A surprising number of Northside Friends were in attendance at the 2026 Friends General Conference Gathering, an annual event that attracts Quakers from across North America and other areas. Running July 7 -12 in Burlington, VT, the FGC Gathering was held on the beautiful campus of the University of Vermont, drawing some 750 Quakers of all ages. FGC, founded in 1900, is now a coalition of 16 yearly meetings (including Illinois Yearly Meeting) and 12 directly affiliated monthly meetings.
Northsider Friends Bobby Kramer (l) and Charles “Choz” McKinney connected up at FGC Gathering in Burlington, VT..
The FGC Gathering is a bit like the Annual Sessions at Illinois Yearly Meeting, but on a larger scale. Like ILYM Annual Sessions, the FGC Gathering includes group worship, notable speakers, workshops, interest groups, a Young Friends program, as well as music, dance and socializing.
FGC’s extensive program included more than 30 four-day morning workshops, subjects including creative pursuits like “Soulful Singing” and “Photography and the Art of Seeing” or personal development like “Men Talking to Men” and “Couple Enrichment,” or practical Quaker concerns such as clerking and ministering to children. Some focused on topical issues like “Coming to Moral Clarity on Israel/Palestine” or “Black Freedom and Quaker Anti-slavery: 1770s and Now.”
Northsiders Beth Burbank and Bill Esler drove to Burlington, VT for FGC via Montreal, two hours north, in their first road trip in their all-electric Chevy Equinox EV.
Two featured speakers at evening plenary sessions gave a “wow” factor to FGC. On Thursday night, famed activist leader and death row lawyer Bryan Stevenson spoke. Stevenson is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and chronicled his work defending Walter McMillian in his memoir Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. McMillian had been unjustly convicted and sentenced to death. In the 2019 film Just Mercy, Michael B. Jordan portrays Stevenson.
At the Friday plenary, Kazu Haga, author of Healing Resistance, spoke about the power of Kingian Nonviolence as a practical approach to societal conflict first begun by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement. The deeply transformative philosophy was utilized by the Women’s March and Black Lives Matter movements.
Former Northsider Bob Siedle-Khan (left) traveled from San Francisco Meeting and current Northsider Mike Conover from Portland, OR.
Along with programs for children and teens, there were numerous afternoon offerings ranging from “Nontheism among Friends” to “Spirituality and Generosity” appeal across the spectrum of Quaker interests and leadings.
While camping was also an option, most Quakers at FGC reside in the university dorms and eat at the campus cafeteria, where Northsiders and former-Northsiders ran across each other and renewed connections, staging an impromptu dinner Thursday night.
An impromptu dinner Thursday night at FGC Gathering for Northsiders past and present: Charles “Choz” McKinney (left), Mike Conover, Greg Gundlach, Bill Esler, Bob Siedle-Khan, Elijah Snow-Rackley and Beth Burbank. Not pictured: Bobby Kramer and Roger Hansen, who were also at FGC Gathering
Current Northside Friends attending included Bill Esler, Beth Burbank, Charles “Choz” McKinney, and Bobby Kramer. Two Northsiders attended from further afield: Elijah Snow-Rackley (currently residing at the Groupe Languedoc Quaker meeting house in southern France); and Northsider Mike Conover (currently at Hillsdale Worship Group in Portland, OR). Mike came to practice his healing skills in the volunteer-led Healing Center each afternoon. Elijah came in his leadership role for Adult Young Friends, which met to plan out future activities.
Former Northside Friends member Greg Gundlach now resides in New Hampshire. Northside Friends met in his art studio on Roscoe St. for several years before moving the the Japanese American Service Center on Clark St. Below, Roger Hansen, who now hails from Milwaukee Monthly Meeting.
Former Northsiders Bob Siedle-Khan (now in San Francisco), Greg Gundlach (now in Hanover, NH) and Roger Hanson (now in Milwaukee) were there as well. Northside Friends met for several years in Greg’s art studio near Roscoe and Racine before Meeting moved to Japanese American Service Center. And Roger held the role of Treasurer during our JASC years before he departed for Milwaukee.
Founded in 1900, Friends General Conference is an association of local and regional Quaker organizations primarily in the United States and Canada. FGC is a volunteer-led association. Its focus areas and related projects are determined by volunteers representing its affiliates and consistent with FGC’s organizational Minute of Purpose and Vision Statement. What began as an association of seven yearly meetings holding a biennial "general conference" has grown to a coalition of 16 yearly meetings and 12 directly affiliated monthly meetings.
Friends General Conference offers Quaker Finder as a tool to locate Quaker meetings and churches FGC also operates a bookstore, which is transported to the FGC Gathering and featured appearances by a number of authors. Next year’s FGC location is yet to be determined, but its co-chairs have been selected, including ILYM’s Lilith Sweigart. Usually running for five-days following the July 4 holiday, you can keep up with news on the FGC Gathering site.