EVENTS THIS SUNDAY, November 17

Worship Sharing: Responding to Conflict in the World: This Sunday, November 17 at 9:30 a.m., both in-person and online, the Ministry and Worship Committee invites all who are burdened by sorrows, fears, and distress at this time of turmoil in the world -- to join together for worship sharing. Our intention is to create a space to listen deeply within ourselves and to one another as we share the burdens in our hearts and minds as well as our hopes and insights as to how we can feel supported by our faith and community. Please use our Contact Us form for the Zoom link.  A description of worship sharing is at the bottom of the page at this link.

Potluck: All are invited to attend Potluck in the Groome Building following Rise of Meeting this Sunday, November 17. Please bring a dish if you can, main, side, salad or dessert. The kitchen in the Groome Building will be open after 10:30 a.m. to keep dishes warm or cold. Please include with your dish a note of any possible dietetic concerns (contains nuts, Vegan, Gluten-free, etc.). If you run short of time, bring some fruit or a cold beverage, or just yourself. You’ll be very welcome. This month the Potluck is hosted by the F&H committee, with help from many volunteers. If you can help, or have questions, please call Peggy E.

AIM Statewide Action Event: Action in Montgomery will host an event on Sunday, November 17 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to meet with state leaders and plan the advocacy agenda for the 2025 legislative session. The event will be held at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center at 10431 Twin Rivers Road, Columbia, MD 21044. Please visit this link to register. For more information or to organize carpooling, contact Leslie S. or Alex B.

EVENTS COMING UP SOON (NOVEMBER 15 - NOVEMBER 26)

AFSC Action Hour for a Ceasefire in Gaza: Join American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) staff every Friday at 12:00 p.m. to hear updates from Gaza. Then, take action with us as we contact our elected officials and call for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian access to Gaza. Our elected officials need to keep hearing from us. To attend, please register at this link. 

Working Group on Racism Presentation - Transformational Conversations: On Saturday, November 16 at 10:00 a.m., via Zoom, Debby Irving will help Friends learn how to engage in transformational conversations. Many of us have not fully developed the insight, skill, and emotional stamina necessary to broach and navigate differences of perspective and opinion, especially when harm to a member of a marginalized group is part of the mix. There is a different way. This workshop will explore how to embed new, transformational norms into our personal and institutional practices. You can register here.

Friends Community School Open Houses: Friends Community School in College Park, MD is a K-8 Quaker progressive school that thoughtfully guides young children through adolescence, instilling compassion, curiosity, and confidence.  If you are interested in considering FCS for your child, please visit at 9:00 a.m. on November 19, December 7, or January 9 for an open house. Find details on the Admissions / Visit FCS page of the school website. The early application deadline (50% application fee) for the school is Monday, December 9, 2024. The regular application deadline is Friday, January 10, 2025. 

Manna Food Center Gathering for Jackie DeCarlo:  On November 19th from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Manna Food Center, a long-time beneficiary of BFM Peace and Social Justice investments, is hosting a farewell gathering for its CEO and Bethesda Friends member Jackie DeCarlo at its warehouse in Gaithersburg, MD.  All are welcome to meet with staff, volunteers, and partners for a casual send-off as she and wife Kristen chart next steps. Light refreshments will be served, and there will be opportunities to tour the Manna warehouse, which is the operational center of Manna’s mission to share food, educate, and advocate.   

Comparative Religions - Great Minds of the East: The Comparative Religions class starts a new course in September which will go through May 2025 - Great Minds of the Eastern Intellectual Tradition with 36 lectures by Professor Grant Hardy of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, through The Great Courses. This is a survey course which begins with the Vedas and Upanishads and ends with Sun Yat-sen and Mao Tsedong, covering Iran, India, China, Tibet, Korea, and Japan. We meet weekly on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom for a half-hour lecture followed by a half-hour discussion. All are welcome. If just a few topics seem interesting, you are welcome to just come for those. Please use our Contact Us form for the Zoom link.  

Bethesda Friends Meeting’s stay-at-home Mid-Week Worship by e-mail is on Wednesdays, from 8:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Each of us worships at home without video or audio, coordinating our timing by emails sent at the start and end of worship. To enhance our sense of gathering, the opening email lets us know who is present. At rise of meeting, participants are invited to worship- share with the group via reply-all. For details and the link, use our Contact Us form. 

AFSC Meeting for Worship re: Peace in Israel and Palestine: The violence in Palestine and Israel has impacted the AFSC community in many ways, all of them tragic and heartbreaking. Please join us every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. for a Meeting for Worship via Zoom, gathering in solidarity and holding those most impacted in the Light. All are invited. Please register at this link to receive the Zoom link to attend. 

BYM Young Friends Turkey Con: There will be a Young Friends Conference (Con) Friday, November 22 – Sunday, November 24 for high school-aged F(f)riends at Menallen Friends Meeting in Biglerville, PA.Transportation to Menallen Friends Meeting will be available from the BYM Office in Sandy Spring, MD.For details and to register please visit this link or email the Youth Programs Committee at YPC@bym-rsf.org. 

Peace and Social Justice Committee Meeting will take place at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 24 via Zoom. All members of the Bethesda Friends community are welcome to join us as we seek to deepen both individual's and the Meeting's engagement in peace building and social justice.  For details and the Zoom link, use our Contact Us form. 

Thanksgiving Spiritual Unity Feast: The Baha’i Community in Montgomery County. invites all to a Thanksgiving Spiritual Unity Feast via Zoom on Sunday, November 24 from 4:00 to 5:45 p.m. To register please visit this link.

Coordinating Gathering: Representatives of most BFM committees meet during the week before Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business to discuss the upcoming agenda, season issues before the Meeting, and discuss committee challenges if any. These meetings are open to all. There will be one on Sunday, November 24, at 1:00 p.m.  For details and the Zoom link, use our Contact Us form.  

Experiment with Light is a meditative and centering practice. There will be an online- only session Sunday, November 24 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Starting at 7:30 p.m., you can follow the prompts at home and write or draw responses you have experienced. We use the meditation on the individual in modern language, full length, 37-minute version. Around 8:30 p.m., if you would like to worship-share from your meditation experience, please join via Zoom. For details and the Zoom link, use our Contact Us form. 

Nice Racism Book Group Meeting: The next meeting of the monthly, year-long book study of Robin D’Angelo’s book Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm will meet at 8:00 p.m. on November 25. Please email Jonathan K. or Margaret B. for details.

FUTURE EVENTS TO PLAN AHEAD FOR 
Sacred Circle Dancing: There will be a Sacred Circle Dance on December 8 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Bethesda, MD. For more information, please contact Joan Clement at joan@chears.org.

BFM Christmas Pageant & Celebration: Planning is underway for the annual BFM Christmas Pageant to be held at the rise of meeting on December 15. This wonderful holiday tradition features performances by our First Day School students and a visiting orchestra directed by Ross Capon. Religious Education will also host a toy drive for a Wider Circle. Please join in our efforts by bringing unwrapped toys, games, or books to the Pageant to be distributed to children in need. 
 
Candlelight Meeting for Worship: We will have our traditional candlelight Meeting for Worship on Tuesday, December 17 at 8:00 p.m. The Meeting House will be open for those who wish to gather in person. For those on Zoom, please just let a candle or candles light your room, so that we can all share in the sense of candlelight together. The Zoom link will be shared in future bulletins.