Weekly Announcements for December 19, 2025
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Paper Copies of Faith & Practice 2025 Now Available |
Paper copies of BYM's Faith and Practice with updates through 2025 are now available. Two free paper copies have been sent by postal mail to all Monthly Meetings this week. In addition to the PDF and E-Pub files available free of charge online, you can now purchase paper copies online through Amazon Print-On-Demand ($6) OR through the BYM Office ($12, 5+ copies @ $8). During BYM's 2025 Annual Sessions, new section 20, How will we live our faith in care of the earth?, was approved. Further copy edits in the 2025 edition include an increase in the font size for readability and the replacement of the outdated term “overseers” with “ministry and counsel” or “ministry and pastoral care committees.”
The General Secretary is aware that some Friends have ethical concerns about Amazon.com. Because of this, paper copies are also available for purchase from the office. However, use of Amazon's print-on-demand service makes Faith & Practice less expensive to produce, quicker for Friends to receive, and more widely available, even as BYM's administrative staffing remains reduced by two from the 2019/2020 reductions in force. Thank you for understanding as staff work to balance capacity with need!
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Women's Retreat Registration Ends TONIGHT! |
The BYM Women's Retreat joyfully returns to its weekend-long format this January 23-25 at the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Reisterstown, MD. This year's theme is Renewal Through All Seasons, focusing on seasons of life and fostering intergenerational spiritual connections. As always, the Women's Retreat is inclusive of trans and nonbinary Friends. Pearlstone Retreat Center is ADA accessible, and Friend with disabilities can provide more information about their access needs during registration. Already registered? You can submit any outstanding fees at the link below. We can't wait to see you in January!
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| First Reading of 2026 Budget |
The 2026 Budget was not presented at the November Interim Meeting due to time constraints. Stewardship & Finance has prepared the memos below to serve as the first reading of the budget. Digital copies and paper copies have been posted to all Monthly Meetings. Interested Friends are invited to join the Stewardship and Finance Committee meeting on Mon, Jan 5 at 7pm for questions, concerns, or further discernment. A second reading of the 2026 budget is scheduled for a called interim meeting scheduled for Sat, Jan 31. You can find the Zoom Links for the S&F Committee Meeting and Interim Meeting on the BYM Events calendar and in upcoming Weekly Announcements. If you are unable to attend either of these meetings but have questions or concerns, please address them to the committee’s email at sandf@bym-rsf.org.
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BYM Educational Grant Applications Now Open |
Each year, Baltimore Yearly Meeting awards more than $20,000 in educational grants to students in our Monthly Meetings. Funded by the BYM Educational Endowment, individual scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 are awarded to members and attenders (or their children) of BYM Meetings for undergraduate or trade-school costs. The application is now open - prime time for young people on holiday break - and will close on March 31, 2026. Award decisions will be made and students notified in May 2026.
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| Camping Governance Study Group Open Meeting will be Jan 8, 2026 at 7:30pm |
Questions or concerns about the proposed governance change to BYM Camps? Friends are invited to join the Camp Governance Study Group on Jan 8, 2026, at 7:30 via zoom to share questions, concerns and comments regarding our recommendation that BYM form an LLC to manage the BYM Camping Program. Friends are encouraged to read both the advance documents for this meeting and the BYM 2026 budget documents before the meeting.
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Winter Youth Cons are Coming!
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Registration for BYM retreats for Junior Young Friends (middle school) and Young Friends (high school) are now open! Junior Young Friends will gather Jan 31-Feb 1 at FMW. Young Friends will gather for their next Con on Feb 13-15 at Annapolis Meeting. Interested in serving as a Friendly Adult Mentor? A "FAM Con" training is in the works for March -stay tuned!
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Send Your Community News! |
The deadline for the Winter Interchange is January 5th! Please email your community or committee news to admin@bym-rsf.org with "Interchange" in the subject line. We especially enjoy receiving photographs to accompany your story. Since staff were unable to put out a Fall Interchange due to time constraints related to the ongoing camp governance work, the Winter Interchange will be a special double issue!
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Sandy Spring Christmas Pageant, Dec 21
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Friends are invited to join Sandy Spring Meeting at 11am on Dec 21 for their 60-plus year tradition: the Christmas Pageant! A celebration of the nativity for all ages in song, story, and worship, all are welcome to participate, whether you’re a longtime Quaker or a first time visitor. Come sing your favorite Christmas carols or join in the pageantry as an angel, shepherd, inn keeper, or magi. We’ll even welcome a couple live sheep! Following the pageant, we welcome everyone to the Lyceum for a special Christmas potluck lunch, courtesy of our Community Life committee.
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| Langley Hill Christmas Program, Dec 21 |
Langley Hill Friends Meeting invites you to their annual Christmas program, Sunday, Dec 21, after Meeting for Worship. We will begin with silent worship, followed by a reading of the Nativity story from the Bible by our Young Friends. As is our practice, the Meeting's children will be invited to come forward and sit on the floor near a nativity scene. They can bring a stuffed animal to join the Baby Jesus (all animals will be returned to their owners!) - we will have a few extra stuffed animals for those that forget. A special Christmas story will be read to the kids as they're gathered.
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Haverford Special Collections Fellowships
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Applications for short-term Fellowships in Quaker & Special Collections at Haverford College are now open! Fellowships must be used between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027. Submission deadline is February 16, 2026. You can find more information on our website, which also includes our application form. Fellows can utilize the vast array of original primary materials in Quaker & Special Collections around Quakerism, mental health, US history, and much more. Please contact Sarah Horowitz at shorowitz@haverford.edu with any questions.
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News from Reparations Action Working Group |
BYM's Reparations Action Working Group shares the following update. The first steps towards reparations will begin in Maryland!
Maryland’s governor vetoed a bill that had passed the House of Delegates and the Senate in Maryland last spring, but this week the two legislative bodies overrode that governor’s veto. In 2026 and 2027, an historical study and a plan for reparations will be made. This is a big step forward for this movement to bring equity and peace to our state and to our country as well. Please take a look at this. Perhaps there will be way for Friends to take part in this work.
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Over the next two weeks, many BYM staff will be taking paid time off to be with family and to rest during the Christmas season. Mid-January is the official kick-off of the camping season for our year-round employees, and we are so glad our staff Friends can enjoy vacation during the quiet days at the end of the year. During this time, our General Secretary and Development Director will take turns being "on-call" to answer your email and telephone questions. You can continue to email development@bym-rsf.org and admin@bym-rsf.org or call 301-774-7663 and Press 1 for time-sensitive requests. However, non-urgent questions and requests will be addressed when staff fully return to the office on Monday, January 5th. Thank you for a wonderful 2025. We wish you a peaceful Christmas and a happy New Year.
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To submit your items for the BYM Weekly Announcements,
please email Admin@bym-rsf.org.
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| Baltimore Yearly Meeting
17100 Quaker Lane | Sandy Spring, MD | 20860 USA
www.bym-rsf.org
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