Winter 2026 Bulletin Released

23 January 2026
Categories: Bulletin, News

The Publications Committee is pleased to announce the release of the Winter 2026 LEYM Bulletin. Print copies are in the mail, with the digital versions of the current and back issues available online here.

There’s lots to read in the new issue, including:

  • Warm words from our Clerk Jack Smith during this cold winter
  • the Call for Workshops for Annual Meeting
  • news about Advancement and Outreach’s recent and future online programs
  • an invitation and registration form for our March 28th Representative Meeting at Red Cedar Friends
  • an initial invitation and news on new features for our Annual Meeting in Ashland June 18-21, 2026
  • Background Information on our 2026 Annual Plenary Speaker Joe Volk who will speak on “Joyful Resistance as a Practice of Hope”
  • Meeting House News (Detroit and Cleveland)
  • Information on the Laying Down of GPQM
  • An Update on Michigan Alternatives to Violence Project Activities
  • Reports from the recent Youth Retreat and Quaker Nexus Event
  • and Plenary Remarks by Marty Grundy on the Bedrock of Our Quaker Faith, delivered on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of Cleveland Meeting.

Thanks again to all the contributors and to our valiant publisher of truth, Bulletin Editor Christopher Farrand.

2026 Annual Meeting

27 December 2025
Categories: Annual Sessions

We invite you to join us in Ashland Ohio for this year’s annual meeting June 18-21, 2026, where we will explore the theme of “Finding Hope, Joy and Courage in Community” This gathering offers a space to reconnect and find our strength anew.

Gifts and Leadings among Friends: An Exploration

18 December 2025
Categories: Events and Opportunities, Monthly Mtgs, News

On Tuesday, January 6 at 7pm Friends gathered online to explore the related Quaker concepts of discovering our Gifts and following our Leadings. We used a discussion format that can be repeated in other settings, such as at your Friends Meeting in an adult education session. Hosted by the LEYM Advancement and Outreach Committee, this session was led by Bill Warters (Birmingham Friends Meeting) with assistance from others.

Workshop Handout with additional materials available for download.
Also now available are the presentation slides.

Session Recording Now Available

FGC 2026 Gathering payment plan registration

3 December 2025
Categories: Events and Opportunities, FGC, News

The 2026 Friends General Conference Gathering “A Window and a Door: A Prayer” will be held July 7-12, 2026, at the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT. The event will be held in-person for Friends of all ages! Expect worship, exciting workshops, vibrant youth programs, engaging speakers and more!

New this year, FGC is offering an early registration payment plan option. This payment plan registration for the 2026 FGC Gathering is now open. This option allows participants to spread out their registration costs through manageable installments, making it easier to plan ahead for this Spirit-filled week together.

Payment Plan Registration is open from November 17, 2025 to March 17, 2025. Standard registration will begin in the spring. Get all the details here.

2025 Annual Records digital version posted

14 November 2025
Categories: Annual Sessions, Committees, News

For the second year in a row, we are making a digital version of the LEYM Annual Records available online. This version, in contrast the the print one mailed out to Monthly Meetings, has the directory section removed and some other names and contact information redacted for privacy reasons.

The edition includes all sorts of interesting and valuable information for engaged LEYM Friends, including Minutes from Representative and Annual Meetings; the LEYM Annual Epistle; Text of the Plenary talk by Pamela Haines; Summaries of 11 workshops at Annual Meeting; the History and Description of LEYM; State of the Meeting reports from constituent Monthly Meetings; Memorial minutes and obituaries; Worship schedules, officers, and committee clerks for Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups; and the Nominating slate listing LEYM officers, committee members, and representatives to other organizations.

You can view the 2025 Annual Records here.

GPQM Begins Laying Down Process

24 October 2025
Categories: GPQM, News

At the Fall Meeting of Green Pastures Quarterly Meeting on Saturday, September 20, 2025, Friends in attendance came to unity that it is time to begin the process of laying GPQM down.  Declining attendance and a lack of people willing to accept service in clerking or on committees were two of the main factors in this decision.  The process is expected to take about a year.

Although many Friends greatly enjoy in-person contact with one another, the large number of Quaker programs and events easily accessible online have made geographical proximity less important in making and maintaining spiritual and social connections or participating in presentations and discussions. 

A “laying down” Committee is charged with following good order in wrapping up the financial affairs and other obligations of the Quarterly Meeting.  Members include Peggy Daub (Ann Arbor, clerk), Geoff Brieger (Birmingham), Ellerie Brownfain (Birmingham), Jeff Cooper (Ann Arbor), Joe Mills (Kalamazoo), and John Williams (Ann Arbor).  They welcome prayers, questions, and suggestions from any Friend.

During the coming months, the three organizations who received support from GPQM will be notified that the contributions will end after 2026.  They are the Michigan AFSC Office, the Michigan Friends Center, and the Michigan Alternatives to Violence Project. 

Friends in Michigan are encouraged to host events with other Friends in the region, whether in person or online.  The responsibility falls to all of us to maintain the broader Quaker community that can nurture us.  We look forward to seeing how Spirit leads us together in new ways.

Visit Bolivia with Quaker Connections Study Tour

23 October 2025
Categories: Events and Opportunities, News

The Bolivian Quaker Education Fund, BQEF, is organizing a Quaker Study Tour to Bolivia from January 7th to 20th, 2026. They are excited to offer this special “connections” tour, where the group will visit a wide variety of projects, supported by Quakers and Quaker-adjacent organizations from the North. The goals are to foster relationships of solidarity, to learn, to share, and to celebrate work that reflects our collective Quaker values. It will including meeting with Bolivian AVP practitioners and Quaker students, as well as visits to QBL prison greenhouse gardens.  See attached a poster and the trip information packet. Please take a look and submit this Expression of Interest Survey if you are interested in receiving more information. 

Quaker Connections Study Tour to Bolivia compressedDownload

Event: Living Peace – Three Quakers Share

23 October 2025
Categories: Events and Opportunities, Monthly Mtgs, News, Peace and Justice

On Wednesday, November 5, at 7pm, the peace testimony will be explored by three friends from LEYM who will share their experience of living and interpreting the peace testimony in various settings. The session will be held on Zoom at this link.

Hear perspectives from Friends from North Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Red Cedar on how the peace testimony manifests, internally and externally, with time for small group reflection.

This session is brought to you by LEYM’s Advancement and Outreach Committee. Friends are warmly invited to join in and possibly to replicate or adapt it for your own monthly meetings.

Living PeaceDownload

LEYM Friends Invited to Quaker Nexus Camp

8 October 2025
Categories: Events and Opportunities, Youth Programming

WHAT IS IT?  Quaker Nexus or QNX is a weekend-long camp for Quakers of all ages and their friends/family hosted by Western Yearly Meeting. It is intergenerational, meaning the housing will be centered around families, couples, or a group of individuals of the same sex. 

Youth who want to attend without family are required to have a participating adult that is responsible for them.  Activities will also have multiple ages in mind from young kids to those who have lived 7 or 8 decades.

“Nexus” describes a point of connection or linkage. The goal is to make deeper connections with one another, with God, and with creation. You can read about the programming features below.   

Location: Camp Quaker Haven, Syracuse, Indiana

Dates: November 7-9, 2025 

Registration starts at 4:00pm Nov. 7, Camp Ends by Noon on Sunday(9th). Register online here.

Who is Invited:  All Quakers/Friends, of all ages.  

  • -Be sure to register early if you need accessible accommodations. 
  • -All minors must have a participating adult responsible for them
  • -6 different Midwest Quaker Yearly Meetings have been invited to join Western Yearly Meeting at this event. (Indiana YM, Lake Erie, New Association, Wilmington, Illinois YM, Ohio Valley-and anyone else who is interested)

Programming Features:  

  • -There will be a lot of time for enjoying the camp and for fellowship
  • -There will be gathered worship reflecting various Quaker styles
  • -Alternatives to Violence Program will lead some learning sessions for all ages.
  • -There will be a service project for 2 hours on Saturday to help the camp get ready for winter.

See attached flyer for additional details.

Quaker_Nexus_Camp_Event FlyerDownload

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