 March/April 2000 (XXXVIII 2) |
he Young Friends Program of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting has adopted a new policy that permits smoking at its gatherings under restricted circumstances. The Religious Education Concerns Group met on January 19, 2000, to consider the new smoking policy formed by Young Friends. After hearing the minute which follows and much thoughtful discussion, Religious Education "agreed to support the minute and the process leading up to it, and will ask that comments on the policy be directed in writing to Mike Ayars, Laura Smoot, or Marty Smith." Comments and concerns may be e-mailed to Young Friends Co-clerks Laura Smoot swerve@juno.com and Mike Ayars mayars@mindspring.com or mailed to them in care of Martha G. Smith, Director of Religious Education, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia PA 19102.
A Letter from Young Friends about Smoking
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Young Friends have been concerned with smoking in our community for as long as we can remember. We have labored with each other, with our parents, and with God, to build a spiritual community that fosters tolerance and love. We have wrestled with the larger issues of good Quaker process, right order, and clearness, as well as with our responsibilities to our community and our Yearly Meeting.
The Young Friends' smoking policy has been a constant concern in our community, just as smoking by young people has been a concern in the greater society. After two years of struggle, the Religious Education Committee recommended that we try a one-year ban on smoking.
That one-year experiment yielded some significant, unintended consequences. We missed the Young Friends who could not, in good conscience, spend an entire weekend or week without breaking our no-smoking guideline. Young Friends who struggle with nicotine addictions felt that Young Friends' ministry no longer extended to them. Many Young Friends whose parents evidently forbade attendance at Gatherings because of our old smoking policy still found other reasons not to come. The drop in attendance that coincided with the ban on smoking meant that the quality of our ministry to young people was severely compromised. The process by which the Young Friends Concerns Group and the Religious Education Executive Committee arrived at the smoking ban made current Young Friends feel disenfranchised. A key part of why Young Friends is such a uniquely safe place for our Yearly Meeting's young people is that the community develops its own guidelines. The process that resulted in the no-smoking guideline made many feel disillusioned with the rest of our guidelines as well.
The "Smoking Issue" has been the major agenda item in our business meetings and Young Friends Concerns Group meetings for the past three years. We do not want Young Friends to smoke, but the reality is that some do. We need to meet Young Friends where they are, not where we want them to be. We have had programs at Gatherings about addictions and community, and we have revised our minute many times over. Ask any Young Friend what it means to worshipfully reach consensus, and he or she will tell you about the clearness process we used to formulate our smoking guideline. The Young Friends of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting finally came to clearness about our smoking policy at the Meeting for Worship for Business at our recent Gathering in December 1999. After years of process and struggle, we've arrived at the following smoking guideline for our Gatherings that reflects our community's concerns and capabilities:
Young Friends Minute on Smoking 12/30/1999
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Young Friends have been concerned with smoking in our community for as long as we can remember. We acknowledge Friends' concerns about smoking, and indeed, share those concerns. Banning smoking at our Gatherings is unfaithful to our community and to our testimonies of tolerance, acceptance, and unconditional love. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's Young Friends ministry extends to all Young Friends, including those who are addicted to nicotine. We permit smoking at our Gatherings, subject to the following guidelines:
- Smoking is a solitary event. Those who are addicted to nicotine may, during unscheduled time, go outside and smoke a cigarette by themselves, then return to the rest of our community.
- There is no bumming, borrowing, renting, buying, or selling of tobacco products at a Young Friends Gathering.
- We do not want Young Friends or adults to smoke. We will support them to quit when they are ready, and help them to not smoke at Gatherings.
- The Young Friends community accepts the responsibility for enforcing this policy and will establish clear consequences for those who fail to live up to our expectations. We've been working with this issue for so long, we have to get it right.
- Reminder to Parents:
- The Young Friends community permits smoking. Our community has gone through a very drawn out clearness process, and we feel it is necessary to share our ministry with everyone, regardless of their smoking habits. We recommend that you discuss smoking with your own Young Friend. Such a discussion does not need to be a confrontation or an inquisition, but should be an open sharing of your feelings on the issue.
There has been a lot of discussion between the Young Friends community and the greater Yearly Meeting about young people's tobacco usage. We hope that Friends who have not participated in our process will respect the length and depth of our discussion and the good Quaker process we've modeled in reaching this agreement.
Faithfully,
Laura Smoot, Haddonfield Meeting (NJ)
Maurice (Mike) Ayars, Woodstown Meeting (NJ)
Co-clerks of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Young Friends
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:18 AM