YAY Workshops

We’ll learn about activist movements Friends participated in previous centuries, what Friends and others are doing today to work toward justice, and consider our own role and sense of calling in this challenging time. Topics will include gender and racial justice, immigration and refugees, colonization, and climate change. Learning will include movement strategies and nonviolent direct action tactics, as well as spiritual grounding for social action.

Led by Cherice Bock

Cherice Bock (she/her) has experience teaching at the intersection of religion and environment at the college and seminary levels, as well as facilitating workshops and speaking at a wide range of Quaker gatherings. She is a Quaker from Oregon. Cherice holds a Master of Divinity and a PhD in environmental studies. She co-chairs the Quaker Theological Discussion Group and she has written quite a few publications, including A Quaker Ecology: Meditations on the Future of Friends. She works as climate policy manager at 350PDX.

Come craft with me! This workshop will be partially directed by the participants’ interests, though my experience is mostly in sewing and similar fabric crafts. My proposed schedule will include learning some basic sewing to help make clothing fit better, last longer, and bring more joy: hemming, mending, adding or extending pockets, and some decorative embroidery. Bring along some clothes you wish were just a little better, bring an existing project, or just bring yourself! Open to high school and above, all ability levels

Led by Alissa Vandenbark

Alissa has attended many different Meetings as she moved across the country, but currently resides and worships in Philadelphia. She has always enjoyed crafting, but got more deeply into sewing clothes during Covid lockdown, working up from a circle skirt to drafting a historical-inspired corset over the course of a summer. She enjoys working on projects next to friends, chatting and problem solving together as things come up, and hopes to bring that energy to YAY this summer.

Join other Friends for an extended period of open worship, followed by time for greetings and reflections.

High School Only

High School Program participants join experienced Junior Gathering staff to create a fun, supportive, and Spirit-filled environment for our youngest Gathering participants. Increase your skill and experience, share the joy of working with children, and give back to our community! Early arrival Tuesday, 7/1 is mandatory. Please plan to submit a Junior Gathering staff application with references within 1-2 weeks of registering for this workshop.

Led by Laura Pickering Ford and Rae Dole, Junior Gathering Co-clerks

Come together for genuine connection with Quaker parents in a space that uplifts the values that keep us centered, especially in these tough times. Each day will be grounded in content about Quaker parenting, plus plenty of hanging out, enjoying time together, and lifting each other up.

Led by Rachel Ernst Stahlhut and Laura MacNorlin

Rachel Ernst Stahlhut (she/her) is a member of Community Friends Meeting (OVYM) in Cincinnati, Ohio, and serves as the Spiritual Deepening Coordinator for Friends General Conference.  Rachel and her husband Brad are joyful parents to Ollie (10) and two pesky kittens.  Her “mama bear” energy has been activated over the past few years in response to discriminatory laws in Ohio and she fiercely advocates for the rights and safety of all kids.

Laura MacNorlin (she/her) is a lifelong Friend, member of the Atlanta Friends Meeting and Religious Education Committee, long time Quaker youth programming coordinator and teacher at The Friends School of Atlanta. She attended Earlham college undergrad and has a masters in Practical Theology/Educational Ministries. Laura also serves on the steering circle board of the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative (QREC), where she has also worked with the Quaker Parenting Initiative (QPI). Best of all, Laura and her spouse Hannah are parents to tween triplets, and as a family they are a living testimony to the nurture of Quaker community and fellowship of parenting Friends.

Join in creative community for a hands-on papermaking experience! Over three days, we will make small editions of unique handmade paper, using recycled paper as a base and respectfully collected materials from our surroundings. This artistic practice is sensorily rich, engaging, and will incorporate mindfulness throughout the process. 

In this workshop, we can get into identity, memory, gratitude, and sense of place through making paper. Explore your surroundings & self while taking part in a super cool, ancient folk art technique!

Led by Mambs Denham

Mambs Denham is an early childhood educator with a Bachelor’s in visual arts education. They have worked with handmade paper for about four years and regularly collect non-traditional “ingredients” for their own paper batches. Mambs believes creative expression is rooted in identity, and can be both cathartic and fun at the same time!

“Do not break the silence unless you can improve upon it.” – William Ralph Inge

We often assume silence is the absence of sound. And yet, to listen to silence exposes the essential textures of noise in our lives. This workshop will combine guided listening, mindful practice, and creative sound projects to help us rediscover the quiet spaces within and around us and learn how listening can transform our relationship with our planet.

Led by Sweet Miche

Sweet Miche (they/them) is a climate activist and a great lover of silence and sounds of all types. They work at Quaker Earthcare Witness and cohosts the podcast Quakers Today. Sweet Miche holds a master of theopoetics and writing from Earlham School of Religion, where they studied silent performance art as a spiritual practice. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Miche has settled in New York City and is a member of Brooklyn Monthly Meeting.