Cathy Khurana of Sutton Coldfield, and Pete Doubtfire from Bull St, reflect on joining the EMES & EMEYF All-Age Gathering, held in Germany at Haus Altenberg 8th – 15th August 2026.
I’ve been attending Quaker Gatherings every year, or every so often for most of my life, which made the theme of this summer’s All Age Gathering particularly relevant: The River of Life. Childhood, Youth, Early Adulthood, Adulthood, Later Years, Preparing for Death and Loss were the focus themes in turn for each day. (I haven’t reached Preparing for Death and Loss yet, but I am firmly in the Later Years group!)
It was the loveliest week of my summer, despite the temperature going up to mid 30s (I don’t thrive when it’s so hot, I like rain much better.) Arriving on the first day in time for the Welcome Evening, joining around 200 Quakers from across Europe, and indeed the world, I felt that special, warm, fuzzy Quaker feeling. It’s the atmosphere, the vibe, the trust and joy that is just there, evident – probably it’s God-or-whatever-you-want-to-call-it.
The programmed mornings, beginning each day with a short Meeting for Worship, went on to include speakers, a short follow-up craft-type task, then home groups for further discussion, exploration and building community. The afternoons were filled with the most incredible range of activities offered by anyone and everyone who was there: just a few – creating the patches for the banner in the photo (it’s gone to live at the only Quaker Meeting House in Germany, at Bad Pyrmont), exploring spiritual friendship, going out for walks and talks, singing groups, learning about aspects of Quaker work, playing with the biggest Brio trainset, exploring feelings with marks not words, talking about death and loss, and many many more.
Each day was informally colour-coded, working through the rainbow with a suggestion that we bring a T-shirt (for example) for each day. Far too much to pack I thought, and settled for colour-coded earrings – my purple cats with googly eyes were particularly noticed! It was one of so many little interactions that all meshed to become warm and positive memories. Conversations went from frivolous (cat earrings) to deep and serious (engaging with world economic order; sharing spiritual insights or doubts); new friendships were made and old friendships renewed. The gathering was conducted in English and German, with every programmed session simultaneously translated by a team of fluent Friends. This was impressive. The tech was so good, and so well managed, and everyone used a microphone when speaking to the whole gathering without making a fuss! The openness and honesty of all those who introduced the age range of the day was inspirational – can you think of being in your 80s and being asked to speak to 180 people about preparing for death and loss?
Three moments that struck me (on the road to Damascus sort to moments): the first was on the first full day when we were all finding our way – a Friend brought with him the biggest collection of Brio trains and rails I’ve ever seen and over the course of an afternoon so many of us came to play. Small children with a parent, adults of all ages who love trains, and we had so many delightful conversations in various languages. Second was the Later Years day, when it emerged from the speakers and from the follow up activity that this is the time of life when we reach peace/acceptance of ourselves, so aspire to being 60-80! What would your acrostic on the word TIME say? Third and most beautiful moment – in Meeting for Worship on Wednesday morning, one of the little ones, not quite walking yet, crawled into the space in the middle of the circle and looked at the gathered Friends, moved on to look at others, crawled back to his mother, then around the circle again, smiling, catching the eye of many of us. He was so welcomed into the Meeting!
Cathy Khurana
Having arrived at adult-adulthood after a decade travelling to young adult Quaker events around Europe, it was a joy to join this all-age community. I was part of a small group of Pastoral Friends, and felt a great sense of being upheld by the whole community, as much as we were holding others. Living together in such a big group for a week can be intense, but there was a sense of being able to flow between structured activities and simply being together in the space. There was plenty to nourish the head, heart, body and spirit – I really appreciated the creative response to each morning’s speaker, and the chance to sing, dance and craft, as well as ponder, discuss and reflect. There was also plenty to nourish the stomach, including the most important meal of the German day: Kaffee und Kuchen.
Having sessions translated between English and German was an important reminder that we are a multi-lingual community, and that there’s some responsibility amongst us native English speakers respect and uphold that. As an aspiring German learner, it was a great opportunity to practice listening! Similarly being a genuinely all age group created an atmosphere that could hold stillness and activity, grief and joy – the whole Rive of Life was there. An image shared on the final day, that when a child is born, loving hands are waiting to receive it, and that the same is true as we prepare for death, has particularly stayed with me.
The tranquil setting of Haus Altenberg helped to cultivate the sense of openness and community. Nestled amongst hills and woodland, we felt a long way from the bustle of nearby Cologne. Watching the partial solar eclipse and the Perseid meteor shower were special opportunities to revel in the wonder of creation, and feel a strong sense of community together: we were all in the valley, but some of us were looking at the stars. The Haus is connected to Altenbeger Dom, a shared Protestant and Catholic church – another reminder to celebrate diversity and reach out across our divides (I’ll even forgive them for ringing matins bells at 6am each day).
The patchwork shared by Cathy above was inspired by a quilt made at the last all-age gathering ten years ago. That rainbow blanket has been travelling to young Friends across Europe and the Middle East, who have benefitted from a physical connection to community in tough times. I helped transport the blanket on its journey to its next recipient, and it was a privilege to be carrying a little piece of community with me on my train journey back to Britain. I left feeling spiritually refreshed if physically tired, reconnected to old friends, and embraced by this wonderful family of Quakers across our section and beyond.
Pete Doubtfire