Friends United Meeting |
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Sam, Natia, Perry and Nate Gorgen, children of Rachel Ruth and Paul Gorgen, lead eventful lives guided by Quaker values. These young Friends have been nurtured by Poughkeepsie Friends Meeting (New York) and it is clear that growing up Quaker has been a vital influence in their lives.
Natia and Nate both celebrated graduations this past June. Natia graduated from fifth grade and is looking forward starting the sixth grade at a new school, Oakwood Friends School. Nate graduated from Poughkeepsie High School and remembers it as an incredible experience and a culmination of four years of hard work and sacrifice. During the summer he worked at various jobs, including doing farm work and interior house painting. This fall, he begins his freshman year at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
Nate believes that living by Quaker values at this time in history is more important than ever. He has been able to maintain personal clarity about his life and goals, and an ability to focus on whatever task is at hand.
His brother Sam feels a similar strength of purpose, that being a Quaker has helped him gain knowledge about his character as an individual and has been a foundation to support his beliefs.
“My Quaker beliefs have influenced my choices, including how I act and live my life,” Sam says. He has influenced his friends’ beliefs about war and fighting, showing them the truths to be found in pacifism. Sam is spending the first semester of his junior year of high school as an exchange student in Limoges, France.
Natia’s relationships have also been influenced by Quakerism, and, like Sam, she has been able to help some of her friends make reflective choices. Quaker values often influence her choices and decisions.
Perry, about to begin his junior year at Haverford College, historically a Quaker school, feels his choice of college was influenced by his journey in Quakerism. Being a Quaker has also had a subtle influence on his course of study, philosophy. He sees strong connections between his studies and the simplicity and depth of thought he has always associated with Quakerism. Perry worked as a one-to–one aid in the summer program at an Early Education Center. This fall, he travels to France to study at the University of Strasbourg for one semester. It is quite obvious that the tenets of Quakerism has been and will continue to be powerful motivators in the lives of these four young Quakers.
In Nate’s words, “Quaker thought has influenced and pervaded my whole life. It has made me who I am and is the foundation of my philosophy of life, politics and in other areas.”
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Diane-Ellen McCarron is an attender at Poughkeepsie Friends Meeting, New York. Her watercolor paintings have been on previous covers of Quaker Life magazine.