Weekly Announcements for January 16, 2026

On Saturday, January 31st at 1:00pm, BYM will gather for Meeting for Worship for the Conduct of Business during a Called Interim Meeting. The agenda for this Meeting for Business is brief but weighty: we will have a second reading for approval of the 2026 budget, and we will consider the proposal from the Camp Governance Working Group to take the next steps in evolving the governance of our $2 million camping program. This Meeting will be entirely online by Zoom, and there is no registration. Friends can simply join at the Zoom link at Sat, Jan 31st at 1pm. Advance documents and the Zoom Link are both available on the BYM Yearly Meeting Business webpage. 

Chesapeake Quarter will meet on Feb 8 at Baltimore Monthly Meeting, Stony Run. This quarter's meeting will include the special program Maryland Legislative Forum. Children's programming is provided. 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. 

After Jan 31, the next Interim Meeting for Worship for the Conduct of Business will be March 21st at Patapsco Friends Meeting. Agenda items are due to the Interim Clerk by Feb 13 to give Monthly Meetings at least one month to consider the agenda and supporting documents. Does your Committee have seasoned business to bring forward? Email the Interim Clerk at IMclerk@bym-rsf.org by Feb 13. 

With sadness, we share news of the recent death of Byron Sandford (FMW). Born in Texas in 1946, Byron was known for his committed Quaker faith, gentle nurturing, and, in recent years, courageous walk with Parkinson's disease. In addition to his long service on Committees of both BYM and Friends Meeting of Washington, Byron served as the Executive Director of William Penn House for many years. More recently, Byron and his wife, Susan Griffin, have been active residents of Friends House in Sandy Spring. Memorial Meeting details will be forthcoming. 

Does your Monthly Meeting have paid staff? Are you part of a BYM Monthly Meeting and work for a Quaker organization? Quaker Workers within BYM are invited to a Quaker Worker Gathering April 22nd at 10:30am at Sandy Spring Meeting. We'll meet in-person and by Zoom for fellowship and spiritual care followed by boxed lunches provided by BYM. Limited overnight hospitality can be arranged for those coming from a distance. 

Friends Supporting Friends is a working group of the Yearly Meeting that can assist Meetings and BYM Friends upon request.  We can provide support, education, facilitation, mediation, coaching and deep listening for BYM Friends experiencing unresolved conflict, differences and tension interfering with the spiritual health of the community.  To find out more or to request assistance, contact one of the two co-clerks:  Ramona Buck; ramonabuck@gmail.com; 443 418 0392; Richard Thayer; richardevanthayer@gmail.com; 443 845 5717

On Saturday, January 17 at 10:45 a.m. American Friends Service Committee and DC area Friends will gather in public witness in opposition to the Trump administration’s violence and authoritarianism. Friends, members of other faith communities, and people of conscience will gather for one hour of silent public worship in Lafayette Square. Our intention is that our presence will give hope to all who see us – to show that we can choose resistance - and remind everyone of our moral obligations to one another. Registration is requested but not required. 

Country Dance & Song Society is delighted to be the new publishing home of seminal community songbook Rise Up Singing! In celebration, join us on Jan 25 at 1:00pm for rousing community singing led by the creators of Rise Up Singing, Peter Blood and Annie Patterson, and a screening of We Began to Sing, a documentary about Peter and Annie and Pete Seeger by Polly Wells and Candy Paltiel, followed by a Q&A with Annie, Peter, Polly, and Candy. All are welcome to attend and encouraged to sing along! If you have a question for Annie, Peter, Polly, or Candy, please submit it with your registration form. We hope to see you there!

Did you know that each year BYM gives out more than $40,000 in scholarships and grants via three separate programs?

BYM Educational Grants provides scholarships to members or regular attenders, or their children, of Monthly Meetings associated with BYM for trade school or undergraduate attendance at an accredited, post-secondary institution. Applications close in April. 

Sue Thomas Turner Education Fund Grants support the understanding and use of Quaker faith and practice in school communities and the development of lives lived in the Spirit of Friends by members of school communities. Applications are open through March 1st.  

Miles White Beneficial Society Grants advance justice in the city of Baltimore. Grants are available for educational programming, health and human service projects, innovative projects, and students in or from Baltimore City. Applications close May 30. 

• 2026 Spiritual State of the Meeting Report Request
• Save the Date: Peace & Social Concerns Networking Day, March 14

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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