Head of Meeting: Georgianna Z. On March 26, Dough S.

Pastoral Care: If you have concerns about personal issues or questions about membership, Bethesda Friends Meeting, or Quaker faith and practice, please be in touch with today's Friendly Ear (a member of the Pastoral Care Committee, see your email bulletin and the person will be introduced at the end of Worship each Sunday).

The Social Concern for March is Bethesda Help. Hunger in our community comes in many forms and is probably more widespread than most of us realize. Approximately 63,000 of our neighbors in Montgomery County are not always sure where their next meal is coming from. Bethesda Help offers immediate short-term food, financial assistance for rent (to prevent eviction), utility bills (to prevent service interruption), and prescription medicines (as needed) to residents in southern Montgomery County.

To donate to this Social Concern, please go to: www.bethesdafriends.org. Be sure to designate that your contribution is for the social concern. You're also welcome to donate to Bethesda Friends Meeting directly to support all Meeting activities via the same methods (online or by check).

Meeting for Worship:  Bethesda Friends worship together each Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Friends can participate remotely via Zoom or meet in person at the Meeting House.

Participating in worship via Zoom. Friends wishing to join Meeting for Worship remotely can do so via Zoom.  If you'd like the Zoom link for online worship with our community, please use our "Contact us" form and tell us about your interest in Bethesda Friends. We welcome your joining us.  

Participating in worship at the Meeting House. Friends are invited to gather in person for Meeting for Worship at the Meeting House. We are currently in COVID Risk Level 1. The policies for Risk Level 1 are included at the end of this bulletin. For the most recent guidelines, visit the BFM website's COVID Update.

Childcare during Meeting for Worship:  Childcare is available during Meeting for Worship from 10:45 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. Two paid childcare providers and two BFM volunteers will supervise play; children under 5 years of age (weekly) and children in kindergarten through 8th grade (on non-First Day School weeks) will be supervised separately, each group with one paid provider and one volunteer. Children two years and older may need to wear a mask while on campus depending on the current COVID Risk Level. Please volunteer to assist with supervision by contacting Lee or Laura using our "Contact us" form. 

First Day School during Meeting for Worship:   FDS classes for children in kindergarten through 8th grade will generally be held during Meeting for Worship on the first and third Sundays of each month. Sign in for FDS begins at 10:50 a.m. 

Junior Young Friends (JYF) Conference A JYF Conference will be held Saturday, March 18 at 11:00 a.m. through Sunday, March 19 at 12:00 p.m. at Friends Meeting of Washington in D.C. JYF conferences or “cons” are weekend retreats held at different Quaker Meetinghouses throughout the school year for 6th - 8th graders. Cons are a way to see friends from other Meetings or camp, make new friends, and retreat from the pressures of pre-teen life, while still developing skills around living in community and having a lot of fun. 

Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival and Forum AFSC and the Black Quaker Project have organized a screening and discussion of films about prominent Black Quakers for Saturday afternoons at 1:00 p.m. via Zoom every other Saturday beginning on February 4 and ending on April 8. On March 4, the film is Sisters in Freedom honoring Sarah Mapps Douglass. On March 18, the film is Benjamin Banneker: The Man Who Loves the Stars. The sessions are free, but you must register for each session at this link.  

Spiritual Coffeehouse. On Sunday, March 19, at rise of Meeting we will create space for the Spirit to speak to the community at a Spiritual Coffeehouse. During this time you are encouraged to share writings, poems, artwork, music, photography, and anything else (your own or that of others) that speaks to your spirit. Offerings are encouraged but not required. We will use a hybrid format for the spiritual coffeehouse, both in-person and via Zoom. If using Zoom, please stay on the Meeting for Worship link. For more information, please contact us using our "Contact us" form.

On Exploring the Roots of Religion. A group meets weekly via Zoom on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. for a half hour lecture and a half hour discussion using a lecture series from Great Courses titled On Exploring the Roots of Religion. For more information including the Zoom meeting information, please contact us using our "Contact us" form.

FCNL Supporting Friends Discernment on Reproductive Health On March 22 at 6:30 p.m., please join members of Friends Committee on National Legislation's (FCNL's) Policy Committee for perspectives and advice on engaging your Quaker meeting or church in discernment to guide FCNL’s policy around issues of reproductive health care, including abortion, going forward. Speakers will include BFM member Lauren Brownlee. For more information and to register, please visit this 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. While some of our regulars prefer to simply join in Spirit at the appointed time, others enjoy the brief connection provided by an email at the start and end of worship. At rise of meeting, those on that session's email list who are moved to do so may share experiences by reply-all. Contact Dot L. for more information.

Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) Interim Meeting will be held Saturday, March 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in a hybrid format at Friends Meeting of Washington (FMW) and via Zoom. Friends will gather in worship at 9:30 a.m. and Meeting for Worship for the Conduct of Business will start at 10:00 a.m. Light hospitality will be provided by FMW. Attendance is open to all and offers a chance to get to know Friends from across the Yearly Meeting and be part of the decision-making. For more information, please contact us using our "Contact us" form. 

Peace and Social Justice Meeting on Reproductive Justice The P&SJ Committee will be discussing Reproductive Justice on March 26 at 9:00 a.m. via Zoom at this link in response to a request from FCNL for input on their Policy Note on Reproductive Healthcare. This meeting arises from concern from F(f)riends around the world about the lack of a clear policy position on reproductive health issues following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Additional information may be found here and here. The meeting will include discussion of F(f)riends discernment on this issue and all interested are welcome and encouraged to attend. 

Coordinating Gathering Representatives of most BFM committees will meet Sunday March 26 at 1:00 p.m. to discuss the upcoming Meeting for Business agenda. These meetings are open to all who wish to attend. For more information including the Zoom link, please contact us using our "Contact us" form.

Experiment with Light is a meditative and centering practice based upon Rex Ambler’s book Light to Live By, which describes early Quaker meditative habits and translates them into a highly accessible process of clearness and understanding. There will be a session on Sunday February 12 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. Starting at 7:30 p.m., you can follow the prompts at home and write or draw responses you have experienced during those prompts: https://experiment-with-light.org.uk/meditations/. We usually use the meditation on the individual in modern language, full length, 37 minute version. For more information including the Zoom meeting information, please contact us using our "Contact us" form.

COVID-19 Rules for In-Person Meeting for Worship:   

• Full vaccination against COVID-19 is recommended.
• Face masking is optional. Food and drink are allowed.
• You must self-screen based on COVID symptoms or exposure. You may not attend in-person Meeting for Worship if you have a fever, have COVID symptoms, have tested positive for COVID, or have been exposed in the past 10 days to an individual testing positive for, or displaying symptoms of, COVID.
• You must sign in on a simple sign-in sheet.
• Prompt notification of a positive Covid test after attending required. Please send any positive test notification via email to covid.committee@bethesdafriends.org, or call one of the Meeting co-clerks. BFM will provide notice to others who attended the same meeting (but will not identify the person testing positive)

Click here for current rules and BFM's full Covid-19 information and policy.