Welcome to Baltimore Yearly Meeting!
Baltimore Yearly Meeting nurtures a vibrant Quaker community across the Mid-Atlantic. BYM unites Friends from 50 Quaker meetings and worship groups throughout Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
Together at BYM Friends we
Strengthen Local Meetings
The monthly meeting is the beating heart of everything we do. At its core, the yearly meeting is an association of Quaker monthly meetings and other local worshipping communities coming together to support one another. We share a common Faith & Practice - and we share our skills, gifts, spiritual leadings, and resources across local worshipping communities.
Grow in Spirit & Community
Quakers believe that there is “that of God” in every person—an Inner Light that is loving and honest and can lead us to truth and justice. As BYM Friends we gather for Meetings for Worship four times each year to discern the Leadings of the Spirit and to conduct our community business and three more times throughout the year for spiritual formation retreats.
Nurture Youth
BYM has a special commitment to the spiritual, social, and emotional thriving of all young people. Our camps and youth retreats are vibrant, diverse, youth-centered communities. BYM scholarships and grants provide material support to children, families, and child-serving organizations, and the Religious Education Committee connects meetings to resources for nurturing youth.
Connect & Serve as Friends
Working together is an extension of our worship into the practical life of Quakerism. Working together benefits both the wider community and those Friends who participate. We serve together on Committtes, gather for service projects and social witness, and are part of the worldwide body of Quakers - connected to 14 organizations and hundreds of thousands of Friends around the world.
Celebrating 40 Years of Celebration of Discipline: Empowering Spiritual Transformation in the Local Church
It’s hard to believe, but Richard Foster’s now-classic book on the spiritual disciplines is entering its fifth decade! It truly is one of the most influential books in creating spiritual renewal among followers of Jesus worldwide. This is the final year that Richard will be doing public speaking, and he has requested that a conference be held in Newberg, where he taught and served in pastoral ministry, when his book was written and published in 1978. This conference is especially designed for pastors and church leaders, but all interested in going deeper into their relationship with Christ are welcome. Special features of the conference include plenary sessions by outstanding leaders, workshops on the disciplines, inspiring music, times of prayer and spiritual deepening, and personal reflection on the illuminative artwork of five volumes of The Saint John’s Bible. Plenary speakers include: Richard and Nathan Foster, Robin Baker, Juanita and Rudy Ramsus, Chris Hall, and Mimi Dixon. More information is available online: https://renovare.org/40/fox. A time-sensitive notice: the $40 early registration break expires March 1, and fifty $100 scholarships have been offered to pastors and church staff members registering before May 1; alternatively fifty $100 scholarships for George Fox University students, faculty and staff are available for those registering before May 1. Please consider coming to the conference, and do let others know as well. For more information, contact Paul Anderson, Professor of Biblical and Quaker Studies at George Fox University (panderso@georgefox.edu).
