Monthly Meetings

• Everything we do springs from the spiritual foundation of our weekly Meeting for Worship.

• The connection to God that we experience in worship is both the foundation and the ultimate authority.

• This power is held collectively by the Body – no single person or group of people holds authority – authority springs from our shared connection to the Divine.

• We meet weekly for worship, and Monthly to conduct Business – hence the name Monthly Meetings. Quarterly Meetings

• Friends were led to gather into Quarterly Meetings, to facilitate work, pool talents and traditionally to deepen the discernment of particularly sticky issues across Monthly Meetings.

• Quarterly Meetings generally meet 4 times a year.

• In the same spirit, Friends in New England are led to gather across the region to accomplish what Meetings and Quarters cannot do by themselves. • The Yearly Meeting runs Youth Programs, Friends Camp, and holds Living Faith Gatherings, along with myriad workshops and retreats. • Friends from across NEYM come together to create and revise Faith and Practice. • The Yearly Meeting meets each year in early August to conduct Business and share the Life and Spirit that moves among us. • The business that is conducted during Yearly Meeting sessions takes place on the same terms as business that is conducted in our monthly meetings. • Those who are in the room endeavor to listen to the movement of the Spirit, and to proceed accordingly. New England Yearly Meeting is:

Over 5,000 people living our faith in the Quaker tradition across the six New England states

More than 90 local Quaker congregations where the practice of this faith is encouraged

An organization providing programs and services to liberate ministry and strengthen the Quaker movement The Yearly Meeting is not: · A legislature · A representational democratic body · A supervisory/governance body ASSOCIATIONS OF YEARLY MEETINGS

EXAMPLES:

FRIENDS GENERAL CONFERENCE (FGC)

FRIENDS UNITED MEETING (FUM)

EVANGELICAL FRIENDS CHURCH (EFC-NA)

FRIENDS WORLD COMMITTEE FOR CONSULTATION (FWCC) Associations of Yearly Meetings

• Friends United Meeting (FUM), Friends General Conference (FGC), and Evangelical Friends Church North America (EFC-NA) are some examples of North American Associations of Yearly Meetings. FUM also includes many yearly meetings in and . • Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), is an example of an International organization of Friends. Its purpose is to bring Friends together across our divides. • For example, the yearly celebration of World Quaker Day is part of the work done by FWCC to connect and celebrate Quaker congregations internationally. • New England Yearly meeting is affiliated with Friends United Meeting, Friends General Conference, and Friends World Committee for Consultation. • This affiliation means that New England Yearly Meeting is recognized as a participating member in each body. • There are deep spiritual, historical, and contemporary connections to these organizations within our Yearly Meeting. • Friends Associations do not control the practice of our faith: New England Yearly Meeting maintains our own Faith and Practice.