1994 was a year of continued expansion for EMEYF. Established events allowed old and new F/friends to meet and exchange ideas and inspiration. New ones ensured that EMEYF did not lose its creative edge. As before, the early highlights were the Spring Gathering, held over Easter weekend in the Netherlands on the theme of ``Life Cycles: patters of living and dying'', and the Annual Meeting held in April in Brussels. The Communications Committee met in October to hear progress reports and consider appointments, finances and spirituality. Particularly relevant to the latter is the role of the Elders appointed at AM '93. The process of defining that role has been hampered by problems of distance and communications, but there are tentative plans to hold an Elders' weekend on Continental Quakerism, possibly in tandem with a gathering.
EMEYF's biggest achievement was almost without doubt the Russia Summer Gathering, held from 9-23 August in Zabor'e, near Moscow. A number of reports on this event have appeared in the European Quaker press. To recapitulate briefly, attendance was high, with around 40 people from seven countries participating. Workshops were held on a variety of subjects including Quaker spirituality, QPS work and Russia, the Russian orthodox religion and the impact of German reunification. While an effort was made to ensure that people from different backgrounds and cultures mingled as much as possible, the language barrier meant that a heavy responsibility was put on the few interpreters. There was an understandable division between those who were long-term attenders of Quaker gatherings and those for whom the very concept of Quakerism was new. There is general agreement that a sense of community was eventually built up. As a result of this experience an important link has been forged. We now have over a dozen Russians on the mailing list. We will try and ensure Russian participation at future EMEYF events.
The Language Project has produced a next-to-final draft of its questions and recommendations, titled ``Our Different Voices'', which will be published in six languages. The Language Kit (games, songs, word-games) and Songbook are still on the lookout for contributions. The Community Project exists in theory, but following the end of the Bleibach Community and newsletter it has no actual manifestations. Remaining funds go towards supporting any future community which may be set up. On EMEYF's behalf, representation was made to the EMES Section Meeting. Rachel Maskill and Ruth Mason; to the Council of Europe's seminar for Young Political Leaders by Bert Tschirner; to the Young Europeans for Security Conference in December by Graham Paterson. Illness prevented Kristin Hognestad from attending the European Quaker Peace Consultation. Full reports on the other events have appeared in the EMEYF magazine ``Willy & Penn'', now on its 11th issue.
With ``membership'' now standing around 170, with standing commitment and new responsibilities, in particular towards Russian Young Friends, 1995 looks set to be a challenging year. With its blend of faith, practice and no more than the usual slice of luck, we expect EMEYF will meet those challenges well.
Graham Paterson, EMEYF Secretary