Four Cotteridge Friends reflect on their experiences of Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), held from 1st – 4th May 2026:
I’m an old Quaker – both in terms of age and having been a Quaker all my life. However, I didn’t attend as a child – my father attended on his own, I don’t think that there was any provision for children.
I was not an active Young Friend and my first memory of attending YM was in 1973, when heavily pregnant with David. It was then known as London Yearly Meeting – and remained so until 1995.
The name change was the first indication of the move from being a London centred event, of mainly elderly Quakers, to the more inclusive BYM held in May.
It was a joyful occasion for Friends of all ages, very different from YMs in the last century. We even sang together in session a few times!
For me, the most important aspect of YM is that everyone present has the opportunity to contribute to the decisions recorded in the minutes. Everyone hears the supportive comments and those of people who are distressed.
Paul Whitehouse, BYM treasurer said “Without the centre, we are just a collection of scattered Local Meetings. BYM helps to sustain our faith now and into the future”.
Esther Boyd
I am so grateful I had yet another opportunity to go to BYM. The Young People & Yearly Meeting (YP@YM) were a group of 11–15-year-olds who met at the Frontier Centre in Northamptonshire. It was an extremely fun weekend which included 3 amazing speaker sessions, including 2 external speakers Till Gieger and Emily Provance, outdoor pursuits activities and lots of fun frisbee games.
Bethan Eccles
I am so grateful to have been given the opportunity to go to yearly meeting this year. I embraced the experience by attending the accompaniment programme for 16–18-year-olds. There were 6 of us and we formed a close group. With the supportive adult volunteers and BYM staff we attended many of the main sessions and reflected on them together. We enjoyed each other’s company by visiting the Wellcome Exhibition and the British Library. I found it interesting to see the similarities and differences between how young Quakers do Quaker business and how the wider Quaker community does it. I would be very happy to speak with anyone about it if you want to know more.
Rose Eccles
Although I have not attended BYM for a number of years recently, I used to attend regularly. The first one I remember was one of the 1st Residentials in Newcastle when I was 6, where I remember playing with a girl chasing around a Allendale Meeting House eating buns! My memory was that she ate 17 and I ate 16! Recounting the tale amongst Young Friends years later it turned out to be Liz Eddington (who some may know) who remembered it the other way around! I was inspired to attend this year knowing that Stuart Masters would be delivering the Swarthmore Lecture entitled “Tangled Roots -Navigating the complex legacy of Early Quakers” The rest of the programme apart from the usual business items looked enticing too – “What unites us as a Spirit-led community” and “As a Sprit-led community how can we handle conflict well?” Both of these sessions were excellent and a there was a wide range of contributions. Full reports can be read in The Friend – also attached with this newsletter.
Other highlights included impromptu singing of the hymn “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” during the loss of sound on the Zoom link – it had been referenced in the previous session about listening to the Spirit both in the “still small voice” and the “earthquake, wind and fire”, The Salter Lecture “The Middle East: a moral catastrophe?” by Rachel Shabi an Iraqi Jew, born in Israel and raised in England and also the All-age Worship which included much joyful singing.
It was also good to meet up with Friends I have known throughout my life, one whom I have known since the age of about 4. Having re-established a link with BYM I hope to begin to attend more regularly.
Janet Blann