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Spiritual State of the Meeting (SSOM)

Spiritual State of the Meeting (SSOM)

(The SSOM is drafted in February/March and finalized in April 2025)

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SEEKING INPUT ON THE SPIRITUAL STATE OF OUR MEETING (SSOM)

Dear Friends:

Each year, the Ministry and Worship Committee gathers input on the spiritual state of the meeting and develops a report for consideration by the Meeting. To frame these discussions, we develop queries on how friends are feeling about their participation in Bethesda Friends Meeting (BFM), what is working or not working, and how we might provide the best possible spiritual nurture. We truly value every response we get and hope you will give us your views.

Queries on which we invite input in 2025 are set out below

1. Our aspiration as a Quaker community is that all our members and attenders feel welcomed, respected and spiritually nurtured in our Meetings for Worship.  How are we doing?  What more might we do?

2. What makes (or would make) the BFM Meeting for Worship so meaningful for you that you wouldn’t want to miss it?

If you are a newcomer, how might we help you find spiritual nurture in Meeting for Worship, and feel more included in our community?
If you are not a newcomer, do you have ideas about this you would like to share?

3. How do we welcome and support new attenders? How can we help them find spiritual nurture in Meeting for Worship?

If you are a newcomer, how might we help you find spiritual nurture in Meeting for Worship, and feel more included in our community?
If you are not a newcomer, do you have ideas about this you would like to share?

4. How do we maintain the spirit of openness and humility as we proclaim our testimonies and live them?

You do not need to respond to each of the queries; we welcome input on those that resonate with you.

Pathways to provide input include the following

1) At our regular monthly Meeting for Business on February 2 (9:00 a.m.), we hope there will be time for worship sharing on these queries.
2) We will host a discussion at 9:15 a.m. on February 9 at the Meeting House with a Zoom option. The Zoom link will be the same one as for Meeting for Worship, found in your weekly Bulletin (or use our Contact Us Form).
3) At our monthly potluck lunch on February 16 after worship, members of the Ministry and Worship Committee will host tables for those wishing to share their responses to the queries.
4) We will solicit input from each of the BFM committees.
5) We welcome you to provide input on these queries by email to ministry-worship@bethesdafriends.org.
6) Should you prefer to provide anonymous responses, you can do so at this link: https://forms.gle/2jcucsyE1LqsFS4WA
7) We also welcome you to provide input directly to any member of the Ministry and Worship Committee. (See your Directory for their emails.)

We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you! -- from the BFM Ministry and Worship Committee

Bernie Benson	Doug Stern	Eric Sterling	Georgianna Ziegler	Gale Thompson
Jabez McClelland	Linda Mack	Margaret Benefiel	Peter Jenkins	Stephanie Koenig

A first reading of the SSOM report will be held at the March 2025

Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business, with a second reading in April.

After approval, it is forwarded to and archived by the Baltimore Yearly Meeting.

Bethesda Friends Meeting

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 30152, Bethesda MD 20824

Our Meetinghouse is on the campus of the Sidwell Friends Lower School at the intersection of Edgemoor Lane and Beverly Road in Bethesda, Maryland

We are a member organization of the Religious Society of Friends

www.bethesdafriends.org
301-986-8681
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