Write up for Fall 2005 gathering by James Gray

The beginning of the retreat coincided with a pot luck where Leonel Narvaez spoke about the Foundation of Reconciliation of which he is the director.  Leonel's inspirational discussion fit perfectly with the retreat's theme of economic justice.

On Saturday morning Suzannah McCandless spoke to YAFs about her experiences at the World Gathering of Young Friends.  She attended the gathering as a translator.  Almost all of the representatives from Africa were denied visas, and so they were unable to attend.

Later in the morning Joe Gerson spoke to us about the economics of oil.  It was a very interesting talk and YAFs asked a great many questions.  The discussion focused on the history of the struggle for oil, its relationship to military power, and the history of the middle east.

During our YAF business meeting we focused on getting a YAF coordinator for the coming year.  YAFs have been without a coordinator since Karen Armstrong left this past spring.