Events Calendar

You are invited to join Friends from across Baltimore Yearly Meeting for the Fall Spiritual Formation Retreat at the beautiful Shepherd's Spring Retreat Center. To find out more about the retreat and the Spiritual Formation Program, go to the BYM website. We look forward to contemplating words of wisdom and faith, time for personal reflection, sharing with spiritual friends and growing in spiritual community with you. Registration will open in the spring of 2018. Scholarships will be available.

Please arrive at 10am with sleeping bag, pad, pillow, change of clothes and toiletries. Please remember that the deadline to register and be guaranteed a slot is one week before the conference. Any one registering after that date will be placed on a waiting list and may not be able to attend. For more information, contact Jocelyn Dowling, Youth Programs Manager. To register, go to the JYF Registration page on the Yearly Meeting website. (www.bym-rsf.org/what_we_do/jyfs/jyfregister.html)

MOVED FROM MARCH 24!
Based on last year’s survey & other suggestions from Monthly Meetings, Networking Day will offer an opportunity for folks from various BYM Meetings to meet and exchange ideas and resources about each others’ successful Peace & Social Concerns programs. We also will offer four, practical 90-minute workshops for your most popular topics--two in the a.m. (A) and two in the p.m. (B), each led by Friends with experience in these areas:
A) How Friends can speak to polarization & racism in our communities
B) Strategies for addressing homelessness, reentry & poverty – shelters, “open tables” & more
C) Immigrants, refugees & sanctuary in our midst (update - new resources)
D) Issues and outreach: Peace festivals, death-with-dignity, LGBT, animal rights, healthcare under Trump

Workshop sessions will begin at 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. During breakfast/arrival time, Friends will be encouraged to mingle and share info. about specific programs/activities of our own Meetings. Coffee, bagels & pastries will be provided at 9:30; lunch (wraps, salad, chips, drinks) will be provided at noon. Vegetarian/vegan treats may be included both times. Donations are welcome, but not required, to assist with our Networking Day costs (est. $14 per person). REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Please let us know by reply email-a) participant name(s), b) email(s), c) Meeting for each participant, and d) which two workshops you prefer to attend. (NOTE: If you are interested in more than two workshops, but cannot attend them all, we will have extra copies of resource materials that you may take with you back to your Meeting.) Also, please tell us if you need child care or have any other special needs. Our final date for responses will be Mon., 3/19/18.

Family Camp Weekends at Baltimore Yearly Meeting Camp Properties offer us a chance enjoy our beautiful camp properties during this delightful time of year. Individuals and families are invited to come to camp for a day or for the weekend. A program coordinator will plan camp-familiar activities for Saturday and Sunday mornings, as well as Saturday afternoon and evening. Perhaps you will explore a creek, create a crafts project, play a favorite camp game or take a hike in our precious woods. There will also be plenty of work projects to do! Work projects offer people with all kinds of skills the opportunity to enjoy some meaningful and satisfying service! We will savor meals together, have time to explore and even spend time around a camp fire in the evening. We invite you to join us for a BYM Quaker Camp experience, give the gift of your time, participate with children in activities and find yourself rejuvenated. Participants are asked to contribute according to their ability – $25-50 per person. For additional information or to register please contact David Hunter, Camp Property Manager. (301-774-7663 or davidhunter@bym-rsf.org) For more information, see the BYM Camps web-site at bymcamps.org/programs/family-camp-weekends/.

Join Baltimore STRIDE for our annual practice hike and community picnic from 12:30pm to 3:00. Gather in the park for food, games, and spending time together outdoors. All are invited! During the event, we will split into optional hiking/walking groups. Returning and new STRIDE campers will go on a practice hike to remember what it’s like to hike with a backpack (or try it for the first time!) We will also host a simultaneous hike for other picnic-goers to enjoy the park before all returning back together for more games and snacks. There is a Facebook Event for it also (https://www.facebook.com/events/189397565192525/)

Young Friends should plan to begin arriving at 7:00 pm on Friday. For information, check the Young Friends website (www.bym-rsf.org/what_we_do/yfs/yfcon.html) or contact Jocelyn Dowling. (301-774-7663) Please remember that the deadline to register and be guaranteed a slot is two weeks before the conference. Any one registering after that date will be placed on a waiting list and may not be able to attend.

The Yearly Meeting's offices will be closed for the federal holiday.