Baltimore Yearly Meeting (officially the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends) is a body of the Religious Society of Friends (

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

) headquartered in

Sandy Spring, Maryland Sandy Spring is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Geography Sandy Spring's boundaries are roughly defined as Brooke Road and Dr. Bird Road to the north and west, Ednor Road to the south, and New Hampsh ...

that includes Friends from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and West Virginia. It is one of the oldest yearly meetings in North America, first meeting in May 1672. It is also the only Yearly Meeting in North America visited by George Fox, who visited after a trip to Barbados. Its Presiding Clerk is Stephanie Bean. Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM)The abbreviation "BYM" is also used by members of

Britain Yearly Meeting The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, also known as the Britain Yearly Meeting (and, until 1995, the London Yearly Meeting), is a Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in England, S ...

for their organisation. is part of both

Friends General Conference Friends General Conference (FGC) is an association of Quakers in the United States and Canada made up of 16 yearly meetings and 11 monthly meetings. "Monthly meetings" are what Quakers call congregations; "yearly meetings" are organizations of mon ...

and

Friends United Meeting Friends United Meeting (FUM) is an association of twenty-six yearly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. Its home pages states that it is "a collection of Christ-centered Quakers, embra ...

–- two broader bodies of Friends. They are also part of Friends World Committee for Consultation and the Friends Peace Teams Project. Baltimore Yearly Meeting is composed of fifty local Monthly Meetings. Its constituent Monthly Meetings are in the unprogrammed tradition, which means that they meet for silent worship in which any participant may share whatever they believe the Spirit of God leads them to say. Baltimore Yearly Meeting has been operating summer camps in the region since the 1920s. Camps currently operated by BYM include Catoctin Quaker Camp, Shiloh Quaker Camp, near Charlottesville, Virginia; Opequon Quaker Camp, near

Winchester, Virginia Winchester is the most north western independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Frederick County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Winchester wit ...

; and the Teen Adventure Program, near Lexington, Virginia. Baltimore Yearly Meeting was home to Tom Fox, who worked with its youth.

External links

Baltimore Yearly Meeting Website

Baltimore Yearly Meeting Camping Program

Baltimore Yearly Meeting draft epistles collection
fro
Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College

References

{{reflist Quakerism in Maryland Quakerism in Pennsylvania Quakerism in Washington, D.C. Quakerism in Virginia Quaker yearly meetings Quakerism in the United States Annual events in Maryland 1672 establishments in Maryland Recurring events established in 1672