Quaker Spring

The last 5 Junes, Friends from over 20 yearly meetings drawing on all branches of Friends have gathered together in Barnesville, Ohio, to explore what Spirit-led Quakerism is about at its core - and to experience it together. These were truly "gatherings with a difference" - with most of the week left unplanned and open to the leading of the Spirit.

Friends of various ages and from many YMs have come together & spent time listening to ways the winds of the Spirit are blowing through their lives. You can get a sense of what took place by reading the Epistle from Quaker Camp at Stillwater and a Friends Journal article called Quakercamp at Barnesville - Blessed by the Witness of God.  We've found it a little hard to explain concretely what a gathering such as this one is actually like.  Deborah Haines wrote a new piece recently attempting to describe this called:

Have You Heard about Quaker Spring?

There is much more information about the 2007 gathering including talks by Susan & Jack Smith of Ohio Yearly Meeting, other accounts of the gathering, a typical day's schedule, & a list of the attenders at 

Quaker Camp 2007.

Over 70 Friends attended the 2011 gathering held at The Meeting School in Rindge NH. In 2012 Quaker Spring will return to Barnesville, Ohio and will meet from June 24-29.  Come for a day or a week!

For more information on next June's gathering, click on:

              Quaker Spring 2012

Gathering costs are deliberately kept very low (around $30/day per adult). Fees are on a "freewill offering/pay what you feel led" basis, so no one need stay away for reasons of limited funds. There are children's programs in the morning and childcare available in the evening.

We welcome others joining us, especially Young Adult Friends!  One of the most exciting things about these gatherings has been the powerful sharing across generational lines between Young Adult and older Friends. Many in both groups have spoken of how powerful and unusual this experience has been. To see more about this, go to YAFs at Quaker Spring.

Our planning/discerning group currently includes: Deborah Haines (Baltimore YM), Gordon Thompson (Canadian YM), Micah Bales (Great Plains YM), Susan Bailey & Susan Smith (Ohio YM), Ann Armstrong, Noah Baker-Merrill, Peter Blood-Patterson, Angela Hopkins & Susan Zeichner (New England YM), Janet Hough (New York YM) and Ellen Deacon (Philadelphia YM). 

You can email the Quaker Spring planning group if you have questions or ideas about this summer's gathering. If you prefer, you may also write Deborah Haines, 2794 Fort Scott Dr, Arlington VA 22202 or call her at 703-706-8176.

We welcome contributions to support these gatherings. For more information on how this can be helpful, please go to: Contributions to Quaker Spring

We hope you will join us this June in Barnesville!