Get prepared for your registration by reviewing what’s on offer. The calendar of events schedule below is clickable, providing additional information such as full session descriptions and access and tech support links. You can also get a helpful printout of the visual schedule as a pdf.
2023 Annual Sessions will be in-person!
Our next annual session will be held June 15-18, 2023 at Ashland University in Ohio. Our theme is Navigating Anew.
Recordings from Workshops Available
We've posted the recordings from some of this year's annual sessions workshops on our LEYM YouTube Channel. Check them out!
LEYM 2022: Many Roots, One Tree Quakers affiliated with Lake Erie Yearly Meeting gather annually for fellowship, worship, business and to see how the spirit moves among us. From July 27-31, 2022 LEYM Friends will be meeting online via Zoom. Financial contributions sent to the treasurer are strictly voluntary, so “pay as you are led”. Contributions will help offset the costs associated with hosting the event. See the Spring issue of the LEYM Bulletin for helpful event details and workshop descriptions. Check out our 2022 Annual Sessions Welcome Video as well.
All Are Welcome
Quakers believe that there is that of God in every person. In this spirit, we welcome all people regardless of age, race, differing abilities, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
35+ Sessions
There's something for everyone at this year's annual sessions, including worship opportunities, workshops, bible study, Quaker organizations panels, lunch hangouts, the keynote plenary, or the Saturday evening social fun time.
10 Timely Workshops
We expanded our workshop offerings this year (see descriptions). Join experienced presenters for explorations of topics highly relevant to our current condition. See schedule below.
Friday Plenary with Christian Acemah
Join us for a plenary by Olney School Head Christian Acemah on the theme "What Lies Within This Tree With Many
Roots?"
Annual Session Offerings July 27 - 30, 2022 (see tabs below)
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We are hosting ten workshops this year, including one by our keynote speaker Christian Acemah. You can see the full schedule and workshop descriptions in the latest issue of the LEYM Bulletin (see pages 8-10). We'll also have several panel sessions where you can learn all about various Quaker organizations.
Workshops and Panel Sessions on Offer
- Using Online Resources to Conduct Quaker Research - Thu 2:00 PM
- Gardening as a Spiritual Practice - Thu 2:00 PM
- Panel on Quaker Organizations 1 - Thu 4:00 PM
- Community Safety Beyond Policing - Thu 7:00 PM
- Exploring our Roots & Sharing our Spiritual Journeys - Thu 7:00 PM
- Skills for Peaceful Communication - Fri 2:00 PM
- Confronting the Nuclear Threat: How faith communities can push back against the world's most immoral weapons and protect humanity - Fri 2:00 PM
- Panel on Quaker Organizations 2 - Fri 4:00 PM
- Panel on Quaker Organizations 3 - Sat 12:00 PM
- An Introduction to Spiritual Companioning: What is it? How does it work? - Sat 1:30 PM
- Cultivating a Career in Peace: Going Where the Roots Lead You - Sat 1:30 PM
- Interrogating Inclusion - Sat 3:30 PM
- In-person? Hybrid? Zoom-only? Going back to normal? Going forward to something else? - Sat 3:30 PM
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We’ll have morning and evening silent worship opportunities, three Bible study sessions, and worship-sharing small group sessions on the theme.
Worship and Bible Study Sessions
- Evening Worship - Wed 8:30 PM
- Morning Worship - Thu 8:15 AM
- Bible Study - Thu 9:00 AM
- Evening Worship - Thu 8:30 PM
- Morning Worship - Fri 8:15 AM
- Bible Study - Fri 9:00 AM
- Worship Sharing - Fri 9:00 AM
- Evening Worship - Fri 8:45 PM
- Morning Worship - Sat 8:15 AM
- Bible Study - Sat 9:00 AM
- Worship Sharing - Sat 9:00 AM
- Evening Worship - Sat 8:45 PM
- Closing Meeting for Worship - Sun 3:30 PM
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Friends will gather to conduct the business of the Yearly Meeting across three sessions and a special discernment session exploring "What can we say together about anti-racism?"
Business-related Sessions
- LEYM Volunteer Hosts Orientation - Mon 3:00 PM
- LEYM Executive Committee Meeting - Wed 3:00 PM
- Business Session 1 - Thu 10:30 AM
- Business Session 2 - Fri 10:30 AM
- What Can We Say Together - Anti-Racism - Sat 10:30 AM
- Business Session 3 - Sun 1:00 PM
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We'll gather for our shared opening session Wednesday night where Meeting will share some of their histories. On Friday evening, Christian Acemah will provide our keynote on the theme "What Lies Within This Tree with Many Roots?" The Saturday evening social fun time is also a fan favorite. New this year we'll have some informal social time over lunch on two days.
Large Group Gatherings
- Opening Plenary with Interactive Roll Call - Wed 7:00 PM
- Business Session 1 - Thu 10:30 AM
- Business Session 2 - Fri 10:30 AM
- Plenary with Christian Acemah: What Lies Within This Tree With Many Roots? - Fri 7:00 PM
- What Can We Say Together - Anti-Racism - Sat 10:30 AM
- Business Session 3 - Sun 1:00 PM
Friends Gathering Online
Cultivating Our Roots
"Too many times we pray for ease, but that's a prayer seldom met. What we need to do is pray for roots that reach deep into the Eternal, so when the rains fall and the winds blow, we won't be swept asunder." -- Philip J. Gulley
10 Great Workshops to Choose From Free online workshops, with something for everyone.
Annual Sessions Calendar of Events
TIPS: Use the controls along the right top to select different days and to change views. Scroll up and down through the day's time slots by dragging or using the scrollbar on the right side. Click on the title of an individual session to see additional details. Use the "view larger version" link along the bottom right to go to an expanded calendar view.
Note: you can subscribe to the official LEYM events calendar, which includes all the annual sessions events, using this iCal link.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
What is LEYM? +
Lake Erie Yearly Meeting (LEYM) began in 1939 as an association of Friends (aka Quaker) meetings in Ohio, Michigan, Western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. It is currently made up of 20 local congregations, called monthly meetings. There are also a number of informal worship groups within LEYM. It is affiliated with Friends General Conference (FGC), a Quaker service organization for unprogrammed Friends in the U.S. LEYM publishes a regular newsletter known as the LEYM Bulletin.
Who put together this program? +
This year's annual sessions were planned by the Adult & Family Program Committee comprised of Susan Hartman (clerk), Barbara LeSage, Greg Mott, Aran Reinhart, Bill Warters, Ellerie Brownfain and Sally Weaver Sommer. Technical and website design support was provided by Bill Warters, LEYM's webworker. Additional Zoom hosting assistance is coming from ---
We're meeting online. What do I need to do to join in? +
We'll be meeting online primarily using the Zoom Platform. Registrants will receive specific session connection information via email.
- Check out these helpful Zoom Tips (PDF) for new users.
- Learn More about Zoom via the Zoom Quick Start Guide.
- You can Test Your Zoom Connection via Zoom's Test Meeting
Does the Gathering Cost Anything? How Can I Make a Donation? +
There is no fee for traditional expenses such as food or housing for this year's online event. However, we do have expenses related to hosting the virtual event. Contributions are welcome to help offset these costs. If so moved, send a check made out to LEYM to: Tom Kangas, 3641 Weston Place, Columbus, OH 43214
Where can I get more info on the Business Sessions? +
The agenda (when finalized) and various documents that will be discussed during the annual meeting Business Sessions can be found at the 2022 Annual Business page.
What should I do if I want to make changes to my registration? +
Rather than creating a second registration and creating some confusion as to what receipt is the active one, the best approach is to email leymworker@gmail.com with a request to make the change. Updates will be reflected in your personal schedule page when you next access it.
What is a Story Tree and How Can I Make One? +
Lake Erie Yearly Meeting Friends are being invited to do a quick visual introduction of their Monthly Meeting or Worship Group during our 2022 Opening Gathering in the evening of Wednesday, July 27th. The Program Committee has chosen the theme “Many Roots, One Tree” for the 2022 gathering. We are suggesting Friends use an annotated “Story Tree” as a quick way to highlight a few things about your unique Meeting for Worship. We have created a template that can be used by a group of Friends to share some of the roots of your Meeting (early history, foundational people, etc.); it’s trunk (current gathering location, size, practices, etc.), and some of the unique out-growths (leaves or fruits or even nuts!) nurtured in the Meeting over the years. We imagine that a group of Friends could gather via Zoom or in-person, perhaps after the rise of meeting, and together annotate a Story Tree providing some meeting history and special details. Digital representations of your tree (photos, files, or video) should provided to leymworker@gmail.com by July 10th. During the Annual Sessions Opening Event, Story Trees from various meetings will be displayed, and Friends in attendance from that Meeting will be invited to comment on or explain some of the tree’s features.
Where can I get more information? +
You can reach out to the Lake Erie Yearly Meeting worker at leymworker@gmail.com. Technical support information for specific workshops and sessions will be provided to registered participants via email. Information for contacting LEYM Committee clerks is available on the LEYM website here: https://leym.org/contact-information/
What should I do if I'm feeling uncomfortable about someone's behavior? +
Harassment Discernment Committee - If a Friend feels she or he has been poorly or unfairly treated during our YM sessions because of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, or any other factor, he or she can reach out to this committee. Friends who witness harassment are also encouraged to reach out. Of course, if it is safe to do so, Friends are encouraged to seek direct, positive solutions first. The complete LEYM harassment discernment policy with contact information is available at leym.org.
What is Worship-sharing? +
Worship sharing sessions focus on a particular question and help us to explore our own experience and share with each other more deeply than we would in normal conversation. A topic or query is raised and then Friends "speak out of the silence" as moved. In most cases, a person won't speak twice until everyone has had a chance to speak once. Typically, a brief period of silence is held between individual sharings. A designated facilitator will introduce the topic and coordinate the sharing process. This year there are two queries: Worship Sharing 1: How do I experience the roots of my spiritual growth? Worship Sharing 2: How do we nurture our collective spiritual growth?
LEYM 2022
