From 25 July to 1 August at York, we will hold the first of two experimental Yearly Meeting Gatherings (YMG). This is a fusion of what we value most about Summer Gatherings, residential Yearly Meetings and Junior Yearly Meetings (JYM). We have a vision of an integrated, inclusive and accessible event, which is the focal point for a wider range of learning and community-building opportunities throughout the year.

This will be a new kind of event with new opportunities and challenges. In some ways it will feel very familiar. We will be back on the campus at the University of York, where we held Yearly Meeting in 2005; there will be core Yearly Meeting business held in a gathered Meeting for Worship for Business; and there will be hundreds of under 19s as well as the celebratory and spiritual dimensions you always get at Quaker residential events.