West Yorkshire Travelling Children's Meeting
In West Yorkshire about fifteen Quaker families are getting together every three months for a 'travelling children's Meeting', with worship, lunch and social activities.
There are very few regular children's Meetings in the area, but the young people and their carers were keen to find ways to meet up. The Local Development and Youth Development Workers for Yorkshire are supporting them to arrange 'travelling children's Meeting' days, when they all visit a Local Meeting to worship together, followed by a shared lunch with local Friends, and a fun afternoon social activity.
Dates are coordinated through a Whatsapp group, and worship activities for young people are arranged by the Youth Development Worker, with support from youth work volunteers. Afternoons so far have included bowling, drumming, baking and outdoor games.
Local Friends have found that these visits bring energy, enthusiasm and hopefulness into their Meetings. The young people enjoy making new friends and meeting up with old ones.
The adults also benefit from the chance to meet together and share their experiences and concerns. One parent said, 'it is so good to have this way for us all to stay in contact with Quakers'.