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.  


Please note our schedules for BFM child care (ages 6 months-pre-K) and our school-age children (grades K-8). 
Click here for more information about our weekly activities and worship 

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.

We are a welcoming community. 

We believe there is that of the Divine 

in every person.

  The Social Concerns Box for JULY AND AUGUST is for CAMP Opequon Capital Campaign


Bethesda Friends is seeking donations during 2024-2025 to support and build Baltimore Yearly Meeting's (BYM's) summer youth arts camp (Camp Opequon) in Harper's Ferry, WV. Over the last 100 years, BYM Camps has grown to a family of four summer camp programs spread along the Appalachian Mountains – Opequon, Catoctin, Shiloh, and Teen Adventure. Serving more than 600 young people each year, each of our four camps offers distinctive programming tied together by the belief that there is “that of God” in each of us. As we enter the next century of BYM Camps, the creative arts camp, Opequon Quaker Camp, has moved to a new home at the Rolling Ridge Conservancy in Harper’s Ferry, WV. This beautiful, permanent home for Opequon Quaker Camp is the next step in the growth and long-term sustainability of BYM Camps.


Read below for more details of how our meeting community is involved in helping ignite the future for our youth in support of OPEQUON QUAKER CAMP – All support makes a difference

Camp Opequon
Special Campaign Fund 

Camp Opequon, one of four Quaker camps managed by Baltimore Yearly Meeting, relocated last year to a new site within Rolling Ridge Conservancy, a property with historic Quaker ties. The new site, a former camp with a lodge and other buildings, requires repairs and improvements.

  • Bethesda Friends Meeting has pledged $20,000 to the Camp Opequon Special Campaign.
  • For those who would like to make additional much needed donations, individuals can make contributions to BFM's Special Campaign.
  • To donate, please go to our online donation page and clearly designate that your contribution is for the Camp Opequon Fund. 

Read more details about the camp and its needs or ask us via our Contact Us form


Helping Refugees Group
CALL TO ACTION
The Helping Refugees Group (HRG) has two action lists to help us mobilize in support of refugees
and immigrants in our area 
  1. Click here for a broader list of ways that individuals and self-organized groups can undertake refugee and immigrant support in the DC area.
  2. We also have a list of specific actions that BFM will begin in Fall 2025, which includes opportunities to volunteer with other folks from BFM at HomesNotBorders, KindWorks, and CASA.  a child is holding two precious eggs
  • Please join us!
  • If everyone in our community does ONE ACTION, we will have helped many immigrants on a Meeting-wide basis! 

Please use our Contact Us form for more information.

Do you want to learn more
about Quakers?
Here are several choices


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

At 7:30 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, 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 use prompts at home that can be listened to onlinefollowed by a worship-share via Zoom. 

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 click here for more information,

using our Contact Us form.



Comparative Religions:

Great World Religions: Christianity

A BFM group hosts this class each Tuesday at 7:00 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 12 topics (June - August), go to our online calendar.
  • Use our Contact Us form to get the Zoom link, or see your email 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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