German Yearly Meeting 2024: What Moves Us

Dear Friends,
we are very pleased to invite you to our

94th Yearly Meeting

from 31 October to 3 November 2024 at Haus Venusberg (Bonn).
Our theme this year is:

What Moves Us

The time has come. The giant crisis is no longer looming on the horizon, no longer a distant prospect, but rather the threshold of our present reality. We all sense that our lives will change, and not for the better – certainly an unpleasant feeling.

But the more we engage with change in a conscious way, the more we prepare ourselves for it inwardly, the easier will be the experience of change and the less power it will have to frighten us.

Let’s set off on this journey together!

As young people who are aware of the fact that the future will affect us even more intensely, we Young Friends have set ourselves the task of going a little way down this path with you at our Yearly Meeting. Come with us! In the safe space of the Yearly Meeting, let’s try out some things in areas where society in general is still falling short. We want to think new thoughts and conceive new structures, try out new lifestyles and gather courage for the journey ahead! Vegan food, carpooling, composting toilets, an awareness room*, exercise and ventilation breaks are just a few examples of what’s in store at the YM – developments that we can already become familiar with, being a foretaste of what is to come globally.

The Richard L. Cary Lecture on Friday (November 1, 2024 at 9:15 am) will be given jointly by Martin Höfflin-Glünkin and Dieter Müller-Nöhring:

When the whole world is at stake –
Journeying as Friends into an uncertain future

The traditional seminar prior to the Yearly Meeting (30-31 October 2024) will be organised this year by the Earthcare Witness group:

Ecological Crisis and Quaker Spirituality

Excerpted from the announcement on quaeker.org: “How can we express the calls for peace, justice and care for creation more clearly? How can we live more intentionally in connection with all life and in harmony with our testimonies?”

In the various Interest Groups during the Yearly Meeting – all of which will be aligned with our theme – everyone will have the opportunity to discuss topics currently of concern to us as Young Friends. Together we’ll consider not only the ecological crisis, but also such topics as the shift to the right in our society, conflict resolution, “prohibitionism politics”, alternative financial structures, unquestioning faith in progress and much more.

Anyone who would like to offer an Interest Group on the overarching theme of “Climate Crisis / Societal Crisis” can do so for the online participants of this year’s gathering. Please write to liviaszabo@posteo.de with details of your offer.

The Yearly Meeting will also offer non-traditional Meetings for Worship, a fun Communal Evening, and a Clothes Swap Party featuring good music. (If you would like to participate in the latter, please bring no more than three items of clothing and only if you are willing to exchange them for others).

If you have to travel by car and would like to carpool, please contact Felix Klinghammer: felix.klinghammer@web.de.

We also want to take full advantage of various opportunities for inclusivity:

• To ensure that vulnerable individuals will feel safe at the gathering, we will concentrate on improving indoor air quality, embedding ventilation breaks and inviting those at particular risk to wear masks to help protect themselves from infection.
• It is our intention to offer the highest possible quality of online transmission for this hybrid gathering, not only for key programme items, but also for informal encounters. In this way, we hope to create opportunities for Friends to participate who are prevented from attending the Yearly Meeting in person – whether due to an accident, physical limitation or because they are not free to travel. We are asking for a participation fee of €40.00 from those attending online, as a fair way of partially offsetting the costs involved.
• Once again there will be an interest-led and age-appropriate programme for children and teens, a significant part of which will be devoted to the theme of the Yearly Meeting.

Come with a joyful heart to this joint exploration of new ways of thinking, new lifestyles, new collective strength! No one should feel overwhelmed by what lies ahead. At the Yearly Meeting, united in our Quaker community, we will find the support we need.

We’re very much looking forward to our shared experiences in Venusberg!

Yearly Meeting 2024 Organising Committee
(Young Friends and Bavaria-Austria Area Meeting)

 

*Composting toilets work without flushing water but they are not disgusting! Conventional toilets will not be sustainable for much longer due to their high water consumption. During the YM, there will of course be regular toilets available, but we will also have the opportunity to familiarise ourselves with this new style before it becomes standard.
** In the Awareness Room you have the opportunity to talk about emotionally stressful things, about difficult encounters, about statements made by others that you are uncomfortable with, or anything else that is causing you concern – it’s a safe space for sensitive issues, where you can receive support.