Bethesda Friends Meeting



Welcome to Bethesda Friends Meeting

We're Quakers who meet every Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
Our meetinghouse is on the Sidwell Friends Lower School campus
We are worshiping in person and also via Zoom.  

Click these links for BFM child care (ages 6 months-pre-K) and school-age children (grades K-8) programs. 

More information about our weekly activities and worship

OUR TESTIMONIES: As members of the Religious Society of Friends, we strive for:

SIMPLICITY - Learning to discern the essential from the non-essential.

PEACE - Living in a spirit that takes away the occasion for all war.

INTEGRITY - Being who we truly are and truly meaning what we say.

COMMUNITY - Knowing that we need one another in order to be whole.

EQUALITY - Knowing that everyone, everywhere is equally precious to God. This includes people of all ages, abilities, sexual orientation, races, ethnicities, levels of resources, and theological perspectives.

STEWARDSHIP - Caring for the environment and using time and resources wisely, not wastefully.

      Queries for the summer:  

July and Young People: How do we provide young people with explicit guidelines in Quaker faith and practice? In what ways do we honor that of God in children and young people? How do we share our deepest beliefs with children, while leaving them free to develop as the spirit of God may lead them?

August and War: What does it mean to live “in virtue of that life and power which takes away the occasion of all wars?” What can I do to create a more peaceful and just world? As we work for peace in the world, how are we nourished by peace within and among ourselves? How are we serving as instruments of reconciliation and love?

  The Social Concerns Box for JULY and AUGUST IS AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE 


The Social Concern for July and August is the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). AFSC works with communities worldwide to challenge injustice and build conditions for lasting peace. “We are steadfast in our commitment to nonviolence and our belief in the transformative power of love to overcome conflict and oppression.” With programs around the USA and the world, they work on prisons and policing, immigration and immigrant rights, global peace, and economic justice. “We gather monthly in communities across the country and in DC, showing our communities Love In Action as a public witness of our Quaker values in a time of rising fascism.”  They have been supporting the Palestinians since 1948 before UNRWA was established. Their weekly Gaza action hour has educated hundreds of people on the genocide and the famine. This action hour has resulted in thousands of calls to our congressmen. Their staff in Gaza never stopped providing aid to the neediest, even when they themselves were displaced and starving. For more information, please check out their website at https://afsc.org/

Thank you for your contributions to this important organization. To donate to the Social Concerns Box, please use this link and clearly designate that your contribution is for “AFSC"  If you prefer, you may send your check, payable to Bethesda Friends Meeting, to our Assistant Treasurer, David M. (See your Directory), noting “AFSC" in the memo.

A bit of Quaker history, as the United States of America

observes the 250th Semiquincentennial

“With the Revolution underway, in September of 1776 the largest organization of Quakers in America---the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting---formally directed its members to observe strict neutrality. This meant that Quakers should not vote or take oaths of loyalty to support either side, should not engage in combat or pay for a substitute (a not uncommon practice in that era) and should not pay taxes to support the war effort. The responses of Quakers to these requirements varied. Probably the majority, torn by conflicting loyalties, sympathized with both sides. Many remained tacit Loyalists, supporting without materially aiding the King's army. Other Quakers renounced neutrality and actively sided with the Patriots. In Pennsylvania almost 1,000 Quakers were disowned during the course of the war, the large majority of them for taking up arms. One group even formed their own separate denomination, the Free Quakers or Fighting Quakers, whose leader Timothy Matlack served on political committees alongside such radicals as ex-Quaker Thomas Paine.”

From "Despise the mean Distinctions [these] Times Have Made": The Complexity of Patriotism and Quaker Loyalism in One Pennsylvania Family  ~ Karin A. Wulf, American University

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      Upcoming events

      END OF LIFE ISSUES
      • BFM has formed an End of Life Group to provide legal, spiritual, and practical resources to help our community cope with the uncertainties and fears surrounding the end of life. 
      • The COVID-19 pandemic significantly elevated concerns about the health of family and friends, and the possibility that they could become gravely ill and die. 
      • Although conversations with our loved ones about such a possibility are difficult, it’s important to prepare.
      Please click here to see more details and resources

      RECURRING EVENTS

      Experiment with Light

      Monthly, on the 2nd and 4th Sundays, people at BFM use a meditative and centering practice based upon Rex Ambler’s book, Light to Live By. 

      This method describes early Quaker meditative habits and translates them into a highly accessible process of clearness and understanding. We offer this in-person and Zoom, using prompts at home that can be listened to onlinefollowed by a worship-sharing of your experience. 

      BFM Book Group

      This vibrant group meets via Zoom, discussing a variety of books on both Quaker and non-Quaker topics.

      1:30 - 3:15 PM, 2nd Saturday of each month

      Please use our Contact Us form for more information

      and the Zoom link.



      Comparative Religions:

      A BFM group hosts this class each Tuesday from 7:00-8:00 p.m. via Zoom.  The format is a half hour Great Courses video lecture followed by a half hour discussion. 

      • For more details on the current lecture topic, go to our online calendar.
      • Use our Contact Us form to get the Zoom link or see your email weekly bulletin. Each session is self-contained, so anyone can attend any session.

      Wednesday Mid-Week Worship

      A group holds an at-home Worship

      on Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m.

      If you wish to join, please read the weekly announcement here. After the virtual Meeting there is a

      sharing time via email. 


      Bethesda Friends Meeting

      Mailing Address:
      P.O. Box 30152, Bethesda MD 20824

      Our Meetinghouse is on the campus of the Sidwell Friends Lower School at the intersection of Edgemoor Lane and Beverly Road in Bethesda, Maryland

      We are a member of the Religious Society of Friends

      www.bethesdafriends.org
      301-986-8681 (location recording only)
      info@bethesdafriends.org

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