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Faith and Practice

Faith and Practice of Baltimore Yearly Meeting

This section currently contains the complete text of the current Faith and Practice of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, as adopted in 1988, revised in 2001, reprinted in 2019, and revised in 2020.

During Annual Session 2013, a proposed revision to the complete text of Faith and Practice was considered by the Yearly Meeting. At the conclusion of the week, Friends were not in unity with approving the text. In 2019, the revision to Faith and Practice proposed in 2013 was reprinted with the title 2013 Resource for Faith and Practice.

PDF version of both Faith and Practice and the 2013 Resource for Faith and Practice may be downloaded from the links below. At Annual Session 2020 of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, the 1988 Faith and Practice was revised to include the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Vision Statement. The electronic versions of Faith and Practice on this website now includes the Vision Statement, but the latest printed version (2019) does not.

At Annual Session 2020 of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, changes in marriage provisions proposed by the Faith and Practice Committee received First Reading and have been sent to worshiping communities and other Yearly Meeting organizations for consideration. The current draft of the proposed marriage provisions can be downloaded the Faith and Practice Committee's page at the link below.

Click here to go to the Faith and Practice Committee's page on the website, which includes information about their work, reports from the committee as printed in the Interchange, and their Annual Reports. As the committee moves forward with considering new possible changes to the text, news of their work will be included on the committee's page.

Adopted at Baltimore Yearly Meeting Session, 1988

Vision Statement

Introductory Statement

  1. Part I. Faith
    1. Historical Sketch
      1. Quakers in Maryland and Virginia
      2. Compensation of Native Americans
      3. Slavery, Civil War, and Reconstruction
      4. "Quietism," Division and Reunion
      5. Statement on Spiritual Unity, 1964
      6. Early Quaker Testimonies
      7. Enforcement of Testimonies
    2. The Life of the Spirit
      1. Cultivation of the Life of the Spirit
      2. Meeting for Worship
      3. Vocal Ministry
      4. Use and Nurture of Gifts
      5. Prayer and Meditation
      6. The Scriptures
      7. The Practice of the Life of the Spirit
      8. The Meeting as Caring Community
      9. Personal Life
      10. Home Life
        1. Living With Self and Others
        2. Marriage
        3. Sexuality
        4. Raising Children
      11. Fellowship and Community
        1. Within the Local Meeting
        2. Within the Society of Friends
        3. With Other Religious Bodies and Persons
        4. With All Humanity
      12. Education
        1. Religious Education
        2. Adult Education
        3. Friends' Educational Institutions
        4. Public Education
      13. Science and Religion
      14. The Arts and Religion
      15. Social Responsibility
      16. Peace and Non-violence
      17. Civic Responsibility
      18. Vocational and Financial Decisions
      19. Prejudice and Discrimination
      20. Those Requiring Special Care
      21. Humankind and the Environment
  2. Part II The Queries
    1. Introduction
    2. Queries with References for Advices
      1. Meetings for Worship
      2. Meetings for Business
      3. The Meeting Community
      4. Personal Spiritual Life
      5. Personal Way of Life
      6. Home and Family
      7. Caring for Others
      8. Outreach
      9. The Social Order
      10. The Peace Testimony
      11. Education
      12. The Environment
  3. Part III Practices and Procedures
    1. Organization and Business Procedure
      1. Principles of Organization and Conduct of Business
      2. General Organization
      3. Preparative and Allowed Meetings for Worship
      4. Establishment of Monthly Meetings
      5. Discontinuance of Monthly Meetings
      6. Decision Making in Friends Meetings
    2. The Monthly Meeting
      1. Membership
        1. Application for Membership
        2. Sojourners
        3. Transfers
        4. Attenders
        5. Membership of Children
        6. Isolated Members
        7. Resignations
        8. Termination of Membership
      2. The Officers
        1. The Clerk
        2. The Recording Clerk
        3. The Treasurer
        4. The Recorder
      3. Monthly Meeting Committees
        1. The Nominating Committee
        2. Ministry and Counsel Committee and Overseers
      4. Other Monthly Meeting Functions
        1. Stewardship and Finance
        2. Trustees
        3. Advancement and Outreach
        4. Religious Education
        5. Peace and Social Concerns
      5. Visiting Among Friends
        1. Letters of Introduction
        2. Minutes for Spiritual Service
        3. Endorsements
      6. Marriage under the Care of the Monthly Meeting
        1. Marriage Procedures
        2. Committees of Clearness and Oversight
      7. In Time of Death
        1. Memorial Meetings
        2. Wills and Related Matters
      8. Monthly Meeting Records
        1. Membership Roll
        2. Monthly and Preparative Meeting Minutes
        3. Financial Accounts
        4. Committee Minutes
        5. Other Records
        6. Preservation of Records
        7. Retention and Disposition of Records
      9. Monthly Meeting Responsibilities to Yearly Meeting
    3. Quarterly Meetings
    4. The Yearly Meeting
  4. Part IV Appendices
    1. Advices for Clerks
    2. Suggested Formats for Transfers
      1. Transfer to Another Meeting
      2. Acknowledgment of Transfer
    3. Suggested Formats for Letters and Endorsements
      1. Sample Letter of Introduction
      2. Sample Travel Minute
      3. Sample Endorsement
    4. Advices on Counseling
    5. Guidelines for Applications for Membership
    6. Marriage under the Care of the Monthly Meeting
      1. Questions for couple applying for Marriage
      2. Duties of the Clearness Committee
      3. Duties of the Oversight Committee
      4. The Form of the Marriage Certificate
      5. Procurement of the Marriage Certificate
      6. The Customary Events at a Quaker Wedding
    7. A Establishing a Preparative Meeting
      1. Sample Minute to Establish a Preparative Meeting
      2. Membership
      3. Finance and Property
      4. Business, Officers, and Committees
    8. Queries for Preparative Meetings
    9. Advices on Estates and Bequests
      1. Advice to Individual Friends
      2. Advice to Monthly Meetings
      3. Yearly Meeting Policy
    10. Planning a Memorial Meeting
      1. The Memorial Meeting
      2. Practical Considerations

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