...to Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. This site includes information about Quakerism and the latest news of our faith community, which includes Central Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. We would like to invite you to come worship with us. All are welcome! Please visit these links to find out more about our faith, witness and fellowship:

• Learn about giving to BYM
• Find a place to worship with us.
• Find out about our Annual Meeting
• Find out more about Quakerism.
• Find out about Quaker Peace activities.
• Find out about BYM Quaker Summer Camps.
• Find out where the Quaker Schools are.
• Find out about Quaker History in our area.
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The Friendly FolkDancers, whose members come from various parts of the United States and Europe, will perform and teach a variety of folk dances from around the world with the theme "Dancing the World Together." See the April schedule

Conference Info is here: April 17-19, Dayspring Farm, Cologne, VA.
The magical thing about this conference is that YF-ers can get there by BUS. There will be singing, laughing, and probably sleeping. (Not.) Read Reportbacks; Minutes; Friend to Friends; the VoiceBox; and More! (more...)

Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends is seeking applicants to fill the position of Caretaker at Catoctin Quaker Camp. The caretaker is the on-site arm of the Camp Property Management Committee (CPMC). He or she provides a year around presence at the camp, care for the facility, makes it ready for summer camp and the groups who rent the facilities... (more...)

The American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia has several job openings in its National Office: Director for Peacebuilding, Director for Healing Justice, Director for Economic Justice, in the Goal Leadership Unit. Read more

Clerks, Treasurers, and/or Clerks of Stewardship and Finance for Monthly Meetings are strongly encouraged to attend the BYM Stewardship and Finance Committee's annual meeting on apportionment. If your Meeting has questions or concerns about its apportionment share, be sure to send a representative to this important meeting: 11am, Saturday, April 18, Sandy Spring Friends Meeting. For a description of BYM's apportionment process, see our Apportionment FAQ (more...)

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Publication of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends [pdf]
 

Winter 2009

Many of my experiences prepare me for the work ahead. First, I grew up Quaker right here in Baltimore Yearly Meeting. As a child I spent my summers at Friends General Conference and Catoctin Quaker Camp. As I grew up, I went to Junior Young Friends and Young Friends programs, served as Assistant Clerk of Young Friends for two years, and worked as a counselor and staff person at Catoctin. (more...)

Greetings from your BYM Staff!

Pictured: David Hunter, Riley Robinson, Ann Whittaker, Robinne Gray, Jane Megginson (Bart), Alison Duncan (Ernestine), Margo Lehman. Not Pictured: Emily Whittaker, Stephen Dotson, Ralph Reed

Baltimore Yearly Meeting is at unity on saving energy and protecting our natural environment, as is clear in our Faith and Practice. So what are we all doing about it right now? (more...)

Spring will be with us before we know it. Then the hills and valleys around the BYM camp properties will be bursting with life and calling to us to come and enjoy some time with them. Work weekends offer us an opportunity to do just that! You are invited to join us. (more...)

In early September I joined the staff of Baltimore Meeting as its first fundraiser. The past five months have been incredibly rewarding as I've worked with the Development Subcommittee of the Stewardship and Finance Committee to create and roll out a full-fledged fundraising program. (more...)
 

Like a gift of time, energy, or expertise, your financial contribution is a valuable way of participating in the life of your Yearly Meeting. We are grateful to the many Friends who made personal gifts in calendar year 2008, which corresponds to BYM's fiscal year. (more...)

Friends who have children participating in Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or Camp Fire may not know that there are awards the Young Friends can earn as recognition of their knowledge of our Quaker faith. The award program is administered by the Friends Committee on Scouting (FCS) of the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC). (more...)

Quaker Quest, an outreach program created with contemporary seekers in mind, is generating interest among Meetings in the Chesapeake region. The program is based on the premise that the Quaker way is "a spiritual path for our time" which is "simple, radical, and contemporary." Quaker Quest is simultaneously an inreach program, asking host Meetings to articulate their faith and to deepen relations within their Meeting community. (more...)

All are welcome to attend BYM Committee and Interim Meeting Day at Sandy Spring Meeting on March 21. Many Yearly Meeting committees meet in the morning, and we hold Interim Meeting for Business in the afternoon. Much of the work of BYM is done through its committees, and the Interim Meeting acts for the Yearly Meeting between Annual Sessions, taking special responsibility as the employer of our BYM staff. (more...)

The array of workshops that are offered at Annual Session each year greatly enrich the experience of the week. If you've been intending to send in a proposal to do a workshop, the deadline is February 20. For a proposal form, contact Peg Hansen, workshop coordinator, at hansen.peg@gmail.com. Workshops are held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday afternoons from 2 to 4 PM. We hope to see you there! (more...)

This year BYM's women's retreat was held at the 4-H Conference Center in Front Royal, Virginia. I had never been to the retreat before, but it came highly recommended by Friends at my home meeting, so my mother and I both decided to attend together. The title of the retreat this year was "Let It Begin With Me: Stepping into Our Own Power," and Tasha Walsh (Maury River) gave the opening talk of the same title on Friday night. (more...)
Check out the NEW BYM Women's Retreat website

The Web Working Group has finally implemented Google Maps for the Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Not only does this allow you to pan and zoom to find meetings, but also to investigate a satellite view of the Yearly Meeting region. (more...)

Have you ever wondered how the Religious Society of Friends continues to thrive and change? The secret is Spirit-led Friends willing to dedicate time, energy, and hard work. Serving on a BYM committee can be a very special experience. It is an opportunity to engage in meaningful work, deepen Quaker roots, and widen horizons by working with Friends from the 40 Monthly Meetings and 7 preparative Meetings. The growing knowledge and inter-visitation experience gained strengthens the Friend serving and your Monthly Meeting as well. (more...)

It may be the dead of winter, but now is the time to spread the word about the magical Virginia summers at Opequon and Shiloh. Enrollment began early this year with a new system guaranteeing you the spot you asked for at the moment you submit your registration. Some units are already filling up, but there are still a good number of open slots at Opequon and Shiloh. We need your help to make sure these life-changing camps are filled to capacity this summer. (more...)

Sandy Spring Friends School plans to reduce the size of their Board of Trustees from the current level of 29 positions to 23. This change to the school's by-laws will reduce the number of Baltimore Yearly Meeting representatives from six to four and Sandy Spring Friends Meeting representatives from ten to eight. (more...)

Your Faith & Practice Revision Committee had been concerned that the 1988 Faith and Practice had no glossary. Over the last few months, with the help of glossaries from other Yearly Meetings and elsewhere, we have developed a proposed glossary of Quaker terms for your consideration. Please send your comments to fnp@bym-rsf.org. (more...)

A History of Baltimore Yearly Meeting

In 1972 Bliss Forbush, Quaker, educator, author and historian published the "History of Baltimore Yearly Meeting of Friends," a comprehensive look at the growth, the changes, the issues and the personalities which shaped our Yearly Meeting. Out of print for several years, BYM has now republished this volume. Copies are available from CreateSpace, Amazon, and your Yearly Meeting office: admin@bym-rsf.org

The Journal is composed of essays, poems, and art work from inmates throughout the country. It is our aim to offer an outlet for prisoners' creative talents, to show them that their work is recognized, and to give them a feeling of self-worth. You can help in this work by publicizing this project among those you know within the prison system as well as on the outside world. (more...)

The purpose of this fund is to support the understanding and practice of Quaker faith in schools, and to support the growth of a life lived in the Spirit by members of the school communities. The fund is targeted for Friends schools under the care of a Friends Meeting, but is available to any school community. (more...)

The Miles White Memorial Scholarship may be granted annually to a member of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends for the purpose of undergraduate study at the college or university of choice. Decisions are made based on scholarship, character, and financial need. (more...)

The Educational Loan Committee continues to reevaluate its loan program amidst difficult financial tides. For 2009 student loans will be made only to those students who were funded last year, if they are still in school. These loans will be significantly less than the maximum for 2008. The Committee will contact these loan recipients.

We have heard from the following meetings:

Adelphi Annapolis Baltimore, Homewood Bethesda Deer Creek Frederick Goose Creek Hopewell Centre Langley Hill Nottingham Patapsco Sandy Spring Washington