Weekly Announcements for October 24, 2025
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Interim Meeting is Nov 15 @ Stony Run |
Interim Meeting is November 15th - in-person at Stony Run Meeting in Baltimore and online via Zoom. Registration is now open. Items on the agenda include:
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- Final discernment on creating BYM Camps, LLC to govern our camps
- First Reading of 2026 Budget (for approval at a Called Meeting in January)
- First Reading for our next Presiding Clerk
- Annual Reports from our camping program staff
- And more!
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Hospitality for Interim Meeting begins at 11:00am, and Meeting for Worship for the Conduct of Business begins at 12:30pm.
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Critical Financial News from Friends United Meeting
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This week, Friends United Meeting - the worshipping body of Friends from the Pastoral, Conservative, and international branches of Quakerism - announced news of a financial crisis and significant organizational changes ahead. A new structure for FUM, including the possibility of a reduction in global education and healthcare projects, will be decided at the 2026 Virtual Triennial next summer. In addition to our three reps to FUM's General Board (Jim Fussel, Damarius Kifude, Alice Bedi), the BYM General Secretary serves as an FUM Trustee and welcomes any questions you may have.
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| Winter Conversation Circles on Meeting Lifecycles
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Emily Provance, a New York Friend traveling in the Ministry, invites BYM Friends and Friends from all over to her Winter Conversation Circles to support Monthly Meetings, running Dec-March. Conversation Circles are free and organized around critical themes, including:
Small Meetings - For Friends in Meetings with an average weekly attendance of 10 or fewer.
Committee Structures - For Quaker groups considering ways to change how Friends serve the group and how the work gets done.
Building/Property Relationships - For Meetings and groups considering selling, leasing, or sharing their space - or who have recently done so.
Laying Meetings Down - For Meetings considering or in the process of laying themselves down.
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Shepherdstown Friends Share Minute on Current
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Shepherdstown Friends Meeting recently approved a Minute on the Harms Caused by the Actions of our Current Government. The BYM seeks to facilitate more sharing among Monthly Meetings about Minutes and concrete actions Meetings are taking to respond to these urgent times. If your Meeting has a Minute or action to share, email admin@bym-rsf.org.
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| Junior Young Friends Con is Nov 1-2 @ BYM Office
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Calling all middle school students: The first JYF Con of the 2025-2026 school year is Nov 1-2 at the BYM Office! Middle school friends will gather for a Quaker-style lock-in Cons are a fun way to make new friends, have fun, and retreat from the pressures of pre-teen life while developing skills for living in community. JYF Cons are facilitated by the BYM Youth Program Manager, Genevieve Legowski, and Friendly Adult Mentors. Questions? Contact GenevieveLegowski@bym-rsf.org
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Adventure Costa Rica for Teens, June 21-July 1, 2026
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Monteverde Friends School invites high school students to an 11-day cultural immersion trip in the cloud forest of Monteverde, Costa Rica! A nature immersive adventure with ziplining, kayaking, wildlife tours and so much more! Discover wildlife. Plant trees or serve in the local community. Practice Spanish with your host family. A confidence-building experience of a lifetime!
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| Stop US Arms to Mexico, Oct 25 via Zoom
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Adelphi Friends Meeting and Maryland United for Peace & Justice invite you to a Zoom presentation on ending US arms sale to Mexico on Sat, Oct 25 at 1pm. John Lindsay-Poland co-directs California Healing Justice for American Friends Service Committee and coordinates the Stop US Arms to Mexico Project of Global Exchange. He has written articles on US gun trafficking to Mexico and has authored books on the US role in Panama & Columbia. For more details, contact Will Kastens at wkastens@gmail.com.
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Children's Peace Libraries,
Nov 2 @ Stony Run
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Please join Stony Run Friends for a discussion and presentation with Francine Muahwenimana, head librarian of the Children’s Peace Libraries in Rwanda on Nov 2nd at 9:00am in the Meeting House dining room or via Zoom. We will hear from Francine about how they are building a generation of peace builders in Rwanda. David Bucura will also be joining us and providing insights on current events in Rwanda and the surrounding African Great Lakes Region.
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Thank you to all in the BYM community who have already sent in your annual BYM contributions. You have provided vital financial stability to enable BYM to run our many programs and services throughout this year. If you haven't already, please send in your gift today to help us end the year strong and meet our fundraising goals! If you'd like to help in other ways, please share our Giving Tuesday emails and social media posts on December 2 or consider joining in for a camp working day! Thank you for your faithful participation in our BYM community.
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BYM Friends Supporting Friend Working Group Offers Support to Monthly Meetings |
Sometimes in our Meetings, disagreements and tense conversations may escalate into awkward or hurtful situations. Many of us are uncomfortable with such conflicts and the Meeting community’s ability to listen to how Spirit is working among us may suffer.
BYM provides assistance through the working group, Friends Supporting Friends (FSF) under the care of the Ministry and Pastoral Care Committee. FSF can provide individual consultation, group facilitation, circle and clearness processes, mediation, conflict coaching, training, etc., depending on an individual Meeting’s discernment on how the Spirit is leading them. Included in the processes that are now available for Meetings is Clinton Pettus’s Friends for the Future, Inc. approach which helps individuals and groups find ways to build, repair and strengthen relationships through speaking, listening, learning, mindfulness and other strategies.
If you would like to explore assistance or guidance from Friends Supporting Friends, please contact one of the co-clerks: Richard Thayer richardevanthayer@gmail.com (443) 845-5717 or Ramona Buck ramonabuck@gmail.com (443) 418-0392.
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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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