New England Yearly Meeting (NEYM) Annual Sessions 2013 meets on the campus of Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island, Saturday, August 3 to Thursday, August 8, 2013. 

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Please Join Us...

We are blessed once again with the opportunity to gather together at the Annual Sessions of New England Yearly Meeting. Friends from all over New England and beyond will share in worship, fellowship, learning, discernment and celebration. 

Our theme this year provides an unusual opportunity to hold up both our personal gifts and organizational possibilities and to explore our capacity for growth and change in each. It offers both a challenge and a promise for our individual and corporate lives. To help us consider both components of our theme, there will be two Community Plenaries. Sunday afternoon’s presentation will be led by Bill Harley of Providence Meeting, widely known for his music, storytelling and workshops. He will talk with us about the power of discovering and sharing our personal stories with each other, and offer us some tools for both the telling and the listening. On Monday afternoon, Shan Cretin, general secetary of the American Friends Service Committee [external link], will talk about how an organization rooted in Quakerism tries to live into a corporate response to this theme and its call to faithfulness.

We will move directly from these talks into Anchor Groups: small groups that will meet daily to provide a consistent “home base” for adult attenders to share reflection, discussion and worship.

Our time together will also be enriched by many other parts of the Sessions program. Meetings for Worship for Business will be held each day Sunday through Thursday. Days will begin with Bible Half Hours led by Michael Birkel, author and religion professor at Earlham College [external link]. There will continue to be other worship opportunities throughout the days, including evening Vespers each day after supper. 

Workshops on a wide range of topics will be offered. Susan Stark, Quaker singer and songwriter, will offer an intergenerational performance Tuesday evening, highlighted by her song “Live up to the Light Thou Hast.” Our Youth Programs will provide a full schedule of educational, recreational, and spiritual community activities. The Family Neighborhood will be set up in the townhouse area, providing additional support and community for families with younger children.

Sunday, we will celebrate Kevin Lee’s many years of work with our youth. The “Coffee House” open mic performances, comfortable rocking chairs and a great selection of books, crafts and curriculum at our Bookstore will round out the rich offerings of a busy week. Given all this activity, remember to set aside the “pockets of free time” needed for personal and family rest and renewal.

Join us for a rich, spiritually fulfilling week with our Yearly Meeting community!

-Jean McCandless
Clerk, Sessions COmmittee