All checks and bills should be submitted to the treasurer.
Please print and use the following forms when submitting expenses:
LEYM Expense Voucher for requesting reimbursement for expenses
LEYM Travel Expense Form for requesting reimbursement and/or reporting travel expenses
LEYM financial policies can be found in:
Manual of LEYM Finances, last updated November of 2024
July 2019. This update was provided in preparation for the 2019 annual sessions and Lake Erie Yearly Meeting’s action on climate change. At the April 2019 Representatives’ Meeting held at Ann Arbor Friends Meeting, the yearly meeting discerned taking action about the climate crisis. That is why vegetarian meal service was the default for the 2019 sessions. The full minute was to be finalized by the Executive Committee. In brief, the action’s aim was:
“this year to commit as much as possible to a vegetarian food service as a response to the dire circumstances of our planet.”
In preparing LEYM’s action, Monthly Meetings were invited to “host” topics about climate crisis. Topics explore environmental cycles alongside human impact — from harmful to helpful. Select topics were readied for small displays for viewing during meals.
At sessions, Friends are encouraged to respond to displays among table-mates and also to rotate tables across mealtimes for a “tour” of topics. This process is hoped to deepen Friends’ exploration too of LEYM’s recent annual query about Earthcare.
Toward readying ourselves for 2019’s default vegetarian meal service, Earthcare committee member Ken Lawrence shared a reflection for us. We hope as many Friends as possible will take time to sit with Ken’s reflection, inclusive all choices that have been made individually about meal service.
From this reflection, “Reducing meat consumption to reduce contribution to the Climate Crisis”, several resources are offered for further reading:
The LEYM Earthcare Committee encourages constituent monthly meetings and members, committees, and staff to actions based on awareness that current rapid destruction of our planet and its fragile ecosystems is diametrically opposed to Quaker beliefs and values, and that the Religious Society of Friends must take an active stand against these trends and practices, inseparable from our other activities.
“The produce of the earth is a gift from our gracious creator to the inhabitants, and to impoverish the earth now to support outward greatness appears to be an injury to the succeeding age.” — John Woolman, 1700s
At our yearly meeting sessions in 2016, LEYM minuted support of a shared statement on climate change supported by many Quaker organizations and yearly meetings around the world. You can read the text here.
Other Earthcare resources:
Can We Plan Ahead? Video discussing the reasons to plan for sustainability
Ubuntu Planet; creating a community of abundance
The Interfaith Power and Light movement is made up of many different faith communities and offers a range of resources and programs. There are chapters in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Oberlin: In March of 2021 Oberlin Friends Meeting released a minute “We Seek An Earth Restored.” It is available here as a PDF, and presented below in full-text.
Oberlin Friends Meeting joins a broad spectrum of Quaker and other spiritual fellowships in affirming the ecological integrity and sacredness of the Earth and all of Creation. We testify that its bounty should be equitably shared by all humans in this and succeeding generations.
We accept the judgment and urgency expressed by nearly all climate scientists that our individual and collective life styles, our economies, and our public policies threaten our health and our well-being, even the very existence of life on Earth.
We recognize that Black, indigenous, people of color, and low-income people are most impacted by planet destruction and climate change and that the links between racial and environmental injustice must be addressed.
Reversing the threats from “Climate Change” or “Global Warming” calls for dramatic changes in our personal and collective behavior and policies. This will involve:
Restoring the Earth will require the active cooperation among all people, communities, and nations, with the greatest contribution from those groups that have both accumulated the greatest resources and contributed the most to our present crisis.
We pledge our support for such leadership, even as we continually examine our own lives for ways we can live in harmony with the earth.
David Snyder, Presiding Clerk
David Finke, Clerk of Peace Building and Justice Committee
Adopted by Oberlin Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends March 20, 2021
Broadmead: Our Earthcare Interest Group meets on a periodic basis to discuss concerns and interests of our members. Since we don’t have a meeting house, we don’t have building issues to address. When possible, most of us carpool to meeting activities when they are held out of town. We try to minimize use of disposables at our potlucks.
Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor Meeting is actively considering the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2030. We also have a Carbon Footprint Group of members who work together to reduce our individual carbon consumption, and a Voluntary Carbon Tax. The Earthcare Committee distributed the voluntary tax contribution fund for 2019 to three organizations: Michigan Interfaith Power and Light (MIPL), Mayan Power and Light, and the Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT). All of these three emphasize support for racially and economically disadvantaged communities.
For political action, we center our efforts through managing Michigan Quakers for Environmental Action (MQEA), which this year focuses on lobbying in support of bills on clean energy and clean water in the Michigan legislature.
The committee places major emphasis on issues of environmental and climate injustice. Our page on the AAFM website includes a set of readings and film resources, as well as links to climate action organizations, including those that are led by young people. The list emphasizes the spiritual foundations of Quaker environmental action. See our Resources on Earthcare and Environment.
North Columbus Monthly Meeting (NCMM): Our Peace and Social Action Committee meets monthly as is shown on our Columbus Meetup site (Peace & Social Action: NCMM). One current project is work on a proposed video called, “Planning Worlds Without War.” This explores Western inability to population plan consistent with earth care and peace care. It does so while addressing powerful questions raised by Eli Weisel and Oprah about genocide in their Youtube on Auschwitz. Some of us ponder whether earth care is possible as long as “population” remains a “flat earth” taboo?
Getting Started! Growing Our Sense of Spirit Home the Bioregional Way is a 29-page booklet prepared by the Lake Erie Yearly Meeting Earthcare Committee for attendees of Lake Erie Yearly Meeting in June, 2008. All are encouraged to read and be inspired by this friendly introduction to our local environment.
Download the booklet here (3.9 MB pdf)
Friends are encouraged to contact your government representatives with your concerns about environmental issues.
Jon Sommer
Email sommerjs at bluffton.edu
419 358-0950
LEYM Bookstore
Valerie Groszmann
Email valerie.groszmann at gmail.com
The materials on this page are provided by LEYM’s Advancement & Outreach Committee
A list of suggestions for strengthening your meeting or worship group and making it more open and welcoming Updated 2017 (DOC)
What Makes a Welcoming Meeting graphic illustration (with a focus on youth inclusion) and Inclusion 101 (an audio podcast from 2020) from Forward in Faithfulness provides lots of good ideas based on an extensive listening project among Friends.
To Those Attending Our Meeting For The First Time (text you can use as is or customize; 2017; DOCX)
Transforming Quaker Welcoming — Greeting Diverse Newcomers – link to FGC site 2017
Reaching out to all ages: The 45-Yard Line – link to Emily Provance’s blog (2018)
Strengthening Our Meetings: The Inreach-Outreach Workshop Updated 2017 (DOCX)
Creating & Maintaining a Meeting Web Site Updated 2017 (PDF)
Readings on Quakerism: Where to Start (PDF) – A short article printed in the Winter 2006 Bulletin.
Ready to Print Business Cards: What Do Quakers Say? You can print meeting information on the back. Never out of date.
Survival Sourcebook: The Care and Maintenance of Small Meetings and Worship Groups (PDF)
North Pacific Yearly Meeting Outreach Committee
2nd Edition, 1990
This document is somewhat dated. In particular, the lists of resources are mostly out of date, and no mention is made of the internet. Minor errors have been introduced by the process of converting the printed text into an electronic file. However, there are many helpful pieces in it that small meetings and worship groups can benefit from. Posted by permission of North Pacific Yearly Meeting’s Outreach & Visitation Committee
Website of Quaker Communications & Outreach (originally a Facebook group)
Materials from New England Yearly Meeting
Materials from Friends General Conference
Outreach web page
Newcomers Cards: a series of free cards available for print by meetings. These simple cards are good, brief introductions suitable to hand out to newcomers. They can also be purchased from the FGC Bookstore. Topics include: You are Welcome Here, Quaker Worship, What Do Quakers Believe, Quakers and Prayer, How Quaker Meetings Work, and Quaker Testimonies.
Grow Our Meetings toolkit: Inreach, Outreach, and Integrating Newcomers. Guidance and tools for Friends who want to deepen their own spiritual life, welcome new life into their meetings, consider what it’s like to be new in a meeting, and do outreach.
You Are Welcome Here – A Booklet of Learnings from QuakerQuest
Build It: A Toolkit for Nurturing Intergenerational Spiritual Community: The Youth Ministries Program of FGC collects here their best practices for nurturing intergenerational spiritual community. The toolkit includes resources, activities, games, advice, and the skit, “A Short History of Quakerism in 10 Easy Points.” Both practical and fun, it is useful for nurturing spiritual community among all ages.
(from “Info” section of website)
Brief on Quaker Worship (PDF)
Brief on How Quakers Conduct Business (PDF)
Brief on Quaker Beliefs in Action (PDF)
In worship, Friends gather in silent, expectant waiting for guidance. We hold ourselves open to the Light and reach for the divine center of our being. We know the center to be a place of peace, love, and balance, where we are at one with the universe and with each other.
We know from experience that revelation is continuing and that a divine power is at work in the world today, healing, guiding, gathering, and transforming. We call this power God, the Light, Christ, the Seed, the Holy Spirit, the Inward Teacher. By whatever name it is known, its nature is love. It draws us toward a life of integrity, simplicity, equality, community, and peace.
Our meetings strive to be loving, nurturing communities. We celebrate diversity and encourage each person to find his or her true voice grounded in experience. We listen deeply to the Spirit and to each other as we seek to discern and embrace God’s will for us individually and as a community. Two things distinguish Quakers from other Protestant churches: our traditional style of worship, and our group method of making decisions.
We warmly invite you to join us.
Few of the Friends in Lake Erie Yearly Meeting were raised as Quakers. Our meetings have people who have come from a variety of backgrounds: Methodist, Catholic, Jewish, atheist, Buddhist, as well as other religious groups and denominations. Some have had no religious upbringing. Others have previously experienced religious alienation. Consequently, we tend to have a wide range of religious thinking within our meetings.
Worship is at the heart of all that Quakers do and are. From their beginning, Quakers adopted worship practices with a minimum of planned events, instead relying on direct revelation by the Holy Spirit to the worshipers gathered in silent expectation.
Quakers call their services “meeting for worship”. The following attempts to briefly describe worship in Lake Erie Yearly Meeting and among other Friends who practice unprogrammed worship based in silence. There are other groups of Quakers that use a format for worship more like other Protestant church services.
The community gathers together in a waiting, expectant spirit. Worship happens in silent waiting upon insight from God. A participant may feel led to share a message with those present. There may be many, few, or no such messages, which Friends call “vocal ministry”. The meeting concludes when the person with responsibility for closing the worship discerns that the meeting has drawn to an end. Worship usually lasts about an hour.
You are encouraged to explore ways to center down. Centering means entering deep stillness. The idea is to clear one’s mind of chatter and to concentrate on listening to God.
Each person finds his or her own way of centering down. Here are a few possibilities that have been found helpful.
There are many more ways to help you center. If you find your mind wandering, don’t worry about it. Gently bring your focus back to being open to God. The ability to stay focused develops over time.
Centering leads to worship. It is not a time for “thinking,” for deliberate, intellectual exercise. It is a time for spiritual receptivity. The aim is not to think about things, but to experience God’s presence. If someone gives a message, listen carefully and non-judgmentally as they share their experience of the Divine.
If no one approaches you after worship, ask anyone, such as the person sitting next to you. Or seek out the person who closed meeting (started the hand-shaking), who gave announcements, or who identified him or herself as the Clerk. If the first person you ask can’t answer your question, ask them to direct you to the Clerk or someone else who does know. Because Quakers are organized non-hierarchically, it can take a couple of tries to find someone to connect with who can answer your questions.
If you are bringing children or youth, it is wise to check the meeting’s web site or call the meeting’s contact person in advance to find out what provisions the meeting makes. Many meetings follow the practice of having children and youth sit with the adults for the first or last quarter hour, then offer some kind of programming for the rest of the time.
Friends tend to be informal. Jeans, slacks, or a skirt and a top are fine. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in.
Friends’ decision-making is based on communal discernment of where God is leading us. Discernment involves careful listening and recognizing God-inspired leadings. Discernment offers tools to distinguish between an interior leading from God and a worldly impulse such as a desire to feel important or look clever.
In meeting for worship, Friends can come into a powerful experience of unity. The same unifying spirit of worship is the basis for Friends’ decision-making. Quakers do not decide by voting. Instead, we look for a unity deeper than majority rule.
Local congregations, called “meetings,” usually schedule time once a month to hear reports and make decisions (which is why they’re called “monthly meetings”). Each monthly meeting appoints a clerk, a treasurer, and whatever other officers it finds useful, including a recording clerk (secretary). It also appoints committees to perform tasks that the meeting wants done. Typical committees include Ministry & Nurture which serves pastoral functions; Finance; Peace & Social Concerns; Building & Grounds; etc. The officers are servants of the meeting. The clerk’s task is to help those present at a business meeting discern the will of God. The recording clerk takes minutes.
Everyone who attends worship is encouraged to come to business meeting, which functions as a committee of the whole. Often referred to as Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, the proceedings are held in a worshipful attitude. Items to be decided may deal with membership, finance, community building, the quality of worship, appointments, action to be taken to further the cause of peace in the world, or other matters. Many issues are considered by a committee before being presented to the whole body, and part of the committee’s responsibility is to recommend how the meeting might proceed. Controversial items are presented and discussed among those in the meeting well in advance of the business session so Friends can come to the business meeting prepared with sufficient information and prayerful consideration to engage in group discernment.
The business meeting begins with silent worship. When the clerk judges the meeting is ready, he or she begins the business meeting. The clerk will usually go over the agenda and then present the first item for consideration. People who have something to contribute speak one at a time and allow silent reflection between comments. The clerk can pull together and summarize feelings which are being expressed in the meeting. The meeting seeks to come to an understanding of where God is leading the group. When those present agree on the sense of the meeting, it is written down in the form of a minute and those present are asked to approve it. The next item is then presented.
Ideally, Friends come to business meeting in a prayerful, open state of mind ready to listen attentively to others and to the Spirit. We may express contradictory views, but do not argue with one another. We state what we want to say frankly and briefly without belittling each other.
Because Friends place such a high value on unity, we are willing to wait until we can agree on a decision before moving ahead. This may seem impractical, not to mention exasperating in how long it seems to take to come to a decision. Implementation, however, may go quickly. If we imagine a line with “idea” on one end and “implementation” on the other, the distance between the two remains the same no matter when the group chooses to make a decision. If the group uses majority rule, the decision can be made when just over half the group agrees to vote in the same way. We might chart it like this:
The distance from decision to implementation is still considerable. The majority may have to tow a significant minority, many of them dragging their feet, to the point of implementation. The losers feel defeated and may resist or even sabotage the practical policy resulting from the decision.
When all consent to the decision, however, we might chart the process like this:
The distance from idea to decision seems immense, but once the decision is reached, the group may proceed directly to implementation. All can feel ownership of the process and of the decision. There are no disgruntled minorities determined to undermine the success of the policy. The group need not be divided into quarreling factions. No one need feel compromised or marginalized. A stronger sense of community results.
Yes. You are welcome to attend. In fact, attenders who apply for membership are expected to have participated in business meetings.
This varies greatly from place to place and depends on how much business there is. Business meetings seldom take less than an hour and may run two or three hours. Check with the clerk of your meeting.
No. As with any Meeting for Worship you are under no obligation to do anything other than to support the work going forward by your presence.
Note: Portions of this text on business practices are based on Silence and Witness: The Quaker Tradition, by Michael L. Birkel, 2004, ISBN 1-57075-518-3. Used by permission. Other parts of this text are based on a document written and produced by Friends and Attenders from Glasgow Meeting, Scotland. Found at www.qis.net/~daruma/business.html 10/05.
Our denomination’s official name is “The Religious Society of Friends.” We got nicknamed “Quakers” when we were getting started in England in the 1650s. Nowadays, we call ourselves both “Friends” and “Quakers.”
Most faith groups have specific beliefs that their members are expected to follow. Quakers rely heavily instead upon spiritual discernment by individual members, congregations, and regional assemblies. This makes Quaker beliefs difficult to describe. The following attempts to briefly describe Quaker beliefs and practices in Lake Erie Yearly Meeting. Some groups of Quakers differ significantly from what is described below.
Quaker spirituality is both inward and outward. Friends have always expected the Holy Spirit to transform individuals and then guide them into ways to transform society. The mystical stream in Quakerism has a profound ethical dimension. In worship together Friends have experienced not only wordless union with God but also practical leadings to engage in concrete actions.
Friends have always held dear the belief that the Light would bring them into unity. Their pattern of worship is contemplative yet corporate, blossoming into experiences of deep communion and community. Similarly, Quakers have expected this Light to lead them in the same direction and toward the same goals. Because revelation is continuing, new leadings will come, but because the Spirit is consistent, certain principles will prevail. Friends have called these principles “testimonies” because they witness to the wider world of the power of God to transform individuals and human society.
The testimonies are radically counter-cultural. They challenge the values of a society based on unbridled greed, distrust, violence, and oppression. They are rooted in love for God and one’s neighbors.
The testimonies challenge us to live our lives as God would wish us to. Testimonies bear witness to the truth as Friends in community perceive it — truth known through relationship with God. Some key testimonies are integrity, simplicity, equality, peace, and care for creation.
Integrity. Integrity means to speak and behave so there is no slippage between what you say and what you do. It means to be honest in all dealings and tell the truth on all occasions.
Simplicity. Quaker understanding of simplicity has changed over time. Earliest Friends opposed luxury and waste. In the eighteenth century, simplicity became a code of plain dress and speech. Today, simplicity is understood to have to do with trust and with focus. A simple life is one that enables one to keep God at the center. Friends have also come to see simplicity as linked with the commitment to social justice and to responsible stewardship of God’s good creation.
Here are ten principles for a simple life:
Summarized from Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, by Richard Foster.
Equality. Since every person has a spark of the Divine, Quakers emphasize that all people are equal before God. We welcome to our fellowship and worship all persons of whatever sexual orientation, race, religion or gender.
Peace. Since every person has a spark of the Divine, Friends are opposed to the taking of life, even in war or civil strife.
Community. Quakers seek to create a beloved community in their meetings and hope to influence the wider community to become one as well.
A consequence of Friends’ search for truth is that scientific discoveries do not challenge the basis of our faith. Like the scientific method, Quaker faith and practice rely upon experience as a guide. We come to know truth experientially. The search for truth is more important to us than the maintenance of beliefs, so we try to remain open to new approaches to the truth.
Quakers attempt to live by our testimonies. Much of our ministry is carried out within our families, places of work, and through our community involvements. Over the years, Quakers have worked for prison reform, the abolition of slavery, an end to the death penalty, civil rights, right sharing of the world’s resources, stewardship of the earth, peaceful conflict resolution, religious liberty, and have advocated for alternative service for those whose conscience forbids them to kill others in war. Quakers have ministered to the needy, especially victims of war.
As you come to know us better, you will discover our shortcomings, our faults, and our failures. We have high ideals, but do not always live up to them. We are on a lifelong journey toward truth and fulfillment-a journey made more meaningful and easier by the companionship of other seekers.
Note: Portions of this text are quoted or paraphrased from Silence and Witness: The Quaker Tradition, by Michael L. Birkel, 2004, ISBN 1-57075-518-3. Used by permission.
In addition to worship and business, monthly meetings may sponsor a variety of activities, which might include:
LEYM has prepared an annotated list of Quaker-related web links which is available here.
A delightful introduction to Quaker jargon is provided in this Glossary of Quaker terms originally published by Friends General Conference.
The online encyclopedia Wikipedia provides an entry on Quakers that is a useful starting place for exploring Quakerism as a whole.
An online library of Quaker Writings is available at the Inward Light website.
Other rich sources of information include the Quaker.org website and the Friends General Conference website’s The Quaker Way section.
Quakers who practice worship based in silence call the local congregation “the meeting” and call the building they use “the meeting house”. This is because we consider “the church” to be the people. Meetings are usually named for their geographic location, such as Pittsburgh Monthly Meeting or Pine River Monthly Meeting. Meetings usually gather for worship once a week and hold business meetings once a month (which is why they are called monthly meetings).
The monthly meeting is the primary unit and is where the most important decisions are made. Each meeting appoints a clerk, a treasurer, and whatever other officers it finds useful, including a recording clerk (secretary). It also appoints committees to perform tasks that the meeting wants done. Appointments are for one, two, or three years. Typical committees include Ministry & Nurture which serves pastoral functions; Finance; Peace & Social Concerns; Building & Grounds; etc.
The officers are servants of the meeting. The clerk’s task is to help those present at a business meeting discern the will of God. The recording clerk takes minutes. The treasurer and any other officers act as directed by the meeting.
Meetings in a geographic region will band together in a regional organization in order to work together on issues of common concern. Lake Erie Yearly Meeting has member meetings throughout Ohio and lower Michigan as well as the western part of Pennsylvania. It holds an annual gathering for business and fellowship (which is why it’s called a yearly meeting). All the members of the monthly meetings are encouraged to attend yearly meeting sessions.
Lake Erie Yearly Meeting is affiliated with Friends General Conference (FGC), a Quaker service organization for unprogrammed meetings in the U.S. FGC publishes books and educational materials, organizes an annual conference, and provides other services to its affiliated yearly meetings.
The Lake Erie Yearly Meeting Spiritual Formation Program encourages Friends to listen carefully to God’s call in their lives. All who wish to deepen their spiritual lives are invited to join a Spiritual Formation Group.
This includes participation in a local group and attendance at both an opening and closing retreat along with members of other spiritual formation groups.
Through the retreats and regular local group meetings, participants create a close faith community for spiritual growth, mutual support, and encouragement. The group provides a structured, supportive community in which each member can discern the Divine call and prepare to follow it.
For general information on the program, please view this Brochure for Spiritual Formation, saved as a pdf file.
During our annual sessions, we write an epistle to other Friends around the world. Here are recent Epistles.
2024 Annual Sessions
Friends Together: Outpourings of the Spirit
June 13-16, 2024
Ashland University, Ashland Ohio
Plenary Speaker – Paulette Meier with Joann Neuroth
Plenary Talk: Opening To and Pouring Out the Spirit through Contemplative Communal Chant
See 2024 Welcome Video here.
2023 Annual Sessions
Navigating Anew
June 15-18, 2023
Ashland University, Ashland Ohio
Plenary Speaker – Emily Provance
See 2023 Welcome Video here.
2022 Annual Sessions
Many Roots, One Tree
July 27-31, 2022
Online via Zoom (see 2022 webpage and Welcome Video)
Plenary Speaker – Christian Acemah
Plenary Talk: What Lies Within This Tree with Many Roots?
2021 Annual Sessions
Healing Through Truth
July 28 – Aug 1, 2021
Online via Zoom – (see 2021 annual session website)
Plenary Speaker – Paula Palmer
Plenary Talk: Healing through Truth with Native Peoples
2020 Annual Sessions
Letting Go: Listening with Whole Hearts & Open Minds
July 30-August 2, 2020
Online via Zoom (see 2020 calendar of events)
Plenary Speaker: Thomas Taylor (Ann Arbor Friends Meeting)
2019 Annual Sessions
Do Justice, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with God: Finding our calling in disturbing times
July 25-28, 2019
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Joyce Ajlouny of AFSC
Plenary Talk: It Takes Courage: Quaker Values in Action
Video of 2019 Plenary Session Presentation by Joyce Ajlouny.
2018 Annual Meeting
Building the Beloved Community: Who is My Neighbor?
July 26-29, 2018
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Yvette Shipman
Interview with Yvette Shipman – Being a Good Neighbor Takes Practice
2017 Annual Meeting
Quakers into the New Millenium
July 27-30, 2017
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Greg Woods
Plenary Talk: Reviving Quakerism in the New Millennium
2016 Annual Meeting
What Would John Woolman Do?
July 28-31, 2016
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Natalie Finegar, Deputy District Public Defender for Baltimore City
Plenary Talk: Baltimore’s Uprising: A Window into the Flawed Justice System that Perpetuates Racial Inequalities
2015 Annual Meeting
Sowing the Seeds of Friendship
July 30 – Aug. 2, 2015
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Merry Stanford
Plenary Talk: Unconventional Joy: The Scandalous Ministry of Befriending
2014 Annual Meeting
Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges
July 24 – 27, 2014
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Scilla Wahrhaftig
2013 Annual Meeting
Growing in Grace: LEYM Celebrates 50 Years
July 25-28, 2013
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speakers: Conleth Crotser (Cleveland), John Howell (Athens), Don Nagler (Pine River), and Abbey Pratt-Harrington (Athens)
2012 Annual Meeting
Finding Our Way: The Process of Discernment
July 26–29, 2012
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Brent Bill
2011 Annual Meeting
Mindful Consumption as a Spiritual Practice
July 28–31, 2011
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Sally Weaver Sommer
2010 Annual Meeting
Where There are Shadows, There is also Light
July 29–August 1, 2010
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Lloyd Lee Wilson
Plenary Talk: A Letter of Encouragement in Discouraging Times
2009 Annual Meeting
Reflecting Light: Seeing Ourselves in the Other
June 11–14, 2009
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Max Carter
Plenary Topic: On Meeting with the Other: Peacemaking Lessons from Quaker Work in the Midwest and Middle East
2008 Annual Meeting
Peacemaking from the Inside Out
June 12–15, 2008
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Helen Horn
Plenary Topic: Centered Enough for Peacemaking?
2007 Annual Meeting
Living Our Witness to Peace
June 14–17, 2007
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Mary Lord
Plenary Topic: Finding Peace – Healing the Brokenness
2006 Annual Meeting
Moved by Faith Within Community
June 15–18, 2006
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Michael Wajda
2005 Annual Meeting
The Ground of our Being: Listening to Earth and Spirit
June 16–19, 2005
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Kim Carlyle
2004 Annual Meeting
Integrity: Growing Wholeness from Our Roots
June 17–20, 2004
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Michael Birkel
2003 Annual Meeting
Engaging Fear with Spirit
June 19–22, 2003
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary: Panel discussion on theme
2002 Annual Meeting
Testimonies, where Quaker rubber hits the road: Moving from talking the talk to walking the walk
June 13–16, 2002
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Steve Morehouse
2001 Annual Meeting
Individual Will, Corporate Worship, Corporate Decision-Making
June 14–17, 2002
Bluffton University, Bluffton, Ohio
Plenary Speaker: Marty Grundy
Plenary Topic: Some Thoughts on the Relationship between an Individual and the Meeting
We invite you to join us in Ashland Ohio for this year’s annual meeting June 12-15, 2025, where we will explore the theme of “Mending Our Nets: The Power of Becoming Whole.” This gathering offers a space to reflect on the brokenness we encounter—within ourselves, our communities, and the world—and to consider how we might repair, restore, and reweave the fabric of our lives with intention and grace. Full information and registration is found at the 2025 Annual Meeting Page.
Drawing inspiration from our Quaker heritage, as described by Frances Howgill at Firbank Fell, we will delve into the spiritual and practical work of healing, guided by worship, workshops (see 2025 offerings), and meaningful dialogue. Our plenary presenter will be Pamela Haines from Central Philadelphia Meeting. Pamela is a Quaker writer, activist, earthcare advocate and workshop leader, focused on community building and economic justice. Together, we’ll seek to understand how we can be instruments of wholeness in a fractured world. Whether you’re a longtime Friend or new to the Quaker way, we welcome you to this opportunity for renewal and connection.
A new opportunity this year will be Bible Study sessions offered by Doug Gwyn, a retired Friends/Quaker minister and former scholar in residence at Pendle Hill with deep experience in pastoral ministry, peace education, teaching and research-based writing and theology. His recent work has explored some of the communing/commonist movements today that seek to define and protect various natural and cultural resources as a common heritage among all the species of life on earth, connecting it to early Quaker movements with similar impulses. You can see some of his many publications at the website douglasgwyn.life
We welcome all ages to come with open hearts and minds as we explore the transformative power of mending—not just to restore what was, but to create something stronger and more beautiful. Save the date now and look for more information about the full program and registration process in the next issue of the Bulletin.
About the Location
Ashland University is situated in the charming small town of Ashland Ohio located about halfway between Cleveland and Columbus. Friends appreciated the compact campus, easy parking, centralized space for meeting and socializing, and good food. We also greatly enjoyed partnering with the Ashland Center for Nonviolence which was founded by the late LEYM Friend John Stratton.
Every year, Lake Erie Yearly Meeting gathers from Thursday through Sunday to conduct business, worship together, and experience the Spirit’s movement among us. While the purpose of the gathering is to conduct yearly meeting business, the four days also include worship sharing, programs for children and teens (when we are meeting in-person), a plenary presentation, workshops, committee meetings, and many opportunities for getting to know Friends throughout the yearly meeting and from various Quaker organizations. Books of interest to Friends are available for sale. We are eager to welcome newcomers and greet old Friends. See you soon!
Members and attenders of LEYM meetings and worship groups are invited to attend. Visitors from outside LEYM often include staff or representatives from various Quaker organizations such as FGC, FWCC, and FCNL.
Upcoming dates:
2025 June 12 – 15 – In-person at Ashland University, Ashland OH
For many years, our Annual Sessions had been regularly held on the campus of Bluffton University, a Mennonite college in Bluffton, Ohio.
Young adults in LEYM form a cohesive group at Annual Meeting from time to time. If you are interested in participating or pulling a group together, contact:
Sally Weaver Sommer
sommerjs at bluffton.edu
419 358-0950
Check out the FGC-sponsored Quakeryouth.org site for pictures and an idea of what is happening with Young Friends.
