TheWorld Gathering of Young Friends is the name of several gatherings of members of theReligious Society of Friends between the ages of 18 and 35. There have been two gatherings by this name; the first in 1985 inGreensboro, North Carolina, United States, and the second in 2005 inLancaster, England, andMombasa, Kenya. Though these gatherings are the first that were truly worldwide in scope, they followed many gatherings of a similar sort ofFriends from North America and Europe.
The WGYF was held in 1985 inGreensboro, North Carolina, on the campus ofGuilford College.[1]
Seen as a defining moment for theReligious Society of Friends worldwide, this gathering is generally considered to be the beginning of the thawing of many of the strained relationships which exist amongstdivided theologies ofQuakers around the world. Many participants and organisers went on to take up key roles of leadership in their respectiveYearly Meetings. Theepistle from the 1985 WGYF and the report of the process of its creation get cited in manyQuaker contexts and it makes inspiring reading, whatever one's background may be.
The aim of the World Gathering of Young Friends 2005[2] was to bring together, atLancaster University, Friends aged 18–35 from around the world to build community within the next generation ofQuaker leaders. They studied and learnt from their heritage, shared their present-day expressions of faith, and tried to discern howChrist is guiding them to facilitate understanding within the Quaker family. By sharing experiences of living Quaker testimony from their varied cultures, they sought to ask humbly for guidance and to open themselves to the possibility of transformation. Unfortunately, theBritish government refused even temporary visas to many attendees fromIndia andAfrica. Therefore, a second conference was held in Kanamai,Mombasa, Kenya from 20 to 24 October 2005.[3][4][5]