| Announcements for
April 5, 2021
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 | Picture of the Week
Spring 2008 Spiritual Formation Retreat
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| Announcements, News, and Events
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General Secretary Search Committee Update
The General Secretary Search Committee is pleased to share with the Yearly Meeting that it has identified three finalists for the role, who will in the coming weeks participate in interviews with various groups within the Yearly Meeting. Each candidate will have a presentation session which any person in the Yearly Meeting will be able to attend via Zoom (dates and details forthcoming). They will also have an opportunity to meet with the Supervisory Committee, YM staff, and YM committee clerks. Please hold the General Secretary Search Committee and these excellent candidates in the Light as we move forward in our discernment.
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Young Friends Conference Calendar
April 16 - 18, 2021
Gunpowder Friends Meeting (if possible)
May 28 - 30, 2021
Location to be announced
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Junior Young Friends Conference Calendar
April 30 - May 2, 2021
Location to be announced
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| Help Get Camp Ready for Summer 2021!
Isn’t great to be emerging from the dark, camp-less night of 2020 into the bright sunny spring of 2021! Yah Who! We are looking forward to an awesome and safe summer at the BYM camp in 2021. You can learn more about our safe summer plans at bymcamps.org/covid-19-update/ but in the mean time we have a lot to do to get ready!
We have scheduled a number of workdays to prepare for camp. These workdays will be day-long events, attendance will be limited and we will not be able to serve any meals. Please bring your own bag lunches (please do not bring food to share). We will be wearing masks when around others and practicing social distancing. Bathroom and hand washing facilities will be available. Please use the Signup Genius links below to register for workdays. Unfortunately, those who do not sign up in advance may be turned away since it is important for us to limit numbers of participants so that we do not risk spreading illness. Additional dates may be scheduled if needed.
Please use the links below to sign up and help out. There is a lot to do after over a year of dormancy at the camps so we need your help! We can’t wait to see you at camp.
We can’t wait to see you at Camp!
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from “me and white supremacy”
Thinking about Race (April 2021)
“If your understanding of racism and white supremacy does not include a historical and modern-day contextual understanding of colonization, oppression, discrimination, neglect, and marginalization at the systemic level and not just the institutional level, then you are going to struggle when it comes to conversations about race. You will assume that what is being criticized is your skin color and your individual goodness as a person rather than your complicity in a system of oppression that is designed to benefit you at the expense of BIPOC in ways that you are not even aware of. This lack of understanding leads to white fragility, either by lashing out to defend your individual sense of goodness or feeling that you as an individual are being shamed for being who you are, thus leaving the conversation. This is a dangerous impediment to antiracism.”
Note: If the acronym BIPOC is new to you, it means Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
From me and white supremacy – Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor, by Layla F. Saad (2020), pp. 41-42.
This column is prepared by the BYM Working Group on Racism (WGR) and sent to the designated liaisons at each Monthly and Preparative Meeting for publication in their newsletter or other means of dissemination. The WGR meets most months on the first Saturday from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, at various Meetings. If you would like to attend, on a regular or a drop-in basis, contact clerk David Etheridge.
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Baltimore Yearly Meeting Educational Grants Available!
The BYM Educational Grants Committee is accepting applications for the 2021-2022 academic year from members or regular attenders of Monthly Meetings associated with BYM (or from their children). Grants may be applied to expenses associated with undergraduate attendance at accredited post-secondary educational institutions. Attendance may be either full- or parttime. Grants will be awarded based on multiple criteria, including financial need and the Committee’s assessment of an applicant’s statement of purpose and its consistency with Friends’ testimonies. Grant limits are up to $2,000 per grantee per year, for a cumulative total of $8,000. Applications will be accepted between January 1, 2021 and April 23, 2021. Award decisions will be made in May and notifications sent by early June. For further information or if you have questions, please contact the Yearly Meeting Office at 301-774-7663 or online at www.bym-rsf.org/what_we_do/committees/edloan.
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2022 Apportionment Reminder
The Stewardship and Finance Committee meets in a week on April 10 to discuss the 2022 BYM Budget. An important part of that conversation involves a realistic projection of anticipated revenue from apportionment. We have received responses to our annual inquiry in the form of the Apportionment Questionnaire from twenty seven Meetings. Fifteen Meetings have yet to respond. Please complete the questionnaire in the next few days by clicking the link or let us know if we might assist you in the process. Contact Howard Zuses (howard.zuses@gmail.com or 301-476-0632) with any questions.
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BYM Religious Education Quarterly Zoom Call
BYM Religious Education Committee invites you to join us for our Quarterly Zoom Call. Interested Religious Education in your local Meeting? Please join us for a quarterly Local Meeting Clerks/Teachers for an informal virtual conversation about our Religious Education programs. You can join us on April 10th and 17th at 10-11:30. Please let us know which best suits your schedule. If you are interested, please contact Ellen Arginteanu. (ellenandjules@protonmail.com or 814-206-6712)
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Updated Marriage Provisions of Faith and Practice
The latest draft revision to the marriage provisions of Faith and Practice prepared by the Faith and Practice Committee, dated February 21, 2021, is available here. This draft is being provided to Monthly Meetings and other BYM groups for comment, and will be available in the Faith and Practice Section of the BYM website. The Faith and Practice Committee email address is fandp@bym-rsf.org.
Since April 2020, two earlier drafts of this document have been sent to Monthly Meetings and other BYM groups for input, and the comments received have been faithfully incorporated. At this point in the revision process, the Faith and Practice Committee will only accept substantive comments from Monthly Meetings and other BYM groups regarding matters that would prevent approval of this section of Faith and Practice. Deadline for comments will be May 14th (before the June Interim Meeting). At Sixth Month 2021 Interim Meeting on June 12, an advance copy will be presented (in preparation for second reading at Annual Session). Any substantive issues that the Faith and Practice Committee cannot resolve on its own will be referred to the Yearly Meeting officers to determine next steps.
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Anti-racist Declaration Explored
In 2019, Baltimore Yearly Meeting adopted a Declaration stating that we are an Anti-racist community. The Growing Diverse Leadership Committee invites Friends to join us for a conversation to more deeply understand the Declaration and how best to use it as we worship and work together. Sign up below to select one of the three dates. Each conversation will be the same; please only sign up for one.
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Menallen Meeting House Cleanup
Friends of BYM are invited to participate in Meeting House cleanup on Thursday, April 8 at Redlands Meeting House (700 Old Quaker Road, York Haven, PA) at 11:00am. Our website, www.menallenfriends.org, has driving directions to both Meeting Houses.
We usually have lunch afterwards. The beautiful old Meeting Houses under our care are a joy to see on many levels. History buffs will be amazed at the buildings which were built and furnished (each family made its own bench) by Friends. Our graveyards are beautiful as well. And finally, the feeling as one goes into the Meeting Houses is indescribable. They might be dusty, but they hold such joy.
We hope Friends will consider coming to work and meet new and old Friends as we make these places ready for the coming season. It will be helpful if Friends could bring extra brooms, dust pans, and rags. For more information and specific directions to Redlands Meeting House, contact Judy Pyle.
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Indian Affiars Committee Seeks Identification Assistance
The BYM Indian Committee asks for your help in identifying the Meetings of these Quakers who served on our committee: Jane Blythe; Samuel Cooper; Cindy Gladney; Edith B. Hazelhurst; Doris Rountree Glenn; Frank Holtz; Emory Myers (State College?); Clifford Nichols; Reginald C. Price; Phoebe Rahill; Nannie B. Rollings (Black Creek?); Ellsworth Tanner; Naomi Tanner; Florence Taylor; Cleo Way (Stony Run?); Frances Welker (which Baltimore Meeting?); Elizabeth Wilson; Lucy B. Winslow; Thomas P. White; Virginia Ziegaus (Stony Run?). Send information to Patricia_r_powers@yahoo.com.
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FGC Consultation: Spirit and Community Online
Saturday, April 17, 2021 - 10:30am to 5:00pm
In the past year we have learned a lot about how to gather online as a community. Yearly Meetings, Quarterly and Monthly Meetings, and other Quaker organizations have been working to create community online and to find ways to allow Spirit to move us. As we transition from an all online world to a blended in-person and online one, it seems valuable to come together to share our learnings.
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