SUNDAYS AT BETHESDA FRIENDS MEETING 

Head of Meeting: Today, Stephanie K. On March 23, Eric S.

Pastoral Care: If you have concerns about personal issues or questions about Quaker faith and practice, Bethesda Friends Meeting, or membership, please be in touch with today's Friendly Ear, a member of the Pastoral Care Committee. This week you can reach a Friendly Ear by sending an email to friendlyear@bethesdafriends.org and a member of the Pastoral Care Committee will get in touch with you.

The Social Concern for March is Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR), a Quaker micro-credit organization that supports grassroots income-generating projects led by women. To learn more about RSWR, as well as BFM's regular budget needs, please go to the end of this bulletin. 

Meeting for Worship: Bethesda Friends worship together each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Friends can participate in person at the Meeting House or remotely via Zoom. Friends wishing to join Meeting for Worship remotely can do so via Zoom. Please ask us for the link using our Contact Us form.  

First Day School (FDS) for children 5 years of age and older is offered on the first and third Sunday of each month. Childcare for this age group is offered on non-FDS Sundays.

Childcare and Youth-Care during Meeting for Worship: Childcare is available on non-holiday weekends during Meeting for Worship from 10:45 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. for children under 5 years of age. Paid caregivers provide this service. Youth-care is also available on non-holiday weekends for children over 5 years of age on non-First Day School Sundays (i.e., the 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays of a month) during Meeting for Worship. Two volunteers are needed from 10:50 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on non-FDS Sundays so that care for these older children remains available. Please sign up using this link.

Fellowship and Hospitality: This month, the Potluck is hosted by the Religious Education committee, with help from many volunteers. If you can help, of have questions, please contact: Lee I. or Karen B. or use our Contact Us form.  

ANNOUNCEMENTS

New Bulletin Editor: Please welcome our new Bulletin Editor. Joan Clement begins her service this week. Many thanks to Lauren Phelps Roller for her years of service producing this bulletin! --From the Outreach and Communications Committee.

Helping Refugees Group CALL TO ACTION:  To inform members of our BFM community about ways to help refugees and immigrants in our area, the Helping Refugees Group (HRG) has compiled a list of actions that individuals and self-organized groups can undertake.  The list of actions is here.  Please join HRG in helping refugees and immigrants.  If everyone in our community does ONE ACTION, we will have helped many immigrants on a Meeting-wide basis!  

EVENTS THIS SUNDAY, MARCH 16

Potluck: All are invited to attend Potluck today, in the Groome Building following the Rise of Meeting (12:15). Please bring a dish if you can: main, side, salad or dessert. The kitchen in the Groome Building will be open after 9:30 am to keep dishes warm (or cold). Please include with your dish a note of any possible dietetic concerns (which contain nuts, Vegan.Gluten-free, etc.). If you run short of time, bring some fruit or a cold beverage, or just yourself. You'll be very welcome. 

EVENTS COMING UP SOON (MARCH 14 - MARCH 25)

Comparative Religions - Great Minds of the East: The Comparative Religions class has started a new course - Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition - with Professor Grant Hardy of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, through The Great Courses.  We meet weekly on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. Please ask us for the link using our Contact Us form.  All are welcome. 

Bethesda Friends Meeting’s stay-at-home Mid-Week Worship by e-mail is on Wednesdays, from 8:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Each of us worships at home without video or audio, coordinating our timing by emails sent at the start and end of worship. To enhance our sense of gathering, the opening email lets us know who is present. At rise of meeting, participants are invited to worship- share with the group via reply-all. Please use our Contact Us form for more information. 

Faith & Play Training at Sandy Spring Friends Meeting: The SSFM Religious Education Committee is hosting a Faith and Play training taught by Melinda Wenner-Bradley, taking place at the Sandy Spring Meetinghouse from March 21-23. Faith and Play is a story-based spiritual formation curriculum for children. All members of the BYM community are welcome to register. Registration costs will be covered by the SSFM RE Committee, so cost should not be a limiting factor. For details and to register, please visit this link. Anyone with questions can reach out to recoord@sandyspring.org.

BYM Interim Meeting: Join Friends from around Baltimore Yearly Meeting on Saturday, March 22 for fellowship and for the conduct of business. Interim Meeting will be held in-person at Alexandria Friends Meeting Woodlawn Meeting House in Alexandria, VA. Register and learn more here. 

Experiment with Light is a meditative and centering practice. There will be a session this Sunday March 23 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Starting at 7:30 p.m., you can follow the prompts at this link at home and write or draw responses you have experienced during those prompts. We use the meditation on the individual in modern language, full length, 37-minute version. Then around 8:30 p.m., if you would like to worship-share from your meditation experience please join via Zoom. Please ask us for the link using our Contact Us form.  

Nice Racism Book Group Meeting: The next meeting of the monthly, year-long book study of Robin D’Angelo’s book Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm will meet at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, March 24. Please email Jonathan or Margaret B. for details or use our Contact Us form.  

FUTURE EVENTS TO PLAN AHEAD FOR

Potluck + for Ramallah Friends Campaign: Please save the date for Sunday, April 6 at 12:15 p.m. It's our annual potluck lunch to support Ramallah Friends School (RFS). This is a troubled time. How can BFM Friends support the school in the midst of turmoil? RFS costs have risen, more student financial aid is needed for parents who do not have jobs, and students rely on the school's stability.  

• Can you give generously to our RFS fundraiser? (bring a check for our donation box or donate here.) Traditionally, BFM has supported several student scholarships. 
• Can you bring a dish for our potluck lunch in the Groome building? (Drop it off at 10:30 to be heated or kept cool; include an ingredients list.) You can find our favorite, easy mid-East recipes at this link. 
• Can you buy items to benefit the school? Choose from Palestinian olive oil, a Ramallah Friends t-shirt, and BFM mugs, totes, or magnets.
• Can you help with set up or clean up? Please reply when we put out a call for volunteers. 

More details at https://www.bethesdafriends.org/Ramallah-2025

SUPPORTING BFM & THE SOCIAL CONCERN OF THE MONTH

Supporting BFM: Bethesda Friends Meeting depends on our generosity to support its publications, religious education, childcare, and its “apportionment” payment to Baltimore Yearly Meeting—all of which connect us to each other and link us to the broader Quaker community.  Our contributions also support Quaker organizations and advocacy, education, and community groups attuned with Quaker values.

The Social Concern for March is Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR), a Quaker micro-credit organization that supports grassroots income-generating projects led by women, many of whom are making less than a dollar a day. Their mission statement reads, “God calls us to the right sharing of world resources, from the burdens of materialism and poverty into the abundance of God’s love, to work for equity through partnership with our sisters and brothers throughout the world.” In 2023, RSWR made 47 grants totaling over $700,000 to fund groups that supported 1,336 women to start small businesses in India, Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Guatemala.

To donate to BFM or the Social Concern of the Month, please go to:  www.bethesdafriends.org/Donate-Online-Now. Clearly designate your preference for your contribution (general support of BFM, the social concern of the month, etc.).