fun together.
“Some highlights of our week include going swimming in the The College of New Jersey’s (TCNJ) Olympic sized pool, sliding down an awesome (50-foot!) slip n’ slide (that the clerk of the Sessions Coordinator Committee brought for them!), and hanging out with our gigantic inflatable unicorn sprinkler named Frank.
“Later on this week we will go on a field trip to Mercer Meadows and get to participate in a talent show with children’s program.” —By Middle School Friend Erica Cox
PYM Children’s programs took a field trip to Snipes farm to pick blackberries, see the goats, play outside and enjoy the beautiful weather. All Friends wish they could have tagged along.
Photos from the farm are below:
