April 20 & 22, 2021 Conversation Circle
Collaborative Quaker Youth Ministry
Linking Yearly Meetings, Monthly Meetings and Quaker Camps
Much can be gained when youth workers embrace a shared stewardship for the same youth across multiple Quaker venues. Centering the ministry to the youth instead of the programming sponsor allows us to weave nurturance and pastoral care for individual young Friends beyond the time and space of our particular events. The better we know our youth, the more we will be able to support them and speak to their condition. Let’s explore how QREC’s informal network can help make these connections come alive! We invite youth workers, youth ministry committee members, and youth program administrators and interested Friends to a conversation on collaborative ministry.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Queries:
- How can youth ministry flow seamlessly between yearly meetings, monthly meetings and Quaker camps?
- How can we enhance the informal, friendship ties that make this collaboration work?
- How can we move toward a ministry-focused approach rather than a program-centered approach?
- What are some effective practices for committees tasked with supporting Quaker youth workers?
Resources:
- Delighted: What teenagers are teaching the church about joy, by Kenda Creasy Dean, Wesley W. Ellis, Justin Forbes
- Despair, Hope and the Great Turning, A weekend retreat plan, by Chris DeRoller and Mike Clark, Powell House
- Quaker Affirmation: A course of study for Young Friends, Indianapolis First Friends Church.
- Silver Bullets: A Guide to Initiative Problems, Adventure Games and Trust Activities, by Karl Rohnke
- Spirit Rising: Young Quaker Voices, by Conti, Curtis, Daniels, Lomuria, Condori, Hart et al.
- STRIDE: Strengthening Transformative Relationships in Diverse Environments, Baltimore Yearly Meeting initiative on growing diverse youth leadership
- The Quaker Way, by Signe Wilkenson
- Whispers of Faith: Young Friends share their experiences of Quakerism, edited by Black, Klos, Reddy, Smith and Stacy
- Wild Things: a recipe for Running a Middle School Friends Overnight for your Meeting or Quarter, by Jennifer Galloway
- Young Friends web page, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Learn more: Visit the QREC Resource Library and subscribe to our announcements
An Introduction
The Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC) is an international, cross-branch, grassroots network of Friends sharing a stewardship for lifelong Quaker faith formation through religious education. We formed in April 2014 and now serve more than 300 Friends in our network. We actively engage and support each other across languages and continents. We gather for regional and annual conferences and offer monthly Conversation Circles via an online conferencing platform.
Steering Circle
We share leadership as part of our collaborative mission, making decisions using the Quaker ‘sense of the meeting’ process, sitting in expectant, worshipful waiting for the emergence of shared truth. Read more…
Working Circles
Our work takes place in ‘circles’ or small groups of Friends who labor on a common task, usually meeting by video conference due to the geographic diversity of the membership. Read more…
The Resource Library
Finders Guide, a sampling of the collection
The QREC Resource Library is a place to share lessons and other educational information in support of our work as Quaker religious educators. This library is a forum for curricula, articles, videos and other educational materials on Quaker themes. You will also find principles, policies and procedures to strengthen operation of your child, youth and adult religious education programs.
Children's Education
Adult Education
Family
African Quaker Library
Youth Education
Small Meetings
Young Adult Friends
Biblioteca QREC
Events
Find renewal, companionship, and help for nitty gritty issues in Quaker religious education, all the while opening spaces for Spirit to work and listening together for God’s way forward.
QREC holds an annual conference and retreat. In addition we hold online Conversation Circles and post other religious education events as we learn about them.
Conversation Circles
Online conferences for Quaker religious educators to share about their work. Conversations are scheduled for two sessions per topic to encourage international participation. Join the conversation…
Other Events
Religious education events of interest to Quakers from all parts of the world. Please let us know about upcoming online or in-person events happening in your area. See the list of upcoming events…
Love at the Heart
Spiritual Practices
Discernment
Active Caring
Quaker Family Culture
Finding the Light
Faith at Home
Home is the heart of faith formation for all families. This is especially true for Friends. As an experiential religion, Quakerism is best learned through living in loving community. Indeed, the vast majority of faith formation for our young Friends happens at home in the busy swirl of daily life.
Become a Member
Submit Resources
Get Announcements
Donate
Attend an Event
Contact Us
Get Involved
QREC depends on all of us sharing our gifts and skills as religious educators. Here are some of the ways you can get involved…