Young Adult Friends Midwinter 2024 Retreat
**If the retreat is full, email yaf@neym.org to join the waitlist. Please note if you are a full time participant or commuter.
Join us February 16-19th for a Young Adult Friends (YAF) Retreat!
About YAF retreats: Our retreats are for young adult Quakers and Quaker-curious individuals (ages 18-35) who want to center spiritual growth and explore Quakerism with other young adults.
Young Adult Friends (YAF) retreats are an opportunity to "try on" Quaker spiritual practices, connect with peers in a similar life phase and/or in a similar stage in their spiritual journey, enjoy time spent in joy & worshipful togetherness, bring a spiritual lens to the decisions in our lives, and cultivate friendships and spiritual connections with one another.
About the location: The retreat will be held at Woolman Hill Retreat Center in Deerfield, Western Massachusetts. Woolman Hill is surrounded by the beauty of meadows and woods and features simple facilities such as a big farmhouse-turned-modern-dormitory, a historic Quaker meetinghouse, and rustic cabins heated by wood stoves. We sleep in shared rooms (2-4 people) on a mixture of bunks and other beds and when you register, you’ll be able to specify your housing or sleep needs.
Timing: Arrivals begin at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, February 16th and the retreat ends at noon on Monday, February 19th (President’s Day). If you need to arrive late or leave early, you will be able to tell us that when you register.
In addition to registering for the full retreat (or most of it, if you need to arrive a little later or leave a little early), we are also offering a Saturday commuter option (Feb 17th) for folks who live nearby and can’t stay longer.
What’s the theme? The theme of this retreat is “Cultivating Spiritual Practice” Throughout the retreat we will hold questions like:
What role does spiritual practice play in this season of my life?
What helps me tend to my spiritual growth?
What practices–both individual and collective–from the Quaker tradition and beyond feed me?
What rhythms do I want to take with me into the new year?
How can I offer and receive spiritual encouragement and accountability from others?
NEW This year, in addition to large and small group activities, participants will have the opportunity to sign-up for one-on-one spiritual accompaniment sessions with elders available for spiritual presence and care.
COVID Protocols:
Our current policy regarding COVID and illness prevention at retreat is available here.
If you have any specific questions, suggestions, or concerns regarding COVID protocols at the retreat, please feel free to contact the coordinators at yaf@neym.org.
Payment details:
This retreat is pay as led (sliding scale, pay what fits your budget contributing as you are able). Please let interest, not finances, determine your attendance. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. We offer these suggestions which reflect the cost of food, building usage, materials, & honoraria:
$150 makes a helpful contribution towards our costs, for those with a limited income
$230 covers the room & board costs of one participant (thanks to a reduced rate from Woolman Hill)
$350 covers the direct cost of one participant attending as well as some of the related costs for putting on this event (such as staff time)
For Saturday-only commuters we suggest $75 or $50 if budgets are tight.
We ask for a $35 deposit at the time of registration.
Capacity & Cancellations
If your plans change, please contact us ASAP (yaf@neym.org).
We do offer refunds but ask that anyone canceling within 14 days of the event consider making a contribution to the event if possible.
Participant leadership:
We are always happy to have YAFs help out during the retreat. If you have excitement and leadings around providing support for the retreat, please let me know! We are looking for a few folks to be small group leaders and would appreciate anyone stepping up to have care of worship, as well as looking for people who want to lead songs, games, or optional interest groups during free time or meals. If you feel called to any of these roles, let me know at yaf@neym.org.
Registration closes February 8th (or when the retreat fills, if that is earlier).