Bethesda Friends Meeting

weekly bfm bulletin and events


Sunday, March 17, 2023


Fri., March 15

12:00 p.m.

AFSC Action Hour: Ceasefire Now

Sat., March 16

10:30 a.m.

Junior Young Friends Conference (Sandy Spring, MD)

Sun., March 17

9:15 a.m.

Committee Day: Ministry & Worship


11:00 a.m.

Meeting for Worship + First Day School + Childcare Lenten Craft Day


12:20 p.m.

Potluck


2:00 p.m.

Action in Montgomery Universal PreK Action Event

Mon., March 18

8:00 p.m.

See No Stranger Book Discussion

Tues., March 19

7:00 p.m.

New Class: Comparative Religious - Buddhism 

Wed., March 20

8:00 p.m.

Mid-Week Worship (check in by email)

Thurs., March 21

1:00 p.m.

Pray-In for a Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza


5:30 p.m.

AFSC Meeting for Worship re: Peace in Palestine & Israel

Fri., March 22

12:00 p.m.

AFSC Action Hour: Ceasefire Now

Sat., March 23

9:30 a.m.

Baltimore Yearly Meeting Interim Meeting at BFM & Online

Sun., March 24

9:00 a.m.

Introduction to Quaker Faith and Practice (Childcare Provided)


9:00 a.m.

Committee Day: Peace and Social Justice


11:00 a.m.

Meeting for Worship + Child Care


7:30 p.m.

Experiment with Light (via phone/email, Zoom sharing)


SUNDAYS AT BETHESDA FRIENDS MEETING


Head of Meeting: Today, Stephanie Koenig. On March 24, Linda Mack

 

Pastoral Care: If you have concerns about personal issues or questions about membership, Bethesda Friends Meeting, or Quaker faith and practice, please be in touch with our Friendly Ear, a member of the Pastoral Care Committee. The person's name and contact info is announced after worship, or you can ask via our Contact Us form. 


The Social Concern for March is Supporting Youngsters from the Friendly Gardens Community to Attend BYM Summer Camps. Details and information on how to donate are at 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.


Participating in worship at the Meeting House. Friends are invited to gather in person at 11:00 a.m. for Meeting for Worship at the Meeting House. We are currently in COVID Risk Level 1. The policies for Risk Level 1 are included at the end of this bulletin. 


Participating in worship via Zoom. To join using Zoom, you can obtain the link in your weekly Bulletin or use 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. There will be a signup sheet at the Meeting House and you may also sign up at this link.

EVENTS AT BETHESDA FRIENDS MEETING THIS SUNDAY, March 17

Lenten Arts & Crafts for Children: During Meeting for Worship this Sunday, March 17, children in the Childcare Room will engage in special arts and crafts (egg painting and decoration) activities celebrating the Lenten season and simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship - our core Quaker values. Get excited and join us!

Potluck: All are invited to attend Potluck in the Groome Building following Rise of Meeting this Sunday, March 17. Please bring a dish if you can, main, side, salad or dessert. The kitchen in the Groome Building will be open after 10:30 a.m. to keep dishes warm or cold. Please include with your dish a note of any possible dietetic concerns (contains 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. Peace & Social Justice will have a table at Potluck to encourage folks to review and contribute to our Meeting’s input to the FCNL call for priorities for the 119th Congress. The FCNL priorities for the 118th congress can be read here

An Action in Montgomery (AIM) Universal PreK Action Event will take place this Sunday, March 17 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. at Harmony Hills Elementary School, 13407 Lydia St., Silver Spring. BFM is a founding member of AIM. Join in this high energy action to meet with Montgomery County officials, local organizations, early childhood teachers, and parents from across MoCo about the need to expand PreK slots and find creative solutions to make this happen as quickly as possible.

EVENTS COMING UP SOON (MARCH 15 - MARCH 26)

AFSC Action Hour for a Ceasefire in GazaJoin American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) staff every Friday at 12:00 p.m. to hear updates from Gaza. Then, take action with us as we contact our elected officials and call for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian access to Gaza. Our elected officials need to keep hearing from us. To attend, please register at this link.

See No Stranger Book Discussion Group: Lauren Brownlee and Leslie Sussan, in consultation with others, have arranged a third-Monday evening monthly Zoom discussion of the book See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur. We will meet Monday, March 18 from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to discuss the book through Chapter 4. Check out the learning hub for the book at this link (the site encourages you to sign up but you can learn a lot without doing so) and please sign up for the BFM Discussion by using our Contact Us form.

NEW CLASS - Comparative Religions - Buddhism: On March 19 at 7:00 p.m., a new evening Comparative Religions class - Buddhism - will begin. This class includes 24 lectures by Professor Malcolm David Eckel of Boston University through The Great Courses. All are welcome. The course is a survey of the history of Buddhism and its faith and practice from its origin in the sixth century B.C.E. to contemporary times in America.  We meet weekly on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom at this link for a half-hour lecture followed by a half-hour discussion. All are welcome. For details, check out the BFM website or use our Contact Us form.

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. While some of our regulars prefer to simply join in Spirit at the appointed time, others enjoy the brief connection provided by an email at the start and end of worship. At rise of meeting, those on that session's email list who are moved to do so may share experiences by reply-all. Friends wishing to join, please use our Contact Us form

Pray-In for a Permanent Ceasefire in Gaza: All are welcome to join a public pray-in on Thursday, March 21 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Methodist Building located at 100 Maryland Avenue NE, Washington, DC. This is part of an ongoing Lenten Ceasefire Campaign and is co-organized by Eli McCarthy, who works with DC Quaker Peace Teams. We will offer a prayerful vigil with press invited, and then a nearby nonviolent witness action. We will raise our voices together, asking our Creator for guidance and strength as we urge those in power to do the courageous work of nonviolent peacemaking. Please register, but if you prefer not to please still come. 

AFSC Meeting for Worship re: Peace in Israel and Palestine: The violence in Palestine and Israel has impacted the AFSC community in many ways, all of them tragic and heartbreaking.  Please join us every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. for a Meeting for Worship via Zoom, gathering in solidarity and holding those most impacted in the Light. All are invited. Please register at this link to receive the Zoom link to attend. Please note that the date and time have changed from prior gatherings.

Come to BYM Interim Meeting - at BFMOn Saturday, March 23, please join Friends from across the Baltimore Yearly Meeting region at the Sidwell Friends Lower School. Several concerns important to Interim Meeting attenders are important to BFM too, including a ceasefire in Gaza, reproductive justice, and anti-racism work.

  • All are welcome to hospitality starting at 11:00 a.m. and an early lunch. We may be feeding 60-plus, so please bring a dish if you can. If you can't, please come anyway. Interim Meeting starts at 12:30 p.m. in the Meeting House.

  • For further details and to register for Interim Meeting, please visit this link. Please register especially if you plan to eat at hospitality. It is okay to just show up if you don't plan to eat. 

  • To review BYM's views on shared-interest issues, go to the texts at the bottom of the page linked above. Interim Meeting ends at 3:30 p.m. and has two breaks.

  • Help from Bethesda Friends is especially welcome to the BFM Fellowship and Hospitality Committee, since guests are many and the event is on a Saturday. To learn what needs doing, please use our Contact Us form

  • Childcare is available. Register with Indie Martell by March 16 (indira.j.martell@gmail.com).

Introduction to Quaker Faith & PracticeThe Ministry & Worship Committee's Intro to Quaker Faith and Practice series will have its last meeting on Sunday, March 24 at 9:00 a.m. This will be in-person, with Zoom access at this link for those unable to attend in person. All are welcome, even if you haven't attended prior sessions. Please register by use our Contact Us form Childcare is provided.

Experiment with Light is a meditative and centering practice. There will be a session on Sunday March 24 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 at this link. The Meeting ID is 862 2645 7814 with Passcode 676438.

FUTURE EVENTS TO PLAN AHEAD FOR

Easter Egg Hunt and Story for Young Friends: The Bethesda Friends Meeting Childcare Committee invites BFM children of all ages (and those who are young at heart if not in years) to an Easter Egg Hunt and Story for Friends, during Meeting for Worship on March 31. Join us in celebrating the Eggcellence of Easter! Please RSVP to let the Childcare team know if your child(ren) can attend.

BYM Spiritual Formation Retreat: Join Friends from across Baltimore Yearly Meeting for the Spring Spiritual Formation Retreat from May 3 - 5 at the Claggett Center in Adamstown, MD. For more information please visit this link and you can register here. Registration is open through April 12, 2024. 

SUPPORTING BFM & THE SOCIAL CONCERN OF THE MONTH

Committee Nominating Season: Quaker meetings are run by and for members and attenders. Each year, the BFM Nominating Committee seeks to match people's talents with their interests. During the Spring 2024 cycle, happening now, we seek to fill positions on the Pastoral Care, Ministry & Worship, Stewardship & Finance, Religious Education, Fellowship & Hospitality, Library, Book Table, Child Care, and Outreach & Communication committees. Descriptions of committee activities can be found in the directory and on our website. Committee members serve between two to four years generally. 

Committee work is an excellent way to become closer to BFM and become more of a part of our community. It is a joyful way to participate in BFM committee work while also understanding how BFM functions. If you cannot commit to a committee, please consider being on a volunteer list (a low-key way to participate in BFM's activities). Please reach out to anyone of us if you wish to serve on committees/join a volunteer list. Our members are Eluned Schweitzer, Joe Hiatt, Susan Maniatis, Rob McGarrah, David McClelland, and Ron Akins. 


Supporting BFMBethesda 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.  As of the first week in December, we have raised just less than 30 percent of contributions budgeted for the fiscal year ending in June 2024.  Needs are pressing, and contributions in any amount are deeply appreciated.  

The Social Concern for February is Supporting Two Youngsters from the Friendly Gardens Community to Attend Baltimore Yearly Meeting Summer Camps through the Strengthening Transformative Relationships in Diverse Environments (STRIDE) program. We are raising funds for their camping equipment and supplies. The Meeting budget will cover the camp fees. Has your family attended camp? We also hope to have friendly outreach to these new families to help them become familiar with and welcome at camp. For details and opportunities to participate, please visit this link.

To donate to this Social Concern, please go to www.bethesdafriends.org/Donate-Online-NowClearly designate that your contribution is for this month's Social Concern. If you prefer, you may send your check, made payable to Bethesda Friends Meeting, to David M.,  Assistant Treasurer (see address in the BFM Directory, or use our Contact Us form). You are also welcome to donate to Bethesda Friends Meeting directly to support all Meeting activities via the same methods (online or by check).

COVID-19 Rules for In-Person Meeting for Worship - Risk Level 1:   

  • Full vaccination against COVID-19 is recommended.
  • Face masking is optional. Food and drink are allowed.
  • You must self-screen based on COVID symptoms or exposure. You may not attend in-person Meeting for Worship if you have a fever, have COVID symptoms, have tested positive for COVID, or have been exposed in the past 10 days to an individual testing positive for, or displaying symptoms of, COVID.
  • You must sign in on a simple sign-in sheet.
  • Prompt notification of a positive Covid test after attending required. Please send any positive test notification via email to clerks@bethesdafriends.org.  BFM will provide notice to others who attended the same meeting (but will not identify the person testing positive)

Click here for current rules and BFM's full Covid-19 information and policy.  

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 organization of the Religious Society of Friends

www.bethesdafriends.org
301-986-8681
Contact Us

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