Choices: Workshops, Worship Sharing, and Mealtime Opportunities at Sessions

Mealtime Opportunities

Looking to connect over a meal? Mealtime Opportunities are drop-in conversations at a designated table in the dining room. 

Note on timing of Mealtime Opportunities: Unless otherwise specified, Mealtime Opportunities begin at the following times: Breakfast 7:30 a.m.; Lunch 11:45 a.m.; Dinner 5:15 p.m. Participants are welcome to join the conversation as they are able (it's OK if you miss the start time).

Seeking to host an opportunity over a meal during Sessions? Propose one by completing this form and we will get back to you.  Note: Space is limited.

Workshops and Worship Sharing Details

Friday, July 31, 2026 from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.

[Zoom] Imagining a Better Future

Format: Zoom

Location: Zoom Room TBA (Zoom links for online offerings will be posted on the LinkTree shared with Sessions registrants).

Our present political and ecological crisis demands of us an understanding of what is a loving, powerful response. Our response needs to be guided by a sense of a better organization of society. The beloved community needs an organization framework. In this workshop, participating Friends will imagine together what will be required. Facilitated by Bruce Hawkins of Northampton (MA) Meeting.

[Zoom] How are we led? Witness & Direct Action Worship Sharing

Format: Zoom

Location:   Zoom Room TBA (Zoom links for online offerings will be posted on the LinkTree shared with Sessions registrants).

Hosted by the Israel-Palestine Resource Group, this is an opportunity to listen together for how we, as individuals and faith communities are led.  Featuring those who have traveled, participated in direct action, resisted war taxes and found other ways to express their Spirit-led response, it is also a time for deep listening and reflection.  All ages are welcome. Facilitated by Leslie Manning of Durham (ME) Meeting.

Friday, July 31, 2026 from 8:00 - 9:00 p.m.

What is Meeting for Worship Discussion (based on Four doors to Meeting for Worship)

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

Explore or revisit your experiences with Quaker worship. Drawing on the Pendle Hill Pamphlet by Bill Taber Four Doors to Meeting for Worship,  Friends will gather and be introduced (or re-introduced) to the concept of the four doors to worship.  Exploring quotes and queries, Friends will have the opportunity to share about and deepen their understanding of Friends’ worship. Facilitated by Ann Watkins of Westerly (RI) Meeting.

Saturday, August 1, 2026 from 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.

Energy Work with John Calvi 

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

John will introduce laying on of hands healing.  All are welcome. Facilitated by John Calvi of Putney (VT) Meeting. 

Living & Changing Practices in Quaker Ministry and Eldership

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

The vitality of our Quaker faith is nourished as members of the community welcome and encourage each other’s gifts and leadings.  The newly formed Ministry and Eldership Resource Group seeks to support this work in all the local meetings and quarters in New England. In this opportunity, we will use a worship sharing format to explore queries such as: How does your meeting notice, welcome, and nurture the spiritual gifts that are active or emerging in the life of the meeting community?  What practices, if any, have you developed that help Friends respond to the movement of the Spirit among you?  Facilitated by Janet Hough of Cobscook (ME) and Three Rivers Meetings.

"Whose land is it anyway?"

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

Through queries and small group sharing, the group will explore if and how we might be accountable for harms that resulted from actions of our spiritual ancestors. We will follow the questions and intuitions raised by participants’ own experiences and convictions. As time allows, we will consider issues like ‘stewardship and philanthropy or making amends for harm done’, our individual and collective relationship to money; and if we are making reparations whose money should be used for this purpose? Facilitated by Gordon Bugbee, Suzanna Schell, Mary Zwirner of Beacon Hill (MA) Meeting.

Let’s Get Curious about Identity, Power, and Privilege

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

We will explore the various identities we all carry (based, for example, on gender, race, religion, class, education, disability, and sexual identity), the places we fall on the spectrum of privilege and power within each of our identities, and how they interact within ourselves and among others. By engaging with real examples, such as YM business agenda items from the past or from our current agenda, we will look at how our identities impact our abilities to effect change and engage in difficult discernment as we address systemic structures that work against beloved community. Facilitated by Becky Jones and Celadry Humphries of Northampton (MA) Meeting and the Noticing Patterns Resource Group.

NEYM Board of Managers Annual Meeting

Format: Hybrid (on campus and on Zoom)

Location: TBA

We will provide details of the past year of investment strategy and performance, and all the recent operational and organizational changes to the Board of Managers and the NEYM Pooled Funds.  Meeting Clerks and Finance Clerks are especially welcome. Led by Erik Philbrook of Wellesley (MA) Meeting and Mike Shade of 15th Street (NY) Meeting. 

"The Peaceable Kindom unfolds..."  

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

From facilitator Reb MacKenzie of Quaker City Unity (VT) Meeting: I have found The Lord's Prayer of Love and Justice, a creative contemporary interpretation, is the backbone and companion to creating regenerative systemic change that is needed in our communities of faith and beyond. What  transformative awareness and action can be generated by an inspired journey of faithfulness? Join us for a presentation of one such journey that led to the Transformational Resilience Project and have an opportunity to share your own experience of outreach or ministry. What helps support your journey as a faithful change maker?  (note: Kindom is not misspelled)

Faith & Practice: Discussion of the Testimony Chapter

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

This Listening Session is an opportunity to give input to the Faith & Practice Testimony chapter coming to Sessions for preliminary approval. Bring your concerns, suggestions, or re-writes to the committee for consideration. Point person: Phebe McCosker, Hanover (NH) Meeting as well as Faith and Practice Revision Committee Clerk.

How are the Kids Doing at Your Meeting?

Format: On campus

Location: Community Center Room 226 (off the Great Room)

Share and discuss recent challenges, successes, and growing edges of youth ministry in your meeting, quarter, or worship group. This is an in-person Local Youth Ministers Support Each Other (LYMSE) meeting and an opportunity to reflect on learnings from the recent Youth Ministry Committee Listening Project.  Led by Kara Price (NEYM Children and Family Ministries Coordinator) of Storrs (CT) Meeting and Melissa Becce (NEYM Youth Ministries Committee) of Hartford (CT) Meeting. 

[ZOOM] Writers’ Retreat

Format: Zoom

Location: TBA  (Zoom links for online offerings will be posted on the LinkTree shared with Sessions registrants).

Come write with Spirit! Join a communal writing space for individuals that want or need a designated block of time to sit down and write, and who may find it easier to do with others. There will be opportunities to write using a prompt and time to share. Our writing and sharing sessions will follow the form of worship sharing. Facilitated by Sara Gada of Friends Publishing.

Saturday, August 1st at 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Stories of Faithfulness in Leadings 

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

Friends have both individual leadings and corporate leadings. In following a leading there are often critical junctures in which faith in the leading is tested. Faithfulness leads us to work through adversity, accept changes in direction we hadn’t anticipated and strengthens us spiritually. This workshop invites Friends to tell their stories where faithfulness in following a leading has been tested. Led by Greg Moschetti of Amesbury (MA) Meeting and founder of Friends Center for Children in New Haven, CT.

The Practice of Neighboring with Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR)

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

What does it mean to be a good neighbor? We’ll begin by reflecting on the experience of a woman in Kenya. From there, we’ll explore who our neighbors are and our own histories of being a neighbor. Together, we’ll consider what it means to see and be seen by one another—and how we respond to each other’s needs through that shared awareness. Led by Megan Fair of Right Sharing of World Resources.

Puente: The bridge of love between Cuban and New England Friends

Format:  Hybrid (on campus and on Zoom)

Location: TBA

Learn about New England Yearly Meeting's relationship of over 30 years with Cuban Friends.  Kirenia Criado, pastor of Havana Friends Church, and last year's Bible Half Hour speaker at NEYM, will join us and share with us how Cubans are managing in desperate times caused by our country's blockade of fuel, embargo and sanctions. Learn about the ways we try to maintain the spiritual relationship as we respond to critical financial needs.  Offered by Puente de Amigos Committee co-clerks Carolyn Stone of Wellesley (MA) Meeting and Richard Lindo of Framingham (MA) Meeting. 

How are we led? Witness and Direct Action

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

Hosted by the Israel-Palestine Resource Group, this is an opportunity to listen together for how we, as individuals and faith communities are led.  Featuring those who have traveled, participated in direct action, resisted war taxes and found other ways to express their Spirit-led response, it is also a time for deep listening and reflection.  Facilitated by Linden Jenkins and Bob Watt of Providence (RI) Meeting.

Women Springing Forth in ministry in response to these difficult times

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

What kinds of ministry are springing forth in Friends  in Northeastern USA in response to these difficult times?  A panel of several women who have found creative ways of ministry will share how they have felt watered by the Spirit of God to minister these days in ways that  that both encourage hope and wholeness in the lives of others, as well as help preserve hope within themselves. Panelists will be: Annie Patterson (Mt.Toby Meeting), 
Gail Sweetwater (E. Sandwich Meeting) and Reb MacKenzie (Quaker City Unity Meeting). Everyone present will get a chance to share their own leadings that are springing forth.  Let's challenge and support each other in our spiritual leadings. Led by Marian Baker  United Society of Friends Women International Northeast Region Clerk from Weare (NH) Meeting.

Sunday August 2nd at 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

What are Youth Retreats Like? An immersion experience for curious Friends

Format: On campus

Location: Community Center Room 226 (off the Great Room)

Friends who are considering youth retreat participation are invited to this ‘walk-through’ experience followed by a Q&A session. When they arrive they will be greeted as if it is Friday night registration, green name tag tape and all. Then we will go through the motions of a typical retreat schedule, obviously condensed, skipping meals, sleep, etc. Anyone can also choose to simply watch instead.

Monday, August 3rd at 1:15 - 2:45 p.m.

Brian Drayton shares excerpts from his latest book, "The Gospel in the Anthropocene"

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

The Earthcare Ministry Resource Group (EMRG) has asked Brian Drayton of Wellesley Friends Meeting to share readings, as prompts for discussion, from his latest book. The Gospel in the Anthropocene: Letters from a Quaker Naturalist. Brian draws from his many years of plant conservation biology and education about climate change and much more. Illustrated by Brian’s wife, Darcy Drayton, the book is structured with meditations partnered with letters. 

Prophetic Action Against Authoritarianism

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

Right now we are seeing accelerating authoritarianism, political violence, and the erosion of democratic and human rights around the country. In this workshop, American Friends Service Committee staff will explore how Friends are called to respond with clarity, courage, and faithfulness. Participants will learn about AFSC's work building peace and advocating for the rights and dignity of all people in New Hampshire, and gain resources on how to take action in their own communities. Together we will discern what prophetic action looks like in this moment and what it means to resist authoritarianism in a Spirit-led manner. Led by Laura Boyce & Divine Nkwelle of AFSC.

Calling forth & nurturing powerful Spirit-led vocal ministry in our meetings

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

What would it take for there to be ministry today that springs from the power of God as it did with traveling ministers like George Fox, Elizabeth Hooton, and Edward Burroughs, through whom God transformed the lives of thousands? The result was the birth of our faith community that first called itself the Children of the Light. Although all may at times be called to speak in meeting, it has been the experience of Friends over time that some receive a particular calling or gift to bring Friends to God and build up the life of our meetings. How can we discover those with such a call among us and nurture them in this calling?  Facilitators: Genna Ulrich of Portland (ME) Meeting & Peter Blood-Patterson of Mt.Toby (MA) Meeting.

Movement for Body Mind and Spirit

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

Another way of listening for Spirit: Discover how your body wants to move from the floor to standing and moving through the room. Engage with your energy body in this exploration of moving in your individual ease.  Work through some pain in your body. If you'd like, bring a towel or yoga mat to lay on. Led by Ann Watkins of Westerly (RI) Meeting.

Update from Ramallah Friends School

Format: Hybrid (both campus and online)

Location: TBA

Hear updates on the Ramallah Friends School in the West Bank. Featuring Karla Jay, Global Ministries Director of Friends United Meeting and, via Zoom, Head of Ramallah Friends School, Rania Maayeh. The School recently celebrated its 120th graduation, and is under the care of FUM. Offered by the Israel Palestine Resource Group.

The Development of the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) in Cuba

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) is a global network of volunteers that runs hands-on workshops on conflict transformation. AVP  in Cuba was launched by the American Friends Service Committee in the 1980s, then fell dormant until Puente de Amigos Committee members revived it in 2024-25. Given the disintegration of civil society on the island, brought on by the US embargo, this program is more timely than ever. Many New England Friends volunteer to facilitate workshops in prisons in MA and RI so this workshop will be of special interest to them. Facilitated by Kirenia Criado Perez of La Habana Friends Church in Cuba.

Writers’ Retreat

Format: On campus

Location: TBA 

Come write with Spirit! Join a communal writing space for individuals that want or need a designated block of time to sit down and write, and who may find it easier to do with others. There will be opportunities to write using a prompt and time to share. Our writing and sharing sessions will follow the form of worship sharing. Facilitated by Sara Gada of Friends Publishing.

[Zoom] Managing Money As If It Matters (and It Does) 

Format: Zoom

Location: TBA 

If money is a spiritual matter (and we believe it is), then managing money matters as well. In this session, we'll explore the breadth of our financial journey, giving particular attention to how we can invest according to Quaker values and to exploring how we can generously support the organizations (including NEYM!) we care about. Led by Lyle Miller of Everence.

Monday, August 3rd at 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

A Quaker Perspective on the Challenge of “Sacred Violence” 

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

“Sacred violence” is violence that people (wrongly) consider to be sanctioned, approved, and even instigated by God. This was ubiquitous in ancient societies; remains with us today; and plays a prominent role in the Bible. But the Bible also engages in a “subversion from within,” undermining the notion of sacred violence by the unfolding affirmation that God has nothing to do with violence.  We will be engaging in dialogue around a recently published book that looks at these issues from the perspective of Quakers and their peace testimony: "Turning Toward the Victim: The Bible, Sacred Violence, and the End of Scapegoating in Quaker Perspective" (2025). Led by Tom Gates of Lancaster (PA) Meeting.

Stolen Land: Celebrating the US 250 anniversary while Relearning History of Turtle Island

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

With some worship sharing, we will see how impossible it is to understand US culture/history without considering the central position of Native Americans for the last 350 years. We will unpack words like settler-colonialist, pioneers, and liberty. Offered from Indigenous Relationship Resource Group. Led by Minga Claggett-Borne of Friends Meeting at Cambridge.

Managing Money As If It Matters (and It Does) 

Format: On campus

Location: TBA 

If money is a spiritual matter (and we believe it is), then managing money matters as well. In this session, we'll explore the breadth of our financial journey, giving particular attention to how we can invest according to Quaker values and to exploring how we can generously support the organizations (including NEYM!) we care about. Led by Lyle Miller of Everence.

Explore Ezekiel's vision with Earthcare Ministry Resource Group

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

After introducing ourselves, we will read Ezekiel 1:1-21, a vision of God that includes predator and prey animals and an unusual wheel. There's been a lot of paintings illustrating this vision over the years, but fewer reflections published based on a Quaker, lived-experience perspective. So we will invite people to enter Ezekiel's vision for a moment, like lectio divina, in addition to your more usual book group strategies. Come help us explore this writing and meet a few people from EMRG along the way.  Led by Maureen Lanan of Beacon Hill Meeting. 

Listening to Jewish Voices

Format: On campus

Location: TBA

An opportunity to listen to the voices of some New England Jews on the subject of Israel and Palestine, under the care of the Israel Palestine Resource Group of NEYM. Facilitated by Martha Yager and Bob Watt of Providence (RI) Meeting.

[Zoom] The Practice of Neighboring with Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR)

Format: Zoom

Location: TBA

What does it mean to be a good neighbor? We’ll begin by reflecting on the experience of a woman in Kenya. From there, we’ll explore who our neighbors are and our own histories of being a neighbor. Together, we’ll consider what it means to see and be seen by one another—and how we respond to each other’s needs through that shared awareness. Led by Megan Fair of Right Sharing of World Resources.