Weekly Announcements for January 17, 2025

Several BYM Friends will be offering workshops and plenaries at the Friends General Conference Online Gathering, February 1-9, 2025. Daquanna Harrison (Adelphi) will offer the plenary on Sat, Feb 1st - inviting Friends to step beyond their comfort zones and move forward with courage and strong, clear action. Also on Feb 1st, Windy Cooler (Sandy Spring) will offer a workshop inviting Friends to listen to the call to public ministry or provide eldering support to those in public ministry. Jim Fussell (Langley Hill) is co-leading a workshop on "a century of queer Quaker leadership," and Michael Levi and Jade Eaton (Adelphi) will be providing a multi-session asking what about our business processes is Quaker - and what comes from White culture. From art and theology to social action and play, dozens of additional workshops and plenaries are scheduled! 

Save the Dates: Spiritual Formation Retreats

The BYM Spiritual Formation Retreat Working Group is excited to announce the dates for the Spring and Fall retreats in 2025 and 2026. Save the dates! 

• May 2-4, 2025 @ Shepherd’s Spring
• Sep19-21, 2025 @ Shepherd’s Spring
• May 15-27, 2026 @ Shepherd’s Spring (tentative)
• Sep 11-13, 2026 @ Claggett Center (tentative)

Don't Forget! Called Interim Meeting Next Sat, Jan 25

Our Yearly Meeting will gather for a Called Interim Meeting on Saturday, January 25th at 11:00am online via Zoom to review and consider a revised BYM budget for 2025. After the close of the 2024 camping season and review of the Q1-Q3 financials, it became clear that our projections for camper fees in 2025 were incorrect. Staff and Committees have been hard at work revising the 2025 budget to be more accurate. 

BYM Seeks Next Catoctin Caretaker

Baltimore Yearly Meeting seeks our next camp property Caretaker. The Caretaker is the resident facilities manager for Catoctin Quaker Camp, located near Frederick, MD. The Caretaker cares for the facilities, readying them for summer camp and rental groups. This is accomplished under the direct supervision of the Camp Property Manager (CPM). The Caretaker should be an individual who enjoys living in a remote, wilderness area and working with their hands. The successful Caretaker is a self-starter who enjoys working both alone and with volunteers to complete projects.

Sandy Spring Meeting Forms Reparations Working Group

Sandy Spring Meeting shared news of the formation of their new Reparations Working Group. The Working Group will offer tutorials to the Quaker community on what reparations are and begin to answer the query, "What are we, the Sandy Spring Meeting community, to acknowledge about our historical involvement with chattel slavery and with indigenous peoples? What formal and public acknowledgments are we to make?” In the ongoing process of reparations, the Meeting welcomes input and collaboration with the broader Sandy Spring community. They can be reached at RWG@sandyspring.org

Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting, Feb 9

Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting will take place at Homewood Friends Meeting on Feb 9th in-person and online via Zoom. The schedule is as follows:

• 8:30 - Welcome
• 9:15 - CQM Meeting for Sharing
• 10:30 - Meeting for Worship
• 12:00 - Lunch
• 1:10- Legislative Forum
• 2:30 - Conclusion and Farewell

Chesapeake Quarter includes Friends from Annapolis, Stony Run, Gunpowder,  Homewood Friends Meeting; Little Falls, Patapsco, Patuxent, and Sandy Spring Friends Meetings, but all Friends are welcome to attend. RSVPs are requested by Jan 31. 

Quaker Earthcare Witness Seeks Writing Contributions

Quaker Earthcare Witness is looking for articles (400 - 600 words), poems, photographs and other creative visual content for the next issue of BeFriending Creation by February 1st. Potential articles could be about:

• News of spirit-led environmental action Friends committees, meetings, and organizations are taking.
• Reflections or personal narratives sharing what it means to nurture a sense of reverence for Earth.
• Reports on current environmental issues or news items about environmental legislation Friends would be interested in.
• Anything else! 

Email miche@quakerearthcare.org if you have questions, ideas, or submissions.

• Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting, Feb 9
• New! Spiritual State of the Meeting Queries
  
• First Day Lesson: How to be Grounded
• Quaker Discernment on Abuse - New Meeting Resources
  
• BYM 2024-2025 Calendar of Key Dates
• Committee Handbook

To submit your items for the BYM Weekly Announcements,
please email Admin@bym-rsf.org. 

Baltimore Yearly Meeting
17100 Quaker Lane | Sandy Spring, MD | 20860 USA
www.bym-rsf.org

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